Junior Athlete Education Day proves a winner

Edge Hill's department of Sport and Physical Activity recently hosted an event that should give young sporting talent the best chance of future success, while also providing its own students with invaluable practical experience to aid their future careers.

Senior Lecturer, Sarah Pinder, explains "Edge Hill University has been hosting the Junior Athlete Education (JAE) day for six years now. Originally devised by the Youth Sports Trust, the event brings together a large selection of pupils from local high schools and aims to educate them about the importance of getting a balanced lifestyle, informing them about how to reach their full potential, both academically and within their particular sport."  

Statistically, achieving sporting success is difficult and so through events such as these pupils can be taught the value of having an education and the importance of lifestyle factors, such as making time for friends, training correctly and recovering from injury. Parents are also encouraged to become involved and several workshops are held each year to ensure they have as much help and support as possible.

Sarah adds, "During the day here on campus, our Physical Education and School Sport students deliver a number of theory sessions about getting the balance right and the importance of goal setting. Practical workshops are also held which make use of our hi-spec labs and look at aspects including agility and reaction time and cover the sports that pupils are less competent at."  

"Through teaching pupils, as opposed to their peers, our students develop their communication skills, improve their planning and time management, learn how to work together and reflect on their own practice. Events like these show students how to translate professionally what they are being taught within their degree. They get to experience how theory relates to practice in a realistic environment," she explains.  

JAE Day is just one example of Edge Hill's continued sporting links with local schools. Another recent initiative included a primary school health week, where students took the lead in delivering theory and practical sessions all day, every day, for a full week.  

Sarah believes that it is through participating in projects like these that  Edge Hill's students can demonstrate how much they have developed during their studies "Our students are all extremely professional when conducting sessions like this, not least in how they support each other and work together to ensure that events are successful. They are a credit to the University and each year we see them grow and develop into extremely good physical education practitioners."  

For more information about the BA (Hons) in Physical Education and School Sport, visit http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/study/courses/physical-education-and-school-sport