This joyous picture will be one of the enduring images of the 2014 Ryder Cup: the victorious team celebrating with their captain at the very moment that one of the analogies they had used, geese flying in formation, appeared overhead.

As Head of Sport for United Learning, a national group of independent schools and state academies, I am often asked what it is that I do. This image from the Ryder Cup is both a useful metaphor and a reminder of one of our greatest challenges.

In one sense, the schools and PE/sport departments within our group are much like the players above. To an extent they are individual, with unique contexts, personalities, strengths and areas they are striving to improve. Yet by coming together as a group, they gain support, encouragement, strength in number and share a common mission to achieve, whatever barriers and difficulties there may be. Part of my leadership role is to create the environment and systems across the group within which this can occur. Just like the European team, the aim is to get the geese all flying in formation to a common destination.

As one example of this, we brought together some of the experiences of how our schools from across the independent and state sectors use PE and sport to drive educational attainment. This culminated in The A-Z of School Improvement through PE and Sport, more of which later.

Whilst our PE/sport departments will have their individual goals and aspirations, collectively we have some shared challenges. For 2014/15, we have three main areas as our collective focus: girls' participation in sport; primary school PE; and developing/supporting the most able athletes on their educational and performance pathways. It is with regard to the first of these that we hope to swim against the tide.

The recent House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Women and Sport Report again highlighted the issues facing girls and women in the UK when it comes to participating in sport and physical activity. Several of these are at a societal level but there were also some important messages and recommendations for those of us involved in PE and school sport.

At United Learning we are making a concerted effort to redress any male/female imbalance in participation across our group of schools, through what the individual schools are doing in their own contexts and by centrally organised days which we hope will inspire girls into sport and help with their confidence. One of our new Sport Ambassadors, Chemmy Alcott, has developed five 'Xelle' days which will bring together sixty girls from four schools in our group. They will take part in a range of activities that we hope will have a lasting impact both on their confidence to be active and their confidence in life. Supporting us on these days will be a range of partners including the WSFF, who cite the following barriers to girls' participation in sport in school: Lack of choice (46% of the least active girls said they "don't like the activities we get to do in PE"); Overly competitive environments (45% of girls agreed that "sport is too competitive"); Lack of confidence (Over a third of the least active girls didn't think they had "the skills to do well in sport"); Body image (75% of girls agreed that "girls are self-conscious of their bodies"); and that sport is undervalued (59% of the least active girls didn't think it was important to be good at PE). Centrally, the 'Xelle' days will tackle some of these issues head-on, but we also want to promote those schools and girls within our network who are already 'swimming against the tide': those girls who are overcoming personal or societal barriers; those who are remaining active at an age when many of their peers are opting out; those who have dedicated themselves to individual challenges in sport that could put them on an international stage; and those who have the courage to stand up and lead their peers into physically active lives.

Here are a couple of examples; one from a state academy and another from one of our independent schools. Although they are both involved in the sport that according to research is the most popular with women, in their own way they demonstrate all of the attributes that are required to swim against the tide.

Case study 1: Hazel Killingbeck, formerly Stockport Academy (just left to attend a local FE college)

Hazel is a marathon open water swimmer and ice swimmer, so although I said that she participates in the most popular sport for women, it is not swimming as most of us recognise it. When research tells us that many of her peers are dropping out of sport, how did Hazel get involved in such an extreme sport?

"I began open water swimming in 2009 when I was 10 after watching the Great Manchester swim… I went down to Salford Quays and had my first ever Saturday morning swim there. It was not great and I cried. But something had changed and I had the bug for it... Being a national pool swimmer beforehand got boring and this was a new challenge. I have never gone back to pool competitions since 2009 and I have grown from swimming a mile to a two-way Windermere and the English Channel."

"I am firstly motivated by my true love and passion for the sport and what I do. Every day I wake up and smile knowing I get to train and with all the opportunities I have had and the more to come. My second motivation is my mum who suffers with MS and is just the best person, strongest and most dedicated person to making sure I can achieve my dreams. And finally, everything I have already achieved and what I could do... that's motivating!"

So whilst Hazel has set her goggles on completing the ridiculous-sounding 'Oceans 7' and an 'ice mile' (1 mile in water below 5 degrees), her thoughts about why other girls drop out of sport concur with the research: "They don't believe it is cool or they think it is a manly thing." As she concludes, "that needs to be changed."

Case study 2: Alice Tai, Bournemouth Collegiate College

As Hazel was completing her 26 miles, Alice was swimming in the senior IPC European Championships. Despite being only 15 years old she managed to break three senior British records on her way to securing the full set of bronze, silver and gold medals.

As with Hazel, such achievements do not come without incredible dedication and support. Alice trains around 15 hours a week, with pool sessions at school starting at 6am on at least four days a week. Often these morning efforts are followed by sessions after class, with additional strength and conditioning work provided by the school. It would be easy to lie in. It would be easy to relax after school. Yet Alice chooses sport. Research often finds that significant influences on girls' participation are their mums and their friends. For Alice, her mum works at BournemouthCollegiateSchool so whist it is a journey she would make anyway, it is not one she would ordinarily consider undertaking at 5.30am every day. Elite level competition involves frequent travelling across the country. Without mum's support, or that of the BCS's swim programme and coaches as well as the wider school which works with great flexibility to meet her educational and sporting needs, Alice would find it even harder to swim against the tide.

What both of these inspirational young women demonstrate is that with the right attitude*, ambition, determination, hard work, skilful coaching and family/school support, anything is possible. They have both had numerous barriers to overcome and both could have given up at any point.

Our challenge as a group of schools is to ensure that more young girls hear about and from the likes of Alice and Hazel and learn from their examples of resilience and determination. Our amazing female Sport Ambassadors are fantastic, but we know that the girls we need to target will also need to hear from their peers.

In returning to the Ryder Cup, our contribution to getting girls more active would be helped significantly by an even greater profile given to them in the media. The Women and Sport Report does acknowledge that witness to the Committee had noted that "broadcasters have been more committed to covering women's sport since the 2012 Olympics". There has, though, been "less progress…in the printed press." So whilst we will do our part across our group of schools, reaching as it does some 20,000 girls, it would help considerably if, for example, the likes of Charley Hull were given a higher media presence so that girls knew that golf and other sports are as much for them as they are for boys.

But I'll leave the last word with Hazel. When asked about her drive for sport she replied:

"I love it. There is no other way of explaining it. I love it like you would love another human."

Wow!

*"attitude" is frequently cited as the key ingredient for success, whether in sport or education. Sir Clive Woodward expands on this in his contribution to 'The A-Z of School Improvement through PE and Sport', a new United Learning publication which can be purchased here for only £5.99 plus P+P.

Shaun Dowling is Head of Sport at United Learning