OK so you might not have enough time to prepare and give Usain Bolt a run for his money in the 100 meter final and Michael Phelps might not consider you a threat to his record of 9 gold medals just yet but also at each Olympics are the coaches, sports journalists, photographers, broadcasters, match officials, physiotherapists, nutritionists and psychologists ‘competing’ to achieve their best performance. So if running or swimming is not your strength do not discount being in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics just yet.
AS/A2 Physical Education is not all about ‘kicking a ball’ but about designing effective training programmes, setting suitable goals, learning how the body responds to exercise and how to recover quickly after training to ensure you achieve your best performance in all competitions. While in Higher Education, a degree in a sports related area can range from broadcasting to physiotherapy and teaching to photography.
With sport being a passion and pastime for so many students have you considered a career in this area? In the UK over 300,000 students have studied a qualification in sport and leisure over the last 3 years and in a recent study of students 54% of 16 – 19 year olds were keen to work in a profession involved in sport.*
With the help of organisations such as the Premier League, Football Association, Rugby Football Union, English Cricket Board, Radio 1, Youth Sport Trust, UK Sport and many more leading sports organisations www.careers-in-sport.co.uk highlights a diverse range of careers within the sports industry.
Opportunities are available for professional and voluntary work in sport with many professions available within;
Teaching and coaching sport not only takes place in schools but also in club academies and community development programmes.
Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, revolutionised the club with his scientific methods of training and beliefs on how to optimise performance. Professional athletes have a strict diet of what to eat and drink, sports psychologists work with athletes to develop their task cohesion and confidence, while a physiotherapist will ensure a speedy recovery from injury or after a match.
