A BARROW wheelchair basketball player has been selected to join the Team England Future for summer 2022.

Paula Johnson, who reached the very top of wheelchair basketball as a player, and now the Barrow coach is attempting to do the very same off the court.

Johnson, 44, featured at the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008 and with a beacon of knowledge of what it takes to reach the pinnacle of her sport, she is now giving mentoring the next generation of young talent a go as a regional academy coach.

Johnson has been recognised for her efforts and selected to be a part of Team England Futures for this summer, which will see over 1,000 talented young athletes and aspiring support staff given the opportunity to attend the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, watch live sporting action and take a first-hand look behind-the-scenes.

She is hoping that she will be able to pass on some of her knowledge on and pick up new tips from a new group of talented athletes and staff.

“It’s really nice to be involved, obviously I did Beijing as an athlete, so now I get to sort of see it from another perspective, which is actually really cool,” said Johnson, speaking at a Team England Futures Immersion Camp in Loughborough, where athletes and support staff had the chance to meet each other, visit Kitting Out and experience workshop sessions on topics such as working with the media, mental wellbeing and anti-doping.

“I've got a few people that are taking part, like my old GB roomie who’s now weightlifting, and then a kid that started when I was there is in the three on three team so it's quite nice to see this ten year old, who’s now 19 and what he's done.

“Even as a retired athlete, it's lovely to see what's happening because this sort of thing wasn't around when I was playing.

“It's nice to see that it's been put in place, so the athletes aren't as overwhelmed when it comes to their turn, so it’s really cool.”

The Team England Futures programme seeks to better prepare athletes to deliver medal-winning performances as either Team England, Team GB or ParalympicsGB debutants at future Games, while also giving support staff a first-hand look at the opportunities they could be presented with, as well as challenges they may face, at a multi-sport competition.

Johnson is looking to follow her idol Kelly Holmes in inspiring young athletes to reach the very top.

With so much experience and talent, there is no doubt that she will be able to offer plenty, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to help as many people as possible.

“I think next couple of years is just all about being there for athletes coming through because I enjoy mentoring and I do get quite a lot of contact from athletes that were around the outskirts when I was still playing,” she said.

“I've been there to support them and I’m giving them a little bit of wisdom, but also learning from them because they're learning new ways to deal with things.

“It’s a really exciting two years ahead, especially after Tokyo not being the Games that it should have been.

"I think people are really excited about Paris already and if I can get to be part of that at all, and help people go forward that is so exciting.”