I am currently a 2nd year student studying Sport Development, a course that I didn’t always think I would end up doing. When I was younger, I was disinterested in most sport, apart from football. It wasn’t until I was inspired and motivated by my PE Teacher, encouraging me to get involved with more sports that I became interested. I went on to try out many different sports, but in the end, football was the only one that stuck.

Despite applying to university, I was still uncertain as to what my direction was after completing A – Levels. I decided to take a year out to gain new experiences and really understand what I wanted to achieve. It was in this gap year when I joined Harrogate Town Ladies football. I was lucky to form friendships with people who were already working in the sporting industry. One girl offered me work experience shadowing her as a sport development officer. This experience reminded me of the support my teacher offered me at school, and it was during this work experience that my love for sport and developing opportunities for others really grew. From then on, I knew that I wanted to be able to provide other people with the same opportunities that I was lucky enough to receive, and I wanted to provide people with the love that I had formed with sport. This led me to apply for Sport Development degrees - I had my eye in particular on the course here at Leeds Beckett University!

I looked at a number of different universities; Sheffield Hallam, York St John, University of Leeds, Leeds Trinity – none of them stood out to me like Leeds Beckett though. Being based at Headingley Campus, walking around the University each day is special. Campus is very quiet and picturesque and the view from James Graham on an afternoon makes you forget you’re even at University sometimes. On other days I will be based at Headingley Carnegie Stadium, which is even more exciting. Sat in a lecture theatre overlooking the cricket ground, sometimes seeing the staff working on the pitch for the upcoming game just makes you realise how cool some of the facilities really are here!

Due to our extremely helpful and supportive tutors, sport development is a really enjoyable course to be a part of. After only being on the course for a week, we were already packing our bags and heading off to the Lake District for our residential. Here, we really got to know our course mates. It allowed us to form good relationships with them all and develop our teamwork skills to get us ready for the 3 years of Sport Development ahead of us. The modules we do are interesting, but of course you get the few that you don’t enjoy. The ones I find of particular interest are; Social Issues and Sport Development, Sport Event Management and Soccer and Society. This year we have all been on 5 week placements and are currently planning our own sport event, for our sport event management module.

Overall, I believe that this course has already helped me to start shaping my future career. Being on this course has given me access to a number of different opportunities already, whether that be through direct signposting from the university or from the confidence I have built since joining the course. For example, I'm currently working as an Event Consultant for the Premier League! A full time career with them would be extremely exciting for me. However, as a keen footballer myself, working in a football Club as a Development Officer or an Academy Secretary would also be a dream come true. I’m certain the content of this course and the support provided by the staff will help me continue to pave the way to my dream job and I’m looking forward to seeing where it will take me!

I would 100% recommend this course to any sport fanatic that is interested in creating opportunities for others and giving people the same incredible opportunities that we are all experiencing. Studying at Leeds Beckett University was the right choice for me and it most certainly could be the right choice for you!

Emily T

Hi, I’m Em and i’m a second year student at Leeds Beckett currently studying Sport Development. I was born in Leeds and then grew up in Harrogate. My hobbies match my course; I love football, going to the gym, going on walks and seeing my family & friends.

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