Following the completion of the MSc in Applied Sport Performance Analysis, I am currently working as a First Team Assistant Performance Analyst at Leicester Tigers Rugby Club.
The experience and skills I gained throughout my time at Loughborough, alongside the performance analysis internship that I undertook with Leicester Tigers, definitely helped me to prepare for my current role.
The programme enabled me to learn how to prioritise tasks and manage my time, in order to perform well both as an intern and as a student, and I now have good habits of daily-planning and priority management which I think are crucial skills for analysts working in elite sports.
I learned a significant amount throughout my internship, from technical and tactical knowledge of the sport and various tools that are used on day-to-day basis, to the understanding of the expectations and demands of elite sports environments.
I chose to study this MSc at Loughborough mainly because of the integrated placement opportunity. I had also heard of good things from previous year’s cohort including network opportunities and guest sessions, which got me interested in the degree.
I would highly recommend this degree to anyone hoping to start their careers in sport performance analysis/sport analytics. The module contents and the various tools you’ll be exposed to on the course are up-to-date with the current sport performance analysis landscape to help you be “job ready”.
The programme is also taught by lecturers and guest speakers who are highly experienced in various sport analysis-related disciplines, who can give you various tips to land a job and excel in such positions.
During my studies, we all had access to Macs with various sports analysis related software installed, which was not only helpful in completing the course but also allowed to us to be exposed to tools and applications different to those we used on our placement environments.
Lectures on the programme are designed to encourage discussions among, and there is a lot you can learn from other students who are just as eager to upskill themselves and start their careers in sports analysis.
I found the sports data analytics module particularly useful and interesting. The module had a good mixture of lectures, workshops, and guest talks, which not only helped us to learn theories and knowledge of data science, but also gave us the opportunity to try things ourselves and understand their use to benefit decision making processes in real-life elite sports settings.
I would say the highlights at Loughborough has been the friends I have made over my five years at the University, many of whom I still speak to and meet-up on regular basis and would hope to make more memories in years to come.
I really enjoyed the opportunities to have group discussions within sessions. I think the in-person aspect is one of the things that sets this course apart from similar courses offered at a lot of other universities.