Our Year 10 and 11 Elite Sports cohort were given the opportunity to visit the University of Northampton Waterside Campus as part of the Careers Focus programme during Term 5 of the academic year.
After arrival at the Sports Science Labs, they were given an inspiring talk from the university's Head of Science, Scott Bradley, regarding study and sports options at the University, whilst he explained how the brain has a “blind spot” of 20%.
The next part of the morning was based in the Strength & Conditioning Department with Applied Sports Scientist Luke Callis. There was a demonstration of the performance testing facilities before all students actively participated in using the equipment and understanding its use for Elite athletes, namely: Force plates were used for jump tests; Power testing took place on the Watt bikes; and hamstring strength was tested using the NordBord.
Finally, two student ambassadors provided an hour-long campus tour to provide all our students with a real insight into the life of a Higher Education student at one of the UK’s top 25 Universities for Sport, which is just on our doorstep.