William and Kate go head-to-head in netball drill

The Prince and Princess of Wales went head-to-head in a netball drill as they joined young athletes and their parents being coached on building up mental resilience.

William and Kate, known for their competitive natures, laughed and joked as they tried to score hoops for opposing teams, with the prince joining mothers and fathers and the princess welcomed by their children.

The future king said he has been instilling positive sporting messages in his children about “how you can lose well and win well” and to “respect your opponent, respect the decision”.

The casually dressed couple attended a mental fitness workshop run by SportsAid at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in Berkshire, where parents learnt about the importance of mental resilience while their sons and daughters reflected on how they cope under pressure.

When William first spotted the middle-aged parents in a sports hall, he joked about “grown-ups dunking hoops” as Kate said “I’ll go to the back and watch what everybody does” and gestured to her husband to join his group.

The teams first practised shooting hoops, then tried to score while under pressure, to mimic playing conditions, with William and Kate – joined by Paralympic champion swimmer Ellie Simmonds – distracting opposition players by waving their arms.

Despite still having two fingers strapped up as a precaution after a recent trampoline accident, Kate was eager to take on her husband, and the session ended with the princess trying to score as William defended the hoop, though she missed four times.

During the visit, the prince sat with parents and discussed supporting their children’s sporting careers.

He said about his own young family: “I try to talk to them about how you can win well and lose well. I think that’s really important.”

He told the group, which included Sir Matthew Pinsent, a four-time Olympic rowing champion, SportsAid trustee and father of three sporty teenagers: “They need to understand they’re not going to win everything.”

William went on to tell the parents: “It’s not just sport, they’re lessons throughout your life – winning, losing, competing… relationships, whatever it might be.

“For me it all started with sports.”

The prince and princess have spent the week raising awareness about the nation’s mental health, travelling around the country to highlight different aspects of the issue, from the support for first responders to the problems faced by young people.

During the visit, the couple joined a workshop as young sportsmen and women discussed resilience and coping with stressful periods, with one competitor telling Kate how, after initially feeling upset when he suffered an injury during a major championship, he was able to learn from the experience.

The princess said being able to change “mindset” is a “really important skill”. adding: “It’s a skill we could teach our youngest kids that would help our children later in life.”

When asked by the workshop leader about being resilient, William said: “For me it’s mindset – I have to get myself in a certain zone.

“When things start going a bit wrong I click into a different gear. I see the end goal and I try and work out a path, like a maze, to get there, and I prioritise.”

The couple ended their visit by putting on blindfolds and trying their hand at goalball, a visually impaired Paralympic sport in which players try and score by rolling a ball filled with bells into their opponent’s goal.

William failed in his bid to score but Kate had the bragging rights after her shot evaded the blindfolded goalkeeper.

SportsAid, a charity funding and supporting the next generation of athletes of which Kate is patron, questioned almost 400 competitors it helps about the issue of mental health.

The poll found 47% of respondents thought anxiety affected their sporting performance, while 62% felt they had enough knowledge and support to take care of their mental health.