I’m a Sports Therapy student and this year I’ve had an amazing opportunity to be on placement with Plymouth Raiders Basketball Club. To have the chance to work with a professional team has been really valuable, and not something that will come around often as an undergraduate student.
This year, we have had a team of students: Lucy and Beau who study Strength and Conditioning, Elliot who studies Rehabilitation in Sport and Exercise and myself, working with the team. We have run two Strength and Conditioning sessions a week in the Sports Science Labs and helped out at morning training sessions on the court when we can, leading the warm up and treating any injuries or niggles. We also get the chance to lead the warm up on game days, massage, tape and treat any injuries before the game. We get to be courtside sitting on the team bench to deal with any injuries that occur during the games too.
It has been great working with other students from different courses, but in the same field because we can all learn from each other. I’ve picked up a lot of strength and conditioning tips that will benefit me when treating clients in the future. In the real world, when working with athletes, professionals with different specialisms need to work together as a team to help the athletes reach full potential: Coaches, Sports Therapists, Strength and Conditioning Instructors, Nutritionists etc. This has been a really good insight into how I would work together with other professionals to get the most out of a team
This year, Raiders finished 8th in the British Basketball League (BBL) and made the playoffs. They beat the number one seed to progress to the semi-finals. The first leg of the semi-final was at home and I had a great opportunity to be the Sports Therapist. This was the big game for the team and with a big crowd, I enjoyed every second.
This opportunity has been incredible, and I’d like to thank Plymouth Raiders for the invaluable chance to work with these players. I think placement is an important aspect of the course because it helps you to gain knowledge and experience that you wouldn’t necessarily get in the classroom. Marjon Futures and the lecturers are great at pointing out opportunities so grab them with open arms and get involved wherever you can!
