When I think of Loughborough, the first thing that springs to mind is that it’s a top-class university for sport, both in terms of teaching and research.
My course delivered far more than I expected. Combining practical and theoretical learning, it gave me the knowledge, skills and experience to support the development of athletes from grassroots to elite level.
Crucially, I’ve learned how to think about and approach athlete performance, injury and health in a new and powerful way. This is invaluable in my current role as Lead Academy Sport Scientist at Peterborough United Football Club.
Alongside the University’s world-class facilities, a definite strength of my course was the teaching. My tutors were exceptional and keen to share their wide-ranging knowledge. A key strength was their ability to draw extensively from their real-world experience of working across a variety of sports. I’ve been able to transfer their many invaluable insights into my own work.
There’s so much about my course that I enjoyed and regularly apply on a day-to-day basis in my work.
It was great to learn about Olympic weightlifting. It’s a very important aspect of strength and conditioning, but there aren’t too many opportunities to train in it. It’s a real bonus to have it among my skill set.
Learning about the safe set up of the gym for athletes and how to devise individualised plans for them are two things that also serve me well today – alongside the effective delivery of sport science support in the correct physical testing order.
Every module impacted my learning, but my dissertation in applied strength and conditioning with sport nutrition really tested me. I was thrilled to achieve a distinction for this work.
If you’re considering this course, do it!
There’s a lot to learn, but you will graduate as a well-prepared practitioner ready to succeed in your chosen field.