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Build an exciting and fulfilling career in the sports science industry with globally marketable sports science courses from world-class universities.
Sports science courses haven’t been much talked about until the last quarter of the 20th century and once the world got to understand the importance of fitness and the ambit of the area of study, the field of study and the career options related to it have been in great demand. Sports sciences study human manoeuvre and exercise and the health benefits that arise from practising physical activity, aiming at maximising performance and endurance while reducing the risk of injury.
- Individuals having a diploma or bachelor’s degree in sports sciences have expert-level knowledge in human physiology, kinesiology, biomechanics, psychology, nutrition along with business skills.
- Enhance your analytical skills, communication skills, judgement capability, attention to detail, decision-making skills, and ability to instruct others.
- Enable yourself for global placement opportunities in sports, health, recreation, sales, etc industries by attaining the multidisciplinary sports science diploma and bachelor courses from top-ranked schools around the world.
- Tackle our biggest health challenges while working with elite athletes as a sports science specialist by learning from professionals as well as attaining the awareness of body health.
Top Marketable Careers for Sport Science Course Graduates
In recent years, there has been a tremendous investment by industries and governments of various countries into sports science and hence the career opportunities are in abundance. Apart from this, sports science is really a broad subject covering multiple disciplines and hence enables you into different kinds of career pathways based on what you specialise in or where you want to carry forward as a professional. From the sports industry to the world of psychology, there are many career paths as sports science consolidates various sciences as an integrated discipline. Some of the career options in multiple career paths include:
Fitness Trainer And Instructor
A fitness trainer and instructor provides fitness and stalwartness guidance to assist their clients to improve their physical condition and well-being. They create and assign tailored fitness and wellness plans, exercise routines based on the individual or a group of individuals’ physical needs. Monitoring their progress and changing plans comes as a latter part of the role. The job profile also includes demonstrating exercise routines, choreographing, and teaching exercise classes.
There are job profiles that are considered as sub-fields of fitness training like a gym trainer and a personal trainer. Fitness trainers often open up their gyms and lead, instruct, and motivate their clients for exercises, cardio, strength training, and stretching. A personal trainer, as the name suggests, works more on an individual basis and often provides psychological and emotional support as well as physical training to the client. You can get into these profiles with a diploma in Sports science or a bachelorette in Sports and Fitness Studies.
Sports Psychologist
It’s said that sports are 10% physical and 10% mental. A sports psychologist works on improving the mental state of an athlete via visualisation and relaxation techniques, coping up with the pressure of the game, or psychological stress that may come from peer pressure. Cognitive restructuring and working on the confidence of the athlete is also part of the job. Sports psychologists also help a sportsperson recover from an injury mentally.
Sports psychologists are often part of the coaching team to help the individual or the team create mental plans before the game or a race. The goal is to provide the team or the athlete the confidence to focus on the game and not the results. Sports psychologists are often required to have knowledge in physiology and kinesiology, aligned with prowess in psychology. You can choose the game you’re interested in or work with various athletes, coaches, and referees during your tenure as a sports psychologist. An academic path may include a diploma in sports science and for better credibility, a bachelor’s in psychology.
Physical Therapist
Physical therapists are experts in diagnosing physical abnormalities, restoring physical function and mobility with a goal to improve movement and manage pain. The work environment may vary from recreational and rehab facilities to sports and fitness settings. Apart from helping the ill or injured cope up and come back into shape, Physical therapists also work on providing preventive care techniques to their patients.
Physical therapists are experts in diagnosing which therapy their patient needs and use of equipment, tools, and gadgets that can be used to ease the pain while in therapy or rehab, along with using hands-on therapy exercises and stretching manoeuvres. A physical therapist career path needs a degree in physical therapy, but a diploma in sports science is exactly what suits the prerequisites. Depending on where you get your degree from, licences are needed to practise physical therapy in various work environments.
Professional Sports Coach
A sports coach works on helping a professional athlete or a team to achieve the full potential and use it to win games and medals and cups. They may work with sports teams and school groups. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of both the person or team and their opponents, providing critique feedback while motivating the team or the individual, and evaluating performance are some of the basic tasks of the job profile. Coaches often need to provide input in between a game and hence they have high critical thinking and analytical skills.
The role of a coach in a team or for an individual also includes developing new techniques, working on fitness, and avoiding sports injuries, both physical and mental. Many coaches are retired or experienced athletes so your career path may start with becoming an athlete first, which is another pathway a graduate of sports science may choose. You start as an assistant coach and work your way up the chain as a chief coach. The work environment includes playing fields and gyms.
Physical Education Teacher
Physical education teachers(also known as Phys Ed coaches or PE teachers) work in a school environment to provide students with knowledge and guidance regarding sports, physical development, health, and nutrition. Their job is to teach basic skills, techniques, and rules regarding sports while promoting a healthier life. They often are allowed to create their own syllabi while adhering to school guidelines and conducting engaging exercise-based learning.
Apart from evaluating the student's performance, attitude, and level of physical fitness, the profession comes with tasks like planning annual sports events and carnivals, both on school and regional levels, in which they are often required to act as coaches for their students or team. They are also incharge of the maintenance of school gyms and playgrounds. An individual with a diploma or bachelorette in sports science with a passion for teaching should take up this career path. Some schools might require you to have a degree in education.
Sports Nutritionist
Sports nutritionists provide counselling to athletes on nutritional regimes and develop a dietary plan to optimise and enhance their performance as a sportsperson. Based on the sports or the area where the athlete is playing, they are required to develop more centric nutritional goals to repair or build muscles and tendons. They might also work with fitness enthusiasts, sports teams, school athletes, and sports models for nutritional advisory. They have high critical thinking skills and the ability to adapt as they are often required to change or customise plans depending on the individual.
They also perform body composition tests on their clients for better assessment and development of nutrition plans to improve the stamina and endurance of the athlete on the field. A diploma in sports science and a bachelor's degree in sports nutrition is one of the most common academic paths to becoming a sports nutritionist.
Sports Manager
Sports science also expands its roots into the business and management sector. Sports managers oversee comprehensive athlete activities and work on getting funds that’s needed to ensure a team’s or individual’s ongoing success. As a manager, their tasks involve HR responsibilities including signing a new athlete to the team or firing someone along with management responsibilities like providing resources for the comfort of the team or an individual client.
A sports manager also works in accounts and marketing departments which includes planning the budgets and acting as a PR or a spokesperson on behalf of a team. The role has tremendous opportunities and different kinds of roles to fulfil and hence has a high pay. An academic path would be a bachelor's in sports science with a master's degree in sports management.
Miscellaneous
The mentioned career paths are a few among the many disciplines of sports science. With more specific degrees, you can work as a Physician Assistant, Athletic Scout, Sports Marketer, Strength And Conditioning Coach, Fitness Tech Engineer, Chiropractor, Aerobics Instructor, and even become a Professional Athlete. There are multiple roles in the media industry that fit a sports science graduate like sports editor and sports reporter.
If you are aiming to have a career in the sports and fitness industry and are confused with which career path to choose or which course to take up, consult us at Craydel. As well said by Michael Jordan, Some people want it to happen, some people wish it to happen, others make it happen. Our goal at Craydel is to provide the world with sports scientists that can help make a positive and healthier change in the world of the sports and health industry.
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Check out the list of most popular questions around Sport Science programs
What subjects are required to pursue sports science?
Biology, Human Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Psychology or Physical Education are the required subject areas considered for entry into a bachelor’s degree. A postgraduate degree in the same field will also be considered.
How many years do you study a sports science degree?
A bachelors degree on average takes 3 – 5 years depending on the education institutions have passed through. Most programs in the field include a work placement enabling the students to get a feel of how the job is done. For a postgraduate degree, a total of 12 – 24 months will be taken to achieve the qualification.