Inspiring young athletes with passion – How my Calderdale College course launched by coaching career
The HND Sport course has helped me start my coaching career and this is something I want to continue to pursue in the future.
The course doesn’t just teach you about coaching, but goes into detail about the body, physiotherapy and also technology in sport. So, if you are interested in analytics of athletes, this course also teaches you how to understand performances through data and how to use analytics software. I’ve also learned a lot about coaching and how you should present yourself as a coach.
I’ve really enjoyed the work placements that are available through the course. There are some brilliant opportunities with local sports teams such as the Bradford Dragons, FC Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers. With the industry placements, you’re actually coaching and getting that experience, which I think is the best part of the course as it builds your confidence.
I’ve been able to secure a job from this working with the Bradford Bulls Foundation where I go into primary schools three days a week and deliver different sports.
I have also worked at a PRU, running fun activities and multi-skills sessions which cover the fundamentals such as catching, throwing and keeping the students active.
I chose this course as I wanted to be a coach and this would give me the qualification I needed. It’s something I really enjoy doing and I thought this would be the best course for me.
Once I finish my course, I would like to go to University and my HND course gives me the opportunity for me to just do one year there to complete my qualification, and then look for a job afterwards.
Coaching Basketball full-time would be my dream job, but I don’t really mind where I end up as I just love to coach. My favourite NBA team are the Indiana Pacers, so if an opportunity presented itself there, that would be fantastic as I enjoy travelling.
As part of my course, I have also completed a placement with SportWorks, which is a summer camp that has activities every holiday for young children to take part in. From this, I got the opportunity to work with children with special educational needs and disability issues, which was something new for me to experience and to expand my skills.
I won a Summer Time Award during my time at SportWorks, which recognised my skills and highlighted what I’ve learned from the course.
The environment is also incredibly welcoming with the smaller class sizes. Joe has been a great tutor, as he gives you a lot of support during the course and always has time to speak to everyone.
I would really recommend this course to others. If you are looking to go into the sports industry, it’s the best course to study as it could take you on a range of different career paths. It covers different topics so you can really focus on the role you want to go into once you’ve finished.
I also believe it’s a quicker way to get the qualification you need in a shorter amount of time, instead of doing a four-year course at university.
To find out more about our HND Sport course, click here: https://www.calderdale.ac.uk/courses/hnd-in-sport-exercise-science/
