My earliest memories are all connected with sports; from watching world championship snooker on TV to travelling around the country with my father to watch cricket; being allowed to stay up late to watch Match of the Day on Saturday nights, or the excitement that surrounded an Olympic Games or a World Cup. As I grew older, I started to play many of the sports I’d loved to watch, and went on to represent my school and county in cricket and hockey, while briefly harbouring dreams of turning professional on the snooker table.
However, I was well aware that a career playing professional sport is reserved only for the few with the required talent and dedication, while I had always been encouraged to pursue the security of academic success. Accordingly, my sports became a hobby as my grades improved, and I eventually completed my secondary education with outstanding A-levels in maths, economics and chemistry. My passion for sport nevertheless remains, and I now believe that I am perfectly equipped for further study in the field of sports science.
I had become aware of the role of sport at the University of Loughborough because of the university’s involvement with the Great Britain Olympic team. I have read books and watched documentaries detailing the work that has resulted in record gold medal hauls at successive Olympic games in Beijing and then London and it is my dream that one day I too may be able to contribute to the success of British sportsmen. I am therefore convinced that Loughborough, as the UK’s centre of sporting academia, not to mention perhaps the leading institution of its kind in the world, is the perfect place for me to further my education.
I am aware that Loughborough sets very high entry standards which contribute to the role it is able to play in global sport. For this reason I have already taken steps to prepare myself for the course I wish to follow. I have completed two coaching courses through the Football Association and now work two evenings per week with my local under-12 side as a coaching assistant. I have also been organizing winter net sessions for the cricket club and am a qualified grade 2 umpire. I have also volunteered with the local hospital during school holidays after being introduced to the Director when completed my First Aid training which is necessary for all prospective sports coaches.
I am now confident that I am ready and able to make a contribution to academic life at Loughbourough, and hope that I will be granted the opportunity to pursue a career seeking sporting excellence for those with whom I might have the opportunity to work and support. In the long term, it is my aim to continue with the pursuit of a master’s degree focusing on one specific sporting area, because ultimately I believe that detailed specialization is the best way to help British athletes to gain that vital edge that will bring about competitive success. For these reasons, Loughborough is clearly the best choice for my academic future.