Training for Strictly Come Dancing can be tough. But sometimes it means you get to listen to Love Story by Taylor Swift a thousand times while perfecting an American Smooth.
“I’m not sick of it so far. It’s so hard not to get carried away, singing it as well.”
Sam Quek is taking a break from training – the morning has been “lots of arms, lots of arms” – to talk to Big Issue. Quek was part of the team that won gold in hockey at Rio 2016 and has since moved into television presenting. Every contestant is on a journey, but Quek’s, from Olympian to Strictly star, shows how we could all fulfil our own potential.
Becoming a contestant on the 22nd series of the Saturday night staple comes with a strict schedule.
“I need every minute of every hour of every day to get to a point on Saturday where I’m happy to go out there and feel confident I can nail the routine,” Quek says.
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Every day has its purpose: from walking through a new dance with partner Nikita Kuzmin on Monday to polishing it up until the live show.
“Saturday is what I call game day. I feel like I thrive in that type of environment,” Quek says.
That’s what sets successful athletes – successful anybody – apart. For most, high-pressure situations with countless people watching would be a source of fear.
Initially, it was the same for Quek.
“I was so nervous because I’m not a dancer. Put me in a packed-out stadium playing a game of hockey I have experience and I know I can play to quite a good standard, I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t have to think about how to stop a ball or hit a ball. It was just natural. When I’m dancing, I have to think about everything, so my mind went into overdrive. Where do I put my elbow, my arm, my hand, my fingers? But the last two weeks, I tried to go out and enjoy it.”
The lessons the rest of us can try to apply to any situation in our own lives where we need to perform is to not overthink things while simultaneously be super prepared.
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“I’ve always been a grafter. You work hard if you want the desired result, and I’ve never ever changed that, whether it’s sport, or presenting, or Strictly.
“I want to go into a situation as prepared as possible. Even with my hockey, going into an Olympic final I could relax the day of because I knew I’d done all the preparation. I had all the information, it was in my brain somewhere and I could then go out and do what I needed to do.”
Celebrating the gold at the Rio Olympics. Image: Andrew Cowie / Colorsport / Shutterstock
On Strictly, the feedback is instant. There’s a panel of judges to pick up on every misstep or arm line that wasn’t quite right (let alone the viewers picking apart each routine on social media and WhatsApp groups). But again, recognising the value of constructive criticism is a way to help reach your full potential.
“I’ve always been a person who loves feedback,” Quek says. “I always want to know what I can do better. That’s just part of my chemistry, so much so that I can sometimes go the other way, where I don’t hear the positives. My husband always says I’m a nightmare because he can pay me nine compliments and I’ll hear the one thing that I could have done better.
“Throughout life, sometimes we shy away from hearing hard feedback. Everyone wants to be the best. Everybody wants to impress. And sometimes if you’re trying 100% and the feedback is that you could do better, that’s quite hard to hear. But everything we do, whether it’s a success or failure, is always a lesson.”
Quek missed out on being selected for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. But it’s setbacks like these that ultimately helped her on the journey to win gold – and every member of a team – whether it’s one competing in the Olympics or a work or family unit – is a combination of countless obstacles overcome.
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“To win gold, we had to come together as a squad and understand each other and be on a level of performance that you trained for over four years. Then you have a two-week window where you have to be on it for each game. You’ve got the squad aspect, knowing each other inside out, and then there’s the individual perspective. Hockey is a selection sport. It comes down to who can run the fastest, who can perform better in a role, what other assets they bring to the squad. For me, like anybody, there’s so many ups and downs.
“There are people who tell you you’re not good enough, you’re wasting time. There are people who might say, well, hockey’s not a real job. You have to block out the noise and have belief and confidence in yourself.
“I definitely hit a few of those walls. I had those wobbles. And then had very frank and open conversations with loved ones and coaches, which actually did me a world of good, because it also made me have hard conversations about why I agree or disagree with certain things.
“It’s all part of character building. Sport gives that, regardless of what level you’re at. I’m so keen for my kids to get into sport because it brings such important characteristics into life: being able to have a hard conversation with someone face to face, being able to win together, being able to lose, how do you hold yourself? Sport gave me so much outside of winning the gold medal.”
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