BSc Sports Performance and Coaching

Ask difficult questions, and develop the skills needed to answer them. In this module, you learn how to critically analyse research literature to find gaps in scientific understanding, and gain the fundamental practical skills needed to create new knowledge.<br><br>Develop skills in research design, the application of key methods, the statistical analysis of data, and the interpretation and presentation of research findings. The practical skills that you will develop in this module, such as blood sampling, heart rate monitoring and psychological testing are also the professional competencies expected of Sports Scientists and acquiring them will begin to prepare you for a career in Sports Science support or in the field of exercise and health.

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Top athletes can move their bodies with astonishing speed and precision. But how? This module is concerned with the physical and mechanical principles that govern how our bodies move. You consider the effects of force, mass, speed, velocity, acceleration and momentum, and study how our bodies interact with other moving objects. You get hands-on right from the start, investigating theory through a number of laboratory-based practicals.

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Students will gain a basic knowledge of nutrition and metabolism underpinning Sports Science. On completion of the module, students will be able to describe the flow of nutrient intake and energy production supporting not only training and performance but optimal health. Intake of food, digestion, absorption, assimilation or metabolism of nutrients will all be explored, as well as sources of energy for different types of exercise and the cause of fatigue. This module will give students a firm foundation from which to study exercise physiology and the specific nutritional requirements of athletes including legal and illegal substances, in later modules.

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Is it all in the mind? The margin between victory and defeat is thin, but can an athlete’s psychology really give them an edge? You explore the potential application of Freudian Behavioural and existential psychology on a range of sport and exercise topics, focusing particularly on coaching and training. Investigate how psychology may be used to improve sports performance, and its role in sport with reference to the social forces of racism and sexism.

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Discover the basis, theory and practice of high-quality sports coaching. Learn how to develop your own coaching philosophy and style, how to plan, deliver and evaluate your coaching practice. You also explore how coaching combines knowledge from psychology, sociology and education to improve the performance of athletes and teams and how coaches manage behaviour, instruct sports-specific skills and administer physical training effectively.

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This module will provide you with knowledge on the fundamental concepts of human anatomy and physiology which underpins the biological sciences. You will gain knowledge of the mechanisms associated with the control and regulation of the major systems of the body. The content will give you a foundation for more advanced study of Exercise Physiology or Applied Biomedicine.

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In the Sports Science summer school you apply some of the basic science and research skills that you acquired in lectures and practical classes during your first year to the identification and investigation of research questions relevant to performance in a variety of sports. You also have an opportunity to develop your group working and communications skills whilst indulging in the simple enjoyment of participating in novel sporting experiences. You’ll practise and extend your skills in processing, evaluating and analysing data, basic tools of a sports scientists trade. Youll also be provided with a structured opportunity to think about your future, about how the academic, sporting and social experiences of your University life are contributing to your development as an individual and what you need to do to fulfil your hopes and potential.

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Your biggest competition to date: the graduate job market. This module gives you a crucial head-start, ensuring you can both practically apply and effectively communicate your skills to the real-world and future employers.<br><br>During the Sports Science summer school you will identify and consequently investigate a chosen research question, working as part of a team to process, evaluate and analyse data. You will also have chance to prepare for life beyond graduation, developing a written strategy for optimising your employability, updating your skills e-portfolio and CV, and examining the job application process in detail.

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How do our bodies respond and adapt to exercise and training? You review the structure and function of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, assessing how they respond to physical strain, and how they contribute to the limitations of human performance. You also consider how the nervous and endocrine systems are affected as well as the overall influence of environmental temperature and altitude.

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What are the major causes of sports injuries, and what are the best methods for treatment and prevention? Identify the causes, signs and symptoms of sport-specific injuries. Discover the anatomical and physiology mechanisms that underlie injuries and discuss the mechanisms that allow recovery. You also gain practical skills, learning to design and evaluate an exercise rehabilitation plan – considering the various phases of exercise rehabilitation.

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To optimize performance in sports or rehabilitation, we first need to understand it. Biomechanics provide an interesting tool to do so. You start by exploring the most common and basic human movement: walking. You will learn about research on human gait and how we can use biomechanics to better understand human movement and enhance performance. In a practical, you will collect your own data and perform scientific experiments to understand and characterize the effect of footwear on performance, moving on to other cyclic movements, such as wheelchair exercise and mobility in the context of rehabilitation.<br><br>You also consider how biomechanics can help to prevent injuries in Paralympic wheelchair athletes, or improve mobility for persons in a wheelchair. Learn how to apply biomechanics in the multi-disciplinary context of sport sciences by modelling cyclic sports performance using an energy flow model.

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Students will learn about the theoretical and practical values and limitations inherent in assessing fitness, and of the methods and outcomes of training to enhance components of fitness. Student will learn how to perform reliable fitness tests, how to interpret their results and develop an understanding of the limitations of test methods. We will also review the rationale for, and the design and management of, training programmes to develop different components of fitness that are tailored to produce sport- and health-specific outcomes.

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The module aims to examine the personal, interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of sports coaching through the discipline of Sport Psychology. Sport Psychology can assist understanding and practice allocated with the core aspects of sport coaching such as; managing relationships, establishing effective communication, cultivating effective leadership, developing motivation, creating positive achievement climates and assisting participants in the development of important personal qualities and mental skills which support both participant well-being and performance achievement objectives.

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A good coach can take someone from where they are to where they want to be. This module aims to develop your understanding of how sport and exercise can be used in the coaching process. You will explore different approaches to planning training over a season, look at how to vary and monitor training volume, as well as the indicators of and consequences of overtraining. In addition, you will study the issues surrounding talent identification and development, the acquisition of skills, and contemporary issues associated with doping. You will also learn the importance of commitment - how developing your knowledge and skills as a coach, is a lifelong process.

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To achieve repeated success, coaches and athletes must know and understand what they have done to make them successful or unsuccessful, and make the right decisions at the right time. However, research shows that on average, athletes and coaches can only recall 30% of performance correctly. Performance analysis helps with the remaining 70% by providing the facts of what happened which makes it a vital component for athlete improvement. Performance analysis involves regular observations to enhance performance and improve decision making, primarily delivered through the provision of objective statistical (data analysis) and visual (video analysis) feedback. You will learn to apply these in a sport setting with the Universities Scholarship Sport Teams and with University Sport Partners.

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View Coaching for Learning and Psychosocial Skill Development (optional) on our Module Directory

This module will develop your skills to perform a thorough needs analysis of sports, individuals, and/or teams, investigate psychological strategies that are used to enhance performance, and examine how to develop interventions based on the current research literature. You will also explore the role of technology to enhance the delivery of sport psychology services. The module builds on Year 1 and 2 Sport and Performance Psychology modules and will focus on the application of scientific principles to enhance athletic performance.

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The role of a strength and conditioning coach is to use exercise prescription specifically to improve performance in athletic competition. They also help athletes with injury prevention and proper mechanics within their sports performances. Strength and Conditioning encompasses the entire physical development of the athlete in terms of what is needed to improve performance. This includes plyometrics, speed and agility, endurance and core stability with strength training being just one piece of the jigsaw. You will learn to design and deliver strength and conditioning programming in conjunction with sports medicine support. You will also learn the fundamental practical techniques that will aid you in the attainment of the United Kingdom Strength and Conditioning Association Qualification (UKSCA).

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Conduct an individual scientific investigation on a topic relating to your degree. Develop the skills required to identify a suitable question and then design an experimental approach to obtain data addressing this question. This module evaluates your analysis and presentation of these data in a suitable scientific paper format report, the research, understanding and critical writing about the scientific literature relating to your project. Your oral project presentation skills and response to questions, the planning and management of your project work, your progress reflection and your employability skills will also be part of the assessment.

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