Solent welcomes new recruits

On a bright, crisp September morning, 172 Health, Exercise and Sport Science (HESS) students arrived at Southampton Solent University’s East Park Terrace campus to begin a journey that will take them three years to complete. The students were welcomed onto courses in Applied Sport Science, Sport Coaching, Fitness and Personal Training, Fitness Management and PersonalTraining, and Health, Exercise and Physical Activity. Before that journey could begin lay five full days of activities, designed to help develop friendships and socialise them into their new life as a HESS student at Southampton Solent University. 

BSc Applied Sport Science students undertaking fitness tests at 9am

These activities would test their communication, team work, problem solving and interpersonal skills and enable them to develop friendships and familiarise themselves with key areas of the university. The activities ranged from fitness testing to team building exercises, and from navigation tasks to leadership training with the British Army. One Applied Sports Science student commented that “…the week was long and hard…at times there was a lot to take in but I loved it”, whilst one Sports Coaching student said “The leadership training was excellent and really encouraged us to get involved.”

BSc Sport Coaching students developing leadership skills with the British Army

Meanwhile the Fitness and Personal Training, Fitness Management, and Health, Exercise and Physical Activity students were performing other tasks, one of which included devising a project to enhance the health and wellbeing of Southampton as a community in conjunction with National Fitness Day on Friday 27^th September. For this task they devised a business plan and presented to a group of University staff in a similar process to that of TV’s ‘Dragon’s Den’. Level 4 Leader, James Fisher commented; “the ideas were both creative and viable ranging from plans to change government policy on fast-food packaging, reducing alcohol intake and organising a points-reward system for gym/fitness class attendance and healthy food purchases within the University”.

We hope all our new students have an enjoyable and rewarding time over the next three years at Solent.

Solent Sport Science Labs awarded BASES accreditation

The physiology laboratory at Southampton Solent University was officially awarded British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Accreditation today. 

Saints players utilising the newly accredited physiology lab

The recognition is an industry-required quality assurance process that provides clients and users a means of confirming the appropriateness of the laboratory to conduct physiological testing. 

The laboratory director Dr Stewart Bruce-Low said 'this is part of the next phase of our development strategy. This aligns our quality and standards with the other few accredited laboratories in the country, such as the English Institute of Sport in the north West, Manchester United F.C. and Loughborough University. Students and staff from the Applied Sport Science and Sport Coaching degrees already work extensively with a selection of elite athletes and clubs so this ensures these clients are using a quality assured service."

Congratulations to Stewart and his team of technicians for this fantastic accolade.

Solent students help AFC Bournemouth think positive

Four students from Solent’s BSc Sport Coaching and BSc Applied Sport Science courses recently delivered a workshop on ‘Positive Thinking’ at AFC Bournemouth (AFCB). Will Ansell (Year 2 Applied Sport Science), Gavin Forbes (Year 3 Sport Coaching), Daryanne Ryan (Year 3 Sport Coaching) and Ellie Wells (Year 1 Sport Coaching) planned and delivered the session for the year 1 and 2 academy players.

Solent students at Dean Court

This session was the third that Solent staff and students have run for the academy to improve players’ performance on the field. Peter Barry, Head of Education at AFCB, thanked the team of students for the “excellent series of psychology workshops” they delivered. “From the initial lecture to the final session all the players were involved and have gained significantly from the interactive programme”, commented Peter.

Matt Johnson, BSc Sport Coaching Course Leader, regularly works with the first team players at AFCB and after delivering their session the Solent students had the opportunity to observe Matt’s work, as well as tour the clubs facilities, watch some of the coaching sessions, meet the coaching staff and even sit in on one of the pre-match presentations.

 

Academy players receive guidance from Solent students



 “It was a valuable experience which gave me an insight into a scholarship programme at a professional football club”, said student Gavin, who is going to be working in a professional football academy at the end of this year. “The opportunity was enriching and of significant importance to me as I pursue a career in coaching at an academy level.” As a direct result of being involved in activities like this, Will has been offered a year-long placement with AFCB academy next year. Peter Barry commented, “Such was the impact of the sessions, AFCB are delighted to be able to offer Will an internship with the club to build on the programme and continue to help all the players (and staff) develop in what is a very fast moving environment.”

Solent students support boxing champion

Jon undertaking testing at Solent's sport science labs

Southern Area Boxing Champion Jon Fernandes teamed up with five third year students in Solent’s state-of-the-art performance labs on Tuesday. The students ran a suite of sport science tests on Jon to help him prepare for the toughest professional fight of his career to date, the National Champion title on 30^th March.



Students provide feedback to Jon



For the BSc Sport Coaching and BSc (Hons) Applied Sport Science students, working with Jon is just part of their degree. They are undertaking a sports science unit as part of their third year and under the supervision of Associate Lecturer Louis Langdown, the students have the opportunity to work with an elite athlete. This year students have been provided with a client from basketball, swimming, tennis or boxing. 

"This is a great opportunity for students to work with real life athletes at the peak of their sport”, comments BSc Sport Coaching course leader Matt Johnson. “It’s also an amazing opportunity for the athletes to access high performance sport science testing, support and coaching." 

Circuit Training workshops energise students

Students from the BSc Fitness and Personal Training, BA Fitness Management & Personal Training, BSc Health, Exercise & Physical Activity and BSc Applied Sport Science courses had the opportunity recently to add to their vocational skills by attending a series of 4-hour Circuit Training workshops.

These workshops form part of the first year Gym Training unit and provide students with a certificate of attendance and 4 REPs CPD points. Unit Leader Martin Skivington comments, "these workshops help to increase the confidence and competence of students delivering group exercise classes and provide an introduction to the skills required to plan, deliver and evaluate circuit training classes. Further opportunities are available throughout their studies for students to gain a full qualification in this area, which significantly enhances their  employability skills."

Solent students help players win a professional football contract

Applied Sport Science and Sport Coaching students spent Wednesday afternoon putting the three finalists from the 'Win a Pro Contract' competition, sponsored by Samsung, through their paces prior to their two weeks training with Swindon Town and Leyton Orient FC. The ultimate prize on offer; a professional football contract with one of these two respective clubs!

In order to give the finalists a taste of the demands of elite sport, they were put through a battery of tests including body composition, functional movement screening, visual perception, field of view, as well as the VO2 max/ lactate threshold test (shown below).  This is the final stage of testing that has seen BSc Applied Sport Science and BSc Sport Coaching students from Solent support the players throughout the competition, undertaking performance analyses during their matches using SportsCode and Catapult GPS systems.

Overseeing the testing were Associate Professor Dr Stewart Bruce-Low (Course Leader BSc Applied Sport Science) and Senior Lecturer Matt Johnson (Course Leader BSc Sport Coaching). When given the opportunity to comment on the value of such opportunities for students, Dr Bruce-Low stated “this is a typical example of one of the many opportunities that the BSc Applied Sport Science and BSc Sport Coaching degrees provide, allowing the students to obtain hands on experience with a range of sport science testing but in a real life situation. This is essential for CV building and can make the difference between getting a job or not. The students were as ever a credit to themselves and the courses they represent ensuring they successfully applied not only the theory learnt in the classroom but also the professional skills learnt throughout their degree. We look forward to working with Samsung in the future as their exciting competition 'Win a Pro Contract' goes from strength to strength”.