Former Sussex cricketer Lewis Hatchett shares secrets of success with Horsham pupils

A former Sussex county cricketer visited a Horsham school to give a talk on how he overcame disability to achieve his dreams.
Lewis Hatchett with some of the pupilsLewis Hatchett with some of the pupils
Lewis Hatchett with some of the pupils

Lewis Hatchett gave an inspiring lecture to senior students at Farlington School on Monday February 18 about how to achieve goals against the odds, through hard work and determination.

Lewis, 29, had a goal from a young age of becoming a professional cricketer, in spite of his disability.

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He was born with Poland Syndrome which, for him, meant that he was born without two ribs or any chest muscle on his right hand side.

His dad asked whether he would be able to play sport and the doctors told his father that he would struggle. From a young age Lewis decided that he would achieve his dream and, at the age of 20, signed a contract with Sussex.

However Lewis said his journey to this point was not a straightforward one.

He had a Kevlar chest protector custom-made to protect his right lung, overcame a broken back which put him out of the game for two years, as well as being told that he was not as talented as some of his peers.

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Lewis continued to strive for his dream by contacting head coaches so that he could be in the changing rooms of the senior teams as a water carrier and general helper, while learning from the best. He asked the people he admired what he needed to do to achieve his goal.

Lewis eventually got the break he had been waiting for when one of the coaches said that he had a month to prove himself by standing in for an injured bowler.

After this, he received a three-year contract to play professional cricket, which he did for six years until he was dealt a cruel blow.

Lewis broke his back again and had to retire aged 26.

Lewis said he felt lost and disappointed that he had had his dream taken away, but added: “Don’t give up; there is always a different path that you can take in life to fulfil dreams that may be different to those you originally envisaged for yourself.

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“You must focus on what you have rather than on what you don’t have. Visualise your future and you will achieve it!”

Lewis is now a yoga teacher and has set up Sport-Yogi to focus on the strength of body and mind.

He believes in the message that you have the power to delete and remove negativity in your life, which includes any social media posts or people that you follow that make you have negative thoughts about yourself.

He said social media should give you three things: inspiration, information and entertainment. If they do none of these, you should remove them from your life. He added: “Visualise the future that you want and you will achieve.”