2015 BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy graduates Matt Roach, Saffron Mann and Chris Loughran have all gained employment in elite football. In what is an incredibly competitive industry to gain work, these three graduates have shown the value that being a Staffordshire Graduate can bring by beating other, sometimes more experienced, candidates to these roles.

Matt has begun with Championship side MK Dons, taking up a role as the Academy Sports Therapist. This role will see Matt working with all the Academy teams up to th
e under 15 age group team. Matt’s duties require him to provide pre-match and pitchside care, attend training sessions and oversee the rehabilitation of these players. Recent graduates through the MK Dons Academy have included players such as Dele Ali who was recently sold to Tottenham Hotspur and gone on to earn full England International honours. On landing his role Matt said “I think the placements that i had while at Staffs with a professional football team helped me get this job. The exposure to these big names environments during the course well as being a good experience only help your CV on graduating”.

Chris has recently been employed by the Irish Football Association to provide Sports Therapy provision for the Northern Ireland under 19’s side. Earlier this month Chris traveled with the squad on a trip to Iceland, providing the medical support during two friendly fixtures against their hosts, one resulting in a 2-0 defeat and the other a 1-0 victory. Chris who was awarded the Contribution Award Prize in his final year of study said of this experience “Thankfully there
were no major incidents to deal with on this trip, and all the players have remained fit for selection. As an Irishman this has absolutely surreal experience being given the opportunity to come on board and work with an international team. I’ve worked with a few football teams before but never had the opportunity to travel to various countries around the world so being given this opportunity has been truly amazing topped off by being able to see the Northern Lights and Blue Lagoon during the down time on to the trip.”

Chris will be travelling away again with the side ahead of the Under 19 European Championships in Russia. The team take on Norway in the opening group stage match before playing Russia and Slovakia.

Finally Saffron Mann has also been appointed Academy Sports Therapist with Shrewsbury Town Football Club, having impressed during her time on placement with the club. Saffron now works with 7 teams in total, ranging from U9 – U16 (boys) and the Shrewsbury Town Ladies teams. Like Matt, Saffron provides the pitchside emergency trauma during fixtures and runs a clinic during their training sessions covering everything from injury assessment to progressing rehab programmes.

These graduates, alongside previous reported student employments in football further illustrate the growth in strength and reputation of the BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy programme, which is one of only two Sports Therapy programmes to gain 100% overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey earlier this year.

To find out more about our Sports Therapy programme, book onto an Open day via www.staffs.ac.uk , or find out about the experiences of our students follow us on @SUSTclinic or Facebook: Staffordshire University Sports Therapy (SUST) .