Millie Standen, a Level 4 Sports Coaching and Science student spoke to us about her course and how it is helping her to become a sports teacher in a secondary school. She believes students should experience a wide variety of different sports as these aren’t always accessible to them out side of the school day. She wants every student to have the same opportunities in education, no matter their background or financial situation.
Millie completed her Level 3 Coaching Qualification before deciding to take her studies further. She studied on the Derby Football County Football Programme at Chesterfield last year and now helps train the team to gain work experience in coaching and teaching a range of age groups and abilities.
“I want to be a PE teacher at a secondary school so I need to do a sports course. I didn’t know whether I wanted to go to university or not but Tom McGrail (HE Sports Tutor) spoke to me about this course and it fit in with my plans. I play football outside of college so it allowed me to carry on doing this outside of my studies.
I have always done sport through primary and secondary school. It was quite a big part of my life. I’ve played quite a few different sports, I did swimming and tennis all the way through secondary school and then football became my passion. I did PE at secondary school but I wanted to do another sports course and that’s why I decided to come to college. I started to think about my future plans, I enjoyed coaching but I wanted different career options, so secondary school teaching could be something I can pursue.”
The course Millie is doing is 2 years but you can top it up to a 3rd year and do the PGCE after.
“We got taught by someone on our Level 3 course who was doing his PGCE. That’s what intrigued me with the Level 4 Course and how it would give me the opportunity to do my teaching qualification afterwards. I can do this at college for a year or it might be interested to go into the secondary school and do it there.”
The course helps keep Millie on her toes as there is a mix of practical and classroom work.
“I like that it’s a mix of practical and study. There’s plenty of opportunities to harness your coaching abilities as you’re not just sat in the classroom. You can also build your confidence.
There’s lots of opportunities to coach different abilities and groups. We have coached a Level 1 Group as part of a unit and next we are coaching swimming. You don’t just coach your peers, you get to coach kids and adolescents. It’s nice to keep your options open and challenge yourself to coach different groups by adapting to their individual needs. The blend allows me to change my coaching style and challenge myself.
This year I have been coaching at Derby County Football Club once a week. I go down to Derby and volunteer the sessions. Its also nice to watch and not coach. I used to partake in the sessions last year, and now I am on the side so it’s a nice analysis tool to watch more experienced coaches and observe what they are doing.
When I was in secondary school there started to be more opportunities where you could play for a girls team such as football. That might be something I want to lead on if I go to a secondary school. I think its also important to get Level 1 Qualifications in different sports so that you have a wide variety of skills on your back. I want to look into different sports to make sure its fun and engaging and not the same every week. Its nice to let students experience different sports as they might not get those opportunities outside of the classroom, it might not be available to them.”
“The tutors have been supportive. I think in comparison to university, the lectures are a lot smaller, you have that opportunity for 1:1 support in lessons and with any opportunities you want to peruse outside of the class.”
“Earlier this year there was a referee course available, obviously I enjoy football so I thought that was something to do and expand my knowledge. It might come in handy later on. I definitely think there’s more of a relationship with your tutor than there would be at university. If you don’t feel comfortable to ask in lessons, the tutors take the time to have a 1:1 which is really helpful.
Its just easier, more accessible than university and in regards to the academic work its easier to fit into my schedule the way its set up.”