Loughborough Sport Placements

Loughborough Performance Sport is committed to the development of aspiring coaches and practitioners in elite sport in the UK. Supporting around 500 funded athletes, scholars, and first team athletes across a range of sports and athletic disciplines, we provide a unique environment to develop in a range of inter-disciplinary sports programs.

This is an opportunity for aspiring practitioners to join our team of Strength and Conditioning practitioners in delivering support to our Performance Programmes, alongside studying MSc. The successful applicant will gain practical applied experience under the guidance of our experienced team. During the two years there is an opportunity to build up a portfolio of Continued Professional Development (CPD) and practical expertise, enhancing their employability within Strength and Conditioning.

Placement Roles

• Support permanent S&C staff with the provision of strength and conditioning to squads and individuals with the potential for ad-hoc projects with other sports.
• Assist with tasks such as performance testing, training load and wellness monitoring, seasonal planning and periodisation, and athlete education.
• Develop good relationships with coaches and other staff within the sports, as well as other practitioners to enhance the provision of support
• Contribute to development of educational resources for athletes and coaches

Outcomes

• Development of skills and experience in an elite strength and conditioning environment.
• Exposure to working with coaches and athletes in an elite sporting environment.
• Develop experience working with an inter-disciplinary team of Sports Science and Medicine practitioners.

Benefits

• Stipend of £6,500 per annum, to support you to undertake the placement whilst studying
• A unique personal development plan, focused on clear aims and objectives with the goal of developing the Placement Strength and Conditioning Coach into a competent practitioner
• A variety of CPD opportunities across all Sports Science and Medicine disciplines

It is expected that the successful applicant will use this opportunity:

• To develop skills relevant to achieving accreditation with the UKSCA.
• To have regular reviews with the relevant leading practitioners
• To have a structured individualised CPD plan

Time Commitment

The Placement student will be expected to commit a minimum of 21 hours per week across the full year (October – September) to this role, these hours will be balanced alongside your studies on the Strength & Conditioning MSc course. These hours will be variable and unsociable at times.

What are we looking for?

This role is only open to students who meet the MSc in Strength and Conditioning course criteria at Loughborough University for 2025/2026 academic year. Once the applicant is successful, they will be transferred onto the part-time pathway.

The applicant should have a clear desire to work in performance sport as a Strength and Conditioning Coach on completion of the placement. The behaviours that we strive for within the placement are high levels of passion, excellent organisation, and the ability to engage and integrate within a team of coaches, athletes and practitioners.

Application

As part of the application process, we would like you to submit your current CV as well as produce an application video. 

It’s up to you how you choose to produce the video, the only stipulations are that it is no longer than 5 minutes and you answer all questions (with relevant detail) set out below. 

1. Tell us about yourself
2. • Name
   • Recent experience in a sporting environment
   • Any other coaching experience
3. Tell us why you want to work in Strength & Conditioning?
4. Tell us about a time that you have had success when working with someone, to elicit a performance change
5. What about you as a person would make an athlete want to engage with you?
6. Physically demonstrate, and give only the main coaching points for the following exercises (if you have access to a gym, please demonstrate with load, if not, bodyweight will suffice):
   1. Squat
   2. Romanian Deadlift/Stiff Leg Deadlift
   3. Copenhagen (With rationale for exercise utilisation)

6. Please give us the details of your most recent references that are available to contact. 

Depending on compression, it may be an issue for some of you to email the video, if this is the case, there are other options available such as WeTransfer.

The application process will close 5pm Thursday 21^st August 2025. Interviews will be week commencing Monday ^1st  September 2025

Please send any informal enquiries to c.thorpe@lboro.ac.uk 

Loughborough Sport is committed to the development of aspiring coaches and practitioners through elite sport in the UK. Supporting around 800 funded athletes, scholars, and first-team athletes across a range of sports and athletic disciplines, we provide a unique environment to develop a range of skills within an interdisciplinary sports program.

This is an opportunity for an aspiring practitioner to join our Performance Nutrition team in delivering support to our Performance Programmes. The successful applicant will gain practical applied experience under the guidance of experienced practitioners. During the two years placement, there is an opportunity to build a portfolio of Continued Professional Development (CPD) and practical expertise, enhancing their employability within the nutrition field. All this will be achieved whilst completing an MSc part-time at Loughborough University. During the placement, there is an opportunity to build a portfolio of practical expertise, enhancing your employability within the nutrition field.

What would I be doing?

• Support and lead performance nutrition provision to University athletes and teams, along with potential for ad-hoc projects across all sports as well as the Loughborough Sport commercial service.
• Lead in the development, implementation, and monitoring of practical nutrition strategies.
• Actively promote a food first approach to nutrition.
• Develop and lead tasks such as dietary analysis, workshops, hydration and recovery stations, season planning and athlete education.
• Find testimonials from previous placements, Fran Baldwin and Bethan Crouse
• Act as an advocate for the Loughborough Sport Clean Sport Commitment.

What will I get out of this opportunity?

• The opportunity to learn alongside the Loughborough Sport Performance Nutrition team which will develop the skills, knowledge and experience required to deliver to elite coaches and athletes.
• Development of soft skills e.g. interdisciplinary working, candour, building relationships, psychological safety, team working, and much more.
• Develop an understanding and network of Performance Support practitioners (Strength & Conditioning, Physiology, Psychology, Sports Medicine, Performance Analysis and Performance Lifestyle) and performance coaches.
• Gain experience of working with at least 4 different Performance Programmes.
• Exposure to working with coaches and athletes in an elite sporting environment.
• Exposure to a range of sports, disciplines and abilities.
• Regular Continual Professional Development (CPD) opportunities such as the CVA Practitioner Programme, weekly development workshops, and mentorship from a member of the Performance Nutrition team (Andrew Shepherd and Bethan Crouse).
• Opportunity to apply for funded external CPD e.g. BDA Sports Nutrition Group Symposium.
• Access to shared, collaborative and interdisciplinary office space.
• A stipend of £6,500 per year to support you while completing the placement.

What is Loughborough Sport looking for?

• Confirmed place on the MSc Physiology and Nutrition of Sport and Exercise course at Loughborough University for the 2025/2026 academic year.
• Students studying on a Tier 4 visa are unfortunately not eligible for this opportunity.
• The applicant should have a clear desire to work in performance sport as an applied Performance Nutritionist on completion of the placement.
• The ability to communicate well, share knowledge simply and effectively and strong attention to detail.
• Experience in delivering or assisting in the delivery of lectures, workshops and consultations.

Learn More
If you are interested in this role and would like to learn more, we’ll be hosting a 45 minute Q&A on Tuesday 29 July, 5:15 – 6:00 pm. The session will include 5 minutes of delivery and then open up for Q&A from all those attending. To register for this Q&A session with Andrew Shepherd and Millie Hopkisson, please register here.

Conditions of Service
The Performance Nutrition Placement will be expected a minimum of 21 hours per week across the year to this role. These hours will be balanced alongside your studies. It should be noted that the placement will likely require attendance during evenings, at weekends, during university holiday periods and bank holidays. You will be expected to communicate with your mentor and any practitioners you are working with to ensure that your placement does not impact on your ability to attend lectures and other requirements of the MSc course.

How can I apply?
Please produce a CV and Cover Letter along with producing an application video. It’s up to you how you choose to produce the video, the only stipulations are that it is no longer than 5 minutes and you answer all questions (with relevant detail) set out below.

1. Tell us about yourself
   - Name
   - Your career aspirations after completing your MSc and how you believe the placement will help you on this journey
   - Anything else you would like to share.
2. Explain your process and procedure when creating behaviour change in a male basketball player who is a second-year student struggling with poor recovery and low energy levels in the second half of the training week.

To apply please upload your completed video along with a CV and Cover Letter to the folder below.

The application process will close at 9am on Tuesday 12 August 2025.

Interviews will be held on Friday 22 August in Loughborough. The placement will officially begin on Wednesday 1 October 2025 but there are opportunities for shadowing / visits prior to this should the successful candidate wish to.

For informal enquiries to A.Shepherd2@lboro.ac.uk or 07597 397 771.

Loughborough Sport is committed to the development of aspiring coaches and practitioners in elite sport in the UK. Supporting around 750 funded athletes, scholars, and first team athletes across a range of sports and athletic disciplines, we provide a unique environment to develop in a range of inter-disciplinary sports programmes.

This is an opportunity for aspiring swimming coaches looking to gain valuable experience within a high-performance environment. This placement provides a unique opportunity to work with elite senior swimmers, develop coaching skills and contribute to the ongoing success of the world-renowned Loughborough University Swimming programme. 

The successful applicant will deliver coaching support across the team alongside studying part-time for an MSc in one of the following courses from the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences. They will gain practical applied coaching experience under the guidance of our coaching team and will also be provided with a mentoring programme.

• Clinical Exercise Physiology
• Exercise Rehabilitation
• Musculoskeletal Sport Science and Health
• Physiology and Nutrition of Sport and Exercise
• Psychology of Exercise Rehabilitation
• Sport and Exercise Psychology
• Sport Biomechanics
• Sport Rehabilitation
• Strength and Conditioning

What would I be doing?

• Assist with the delivery of coaching to the Loughborough Swimming High-Performance and Performance Development squads.
• Support the planning, delivery and evaluation of training for the HP and PD squads.
• Assist with additional tasks and ad-hoc projects where required for the swimming programme including recruitment, test set monitoring, team logistics, team communication and performance tracking. 
• Develop strong relationships with coaches, the Inter-Disciplinary Team, our programme co-ordinator and other staff within Loughborough Swimming and Loughborough Sport.
• Attend Coaches meetings, IDT meetings, Loughborough Sport meetings and any other meetings as required.
• Attend competitions and training camps as required.

Placement outcomes

• Development of skills and experience in an elite senior swimming programme.
• Exposure to working with coaches and athletes in an elite sporting environment.
• Mentorship from experienced high-performance coaches.
• Opportunity to develop professional networks within UK swimming.
• Access to world-class training facilities at Loughborough University.
• Potential for career progression within competitive swimming coaching.
• Develop experience working with an inter-disciplinary team of Sports Science and Medicine practitioners.

Benefits

• Stipend of £6,500 per annum, to support you to undertake the placement whilst studying.
• A unique personal development plan, focused on clear aims and objectives.
• A variety of CPD opportunities

Time Commitment

The placement student will be expected to commit a maximum of 25 hours per week across the full year (September – August) to this role and these hours will be balanced alongside the part-time studies of your MSc course. These hours will be variable and unsociable at times.

What are we looking for:

This role is only open to students who meet the relevant criteria for the MSc (from the list above) at Loughborough University for the 2025/2026 academic year. Once the applicant is successful, they will be transferred onto the part-time pathway.

The behaviours that we strive for within the placement are high levels of passion, excellent organisation and the ability to engage and integrate within a team of coaches, athletes and practitioners.

Students studying on a Tier 4 visa are unfortunately not eligible for this opportunity.

Application

As part of the application process, we would like you to submit your current CV as well as produce an application video. Please also provide the details of at least one referee that we can contact. 

It’s up to you how you choose to produce the video, the only stipulations are that it is no longer than 5 minutes and you answer all questions (with relevant detail) set out below. 

• Tell us about yourself
• Tell us why you want to work within the Loughborough Swimming programme
• Give us a real-life example of you briefing a group of athletes before a session and/or de-briefing a group of athletes at the end of a session 

The application process will close 5pm Monday 1 September 2025. Please upload both your CV and your video application to the shared folder using the link below.

Interviews are scheduled to take place on the week commencing 8^th September onwards.

The start date of the placement is late September 2025, aligned with the start of the masters course, on agreement with the programme.