Ten-Pin Lessons from the High Sheriff’s Cadets

Last night saw me at a bowling alley in Oxford with the High Sheriff’s Cadets, confidently stepping up to the lane and being comprehensively outplayed at ten-pin bowling. It turns out confidence is no substitute for skill.

Youthful reflexes, teamwork and a healthy lack of overthinking are, it seems, a formidable combination. My own technique, meanwhile, remains best described as enthusiastic rather than effective. Still, losing badly is a small price to pay for an evening that reminded me, yet again, why working with young people is such a privilege.

What struck me most was not the bowling (though their aim was excellent), but the easy confidence of the group. This is a genuinely impressive quartet of young people: supportive of one another, quick to laugh, generous in encouragement, and quietly thoughtful about the world around them. They carry responsibility lightly, but take it seriously. Exactly what you would hope for, and exactly what you need, in young people representing their organisations and their communities.

There is something rather special about informal moments like this. Away from ceremonies, speeches and formal settings, you get to see people as they really are. Conversations drift from school and work to ambitions, frustrations, hopes and plans. You learn far more over a tray of loaded nachos and a badly thrown bowling ball than you ever could across a meeting table.

Evenings like this also matter because they say something important about how we support young people. Leadership is not just about guidance and expectation; it is about presence, listening, and making space for young people to be themselves. Sometimes that space happens in courtrooms or council chambers. Sometimes it happens at the end of a bowling lane.

Huge thanks are due to Shaun Kendall, our indefatigable Shrieval Cadet wrangler (a title I maintain is entirely official), for organising the evening and keeping everything running smoothly, even if my bowling ball rarely did.

I went home bruised in pride but buoyed in spirit. If the future of Oxfordshire is being shaped by young people like these, then we are in very good hands indeed.