Students visit Gold medallist's boxing club

The Larches and Savick Boxing Club were thrust into the limelight this summer, with their boxer Scott Fitzgerald winning gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

As part of UCLan's commitment to provide students with a world-class learning experience, the Division are forging new mutually-beneficial links with the club.

Course Leader Clint Godfrey recently took a group of students to Larches and Savick to see how it had developed over the last 12 years. The club, which was initially housed in a scout hut, is now based in a purpose built facility and is run by a team of highly skilled senior coaches.

Scott's Dad, Dave, along with two other coaches, talked to the students about the club and also taught them some basic boxing skills. Dave is highly respected in boxing circles and is the current Great Britain Performance Coach for the U15/16s.

For more information about the Larches and Savick Club please click here.

Student aims high with Warriors

Our undergraduates are encouraged to gain as much work experience as possible during the course of their studies.

Chris Wharton embraced this idea while studying his degree, taking opportunities to perform volunteer work with Olympic athletes and an international rugby team. He has now progressed into a full-time role with one of the UK's top sports clubs whilst also undertaking his Master's.

Chis commented: "I worked as Head Performance Analyst for Ireland when they were based in Preston for the Rugby League World Cup 2013. I also coached and analysed athletes from a number of Oceanic countries during London 2012.

"My work came to the attention of Wigan Warriors' First Team Analyst, who was looking to expand his team. I impressed them with my driven attitude at my interview and they offered me an internship role."

Chris continued to make an impression and he was recently offered a full-time contract by the Super League giants.

"The opportunity has really helped me with my courses, because much of the content is based towards applying learning activities to a real-life situation and with this I can apply them to a high professional level," said Chris. "It's also given me the chance to test all my new skills and base my assignments on improving these skills."

Warriors' recent run to the Super League Grand Final saw Chris thrown in at the deep end, providing analysis support to help the coaches prepare for their upcoming opponents. Chris was tasked with monitoring key opposition players, with a view to identifying their strengths and weaknesses.

He added: "In the normal season we would prepare two weeks in advance, but during the play-offs not knowing who we were going to play provided me with many problems. There were many late nights and extra hours done to get information ready for the coaches.

"I also sat with the head coaches on match day and provided stats and data relevant to the match to help them out with team talks, as it gives them a statistical insight into how we're playing.

"I'm really enjoying the job in practice, so becoming head of Wigan Warriors analysis is one of my goals. As rugby league is the national sport of Australia my ultimate aim would be to become a success over there and allow my career to have the highest potential possible.

"Without the help from the lecturers and the opportunities originally offered to me on the course this opportunity would never have come about. Having the willingness to put in an extra evening of work has paid off in the long run."

Sarah selected for top leadership event

UCLan Sports Coaching undergraduate Sarah Nickless has been chosen to attend the prestigious BUCS Deloitte Leadership Academy.

The exclusive two day event, for 100 students across the UK, is designed to offer aspiring leaders involved in university sport a practical insight into skills that will positively shape their development and greatly improve employability prospects.

Several leadership experts from sport, business and the military will be in attendance to help participants develop a range of transferable leadership skills, understand performance and the importance of networking, negotiating and influencing.

Sarah was chosen to attend the event as a result of wide range of volunteering activities, including work as a Football Activator at UCLan.

She said: "The BUCS Deloitte Leadership Academy 2014 offers me the opportunity to learn and question my current skills and leadership qualities with a view to developing them.

"The Academy is not just about developing people for their university leadership roles, but for all walks of life. I'm excited to be working with other like-minded people during what promises to be a fantastic two days."

The event takes place in Herefordshire from 20-21 November.

International Opportunities Day

If you're interested in enhancing your CV through volunteering, please check out our International Opportunities Day.

The event begins on Friday, 14 November, 1-2.00pm in Harrington Lecture Theatre.

This is followed by a series of follow up meetings from 2.15-3.00pm where you can find out about a range of international opportunities:

• Volunteer in Sport for Development with the International Citizens Service - Vernon 80
• Coach in the USA & Canada with Challenger Sports - Harrington 138
• Sport for Development Zambia Project 2016 - Harrington 338A

Stuart joins Tigers' coaching staff

UCLan Coaching Lecturer Stuart Wilkinson has joined the backroom staff at Super League club Castleford Tigers.

Stuart has been appointed as Tigers' Academy Assistant Coach and will link up with the club ahead of the 2015 season. He will also continue in his role at the University.

Stuart brings a wealth of experience to the Tigers, having previously worked with the likes of Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors.

He commented: "I'm really excited about joining such a talented, honest and hard-working Castleford coaching team.

"I had no hesitation accepting Pete Riding's offer (Castleford's Head of Youth Performance) as I've worked with a number of his staff over the years.

"Teaming up with Daryl Powell and Ryan Sheridan, who I worked with at Leeds Rhinos, and Danny Orr from my time at Wigan Warriors, will add to my experience. Pete has a massive amount of experience which he's consistently proved over the years.

"The area has a tradition of producing some of the best players in the game and being part of their system provides an exciting challenge to me.

"This wouldn't be possible without the support and cooperation from Leona Trimble and the rest of the staff at UCLan's School of Sport, Tourism and The Outdoors. I cannot thank them enough as this provides my Professional Doctorate in Elite Performance a rich source of information in a high performance environment."

Pete Riding added: "Stuart has developed his trade under some very good coaches at some very successful clubs and we're looking forward to what he will bring to the Tigers.

"He's very well thought of within the game and has got a lot of experience as a coach, so the input he'll have into the culture here will be invaluable.

"I've known him for a while now and he has never lost his enthusiasm for rugby league. He's a great person to have around the squad and he'll have a big part to play in what we are trying to achieve."