Steph Owens, 36, originally from Buckley, has established the Sporting Excellence Academy at CrossFit Alpha Wolf in Flint, supporting young people aged between 10 and 16.

Having represented Wales in weightlifting at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Steph also won bronze at the 2015 Commonwealth Championships in India and has competed internationally in figure skating and hammer throwing.

Former Commonwealth Games athlete Steph Owens has launched the Sporting Excellence Academy in Flintshire (Image: supplied)

After almost three years of working with young athletes individually, Steph decided to bring her coaching services together under one academy, which currently supports 16 young athletes from various sporting backgrounds.

She said: “It’s quite a sort of full circle moment because, with my background, it’s nice to be able to feel like I’m actually giving something back.”

Recalling her own experiences, Steph explained that she frequently travelled outside North Wales for training and often felt isolated from other athletes on Welsh performance pathways.

She said: “When I was a young athlete, I found it was quite lonely because for those of us that were on the performance pathway for athletics at the time, when travelling down to South Wales to compete, there was me and one other girl from the north. With the academy, there's more community made for us North Wales athletes."

Steph Owens has represented Wales and Great Britain in figure skating, alongside her achievements in weightlifting and athletics (Image: supplied)

The academy aims to address this by bringing young athletes together, regardless of their chosen sport, while providing additional support alongside their existing coaches.

It offers strength and conditioning sessions, fitness testing, goal setting, online stretching classes and holiday camps, with programmes tailored to individual sporting ambitions.

Runners Ella and Gwen Hayes have both represented Wales at the London Mini Marathon (Image: supplied)

Among those attending is gymnast Hermione Bailey, who recently became Welsh national beam champion, while runners Ella and Gwen Hayes have represented Wales at the London Mini Marathon.

Sailor Sophie Venning has also competed at the World Championships, achieving a top-50 finish, while Matilda has been selected for the Hockey Wales performance pathway.

Steph said the response from parents has been overwhelmingly positive, with families reporting improvements in their children’s confidence, independence and attitudes towards training.

Young gymnast Hermione Bailey in her PT sessions with Steph at Cross Fit Alpha Wolf in Flintshire (Image: supplied)

She explained that young athletes are increasingly taking responsibility for their development, including practising exercises and stretching routines at home.

However, Steph believes developing confidence and resilience is just as important as sporting success, particularly when young athletes experience setbacks.

She said: “It’s okay to maybe not reach those goals. It’s okay to fail. I will support you no matter what.”

Young gymnast Hermione Bailey, who was recently crowned Welsh national beam champion (Image: supplied)

Steph hopes to establish partnerships with Welsh sporting organisations, having recently held discussions with Cricket Wales about supporting its performance pathway.

Her long-term ambition is to create a training hub bringing talented young athletes from across North Wales together.

Sessions start from £17.50, while academy packages range from £60 to £100 per month. Families interested in joining can contact Steph through her social media channels.