Strength Conditioning and Sports Coaching

Do you have an interest or background in working with elite athletes? This Foundation Degree will give you the opportunity to develop practical skills and knowledge in the most effective methods of training athletes for elite-level performance. Whilst you will study underpinning science-related sports topics such as physiology, biomechanics and human movement, you will also develop practical skills in coaching effectiveness, Olympic weightlifting, speed, agility and plyometrics, and other athletic testing and monitoring skills. As part of the course, you will have the opportunity to achieve a range of vocational fitness instructor qualifications.

Throughout your studies you will have the opportunity to assist in strength and conditioning training sessions with a wide range of professional and elite athletes such as Plymouth Albion RFC, Exeter City FC Development Centre, the University of Plymouth Sports Scholars and City College Plymouth’s Academy teams for Plymouth Argyle Football Club.

For more information about this course please read the Programme Quality Handbook which contains programme specifications and module information.

This Foundation Degree programme is pleased to have established links with a range of professional sport clubs – including Plymouth Argyle FC and the University of Plymouth Sports Societies/Scholars. Students will be given the opportunity to work within these professional clubs on both a weekly basis and as part of pre-season training camps. This will give students a fantastic opportunity to put theory into practise and become adept at working with the best – in fact, the vast majority of students experience working alongside elite athletes.The course includes the following subjects:

• programme design for elite performance
• strength and conditioning fundamentals
• introductory sports therapy
• anatomy of human movement
• theory and practice of coaching
• testing and monitoring of athletes
• strength and conditioning clinic
• sports nutrition
• advanced exercise sciences
• biomechanics of sport
• research design
• rehabilitation and recovery
• opportunities to work abroad with European partners
• opportunities to train professional and university-level athletes.

You will also have the opportunity to work abroad with European partners and to train professional athletes.

We welcome applications from those who have all of the following:

• 48 UCAS tariff points
• four GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above, to include English and maths

or alternatively:

• equivalent qualifications
• relevant work experience

Should entry requirements not be met then individual cases will be considered.

Assessment will be through a mixture of coursework including practicals, examinations and end of module tests.

On successful completion you may be able to progress to:

• the one year BSc (Hons) Sports Rehabilitation with Strength and Conditioning top-up degree at the College
• the second or final year of health and fitness degrees at a range of universities
• a wide range of careers in health, fitness and sports therapy industries.