Chloe Martin

I decided to study at the University of Northampton because of its excellent student support and I felt I’d be able to gain lots of hands-on-experience throughout the course. When I visited for the University open day, I was impressed by the facilities and the wide range of technology, as well as how modern the campus is and the strong community vibe. Also, growing up in Northampton, commuting to the University is easy and it’s a good central location for travel to other cities.

I’m now in my third year and have become interested in staying on and doing a master’s degree in research involving sport. I like how the course I’m on gives me a wide variety of career options such as strength and conditioning, sports psychology, and physiology, which I could look at going into after I graduate.

My career goal is to work within the world of sport, with sports players within an elite environment. The knowledge I’ve gained on my degree that I feel will be most useful in my future career is hands-on experience, as well as teamwork and communication skills when working with different people – whether that’s in a laboratory setting or working with sports players. I’ve also learnt to be adaptable, knowing how to adapt within different settings to help achieve my goals.

As part of my studies, I undertook a placement which was a role helping with strength and conditioning performance testing within the University’s laboratories, alongside an applied sport scientist from the academic team.

I’ve also helped out with Northampton Town Football Club’s Emerging Talent Centre, helping young female footballers in the gym with their strength and conditioning sessions, and on pitch-side, as well as with the club’s men’s first team and the academy players (9-18 year olds). In addition, I worked with the Gulf University from Bahrain that came to the University to conduct performance testing over a few days.

My placements provided me with valuable skills and the opportunity to experience coaching in an elite level environment, as well as to work with teams that speak different languages, allowing me to develop key employability skills such as communication, leadership, adaptability, and teamwork. This will help me to gain employment when I graduate as it will enable me to work with equipment I’ve used previously, as elite level athletes will use the same or similar equipment, such as the NordBoard, so it will be useful to have this experience.

My main tip on applying for a placement is to network with areas you’re interested in, such as sporting industries on platforms like Linkedin. Network with people that have gone through similar experiences in the past and reach out to them directly.

I was awarded a place on the University’s Northampton Energy Elite Athlete Scholarship Programme. Having access to an elite environment with varied equipment and conducting testing to assess where I am at in terms of strength, etc, will help me with my sporting aspiration to play football at the highest level possible, to reach my full potential. As a result of the scholarship, I’ve learnt how to use equipment and become familiar within the elite athlete environment, as well as gaining an understanding of strength and conditioning, and how to communicate to athletes.

Aside from my studies, I’m a member of the University Women’s Football Team and I also played for Milton Keynes Dons FC. This helps with my mental wellbeing as well as developing my skills in communicating and working within a team environment.

The advice I’d give to undergraduates interested in this career path would be to make sure you reach out to as many people as possible to create networks. Also talk to as many people on your course as you can to create positive relationships.

My UON experience is fun, enjoyable, and is helping me to gain beneficial experience.