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University’s ‘Team Cumbria’ steps up to support local basketball team
A Burnley basketball team has been getting scientific with the help of a group of students from the university.
Team Cumbria, a student sport science workforce, worked with Burnley Basketball Club’s youth team to measure and assess their flexibility, balance, speed and power.
The four second-year sport science and coaching students, Dale Azzopardi, Daniel Martin, Lucy Merritt and Ben Williams, based at the Lancaster campus, provided the industry-standard support to help improve the sporting performance of individuals or teams.
Giulio Minozzi, a coach at Burnley Basketball Club said of the workshop: “It was invaluable in identifying our strengths such as speed and endurance and also our weaknesses such as flexibility. The team members were each given an individual programme which we will incorporate into our ongoing training. Overall, the experience was very professional and we are grateful for the opportunity to measure the squad in this way.”
The five male basketball players, aged between 14 and 16, also took part in an injury prevention and team-building workshop run by Team Cumbria.
Colum Cronin, programme leader for coaching at the university, said: “Engaging with partners in the community in this way is a great experience for our students. They have gained valuable skills and have applied their theoretical knowledge in a very practical setting. This will help set them apart from other students as they enter the jobs market in the near future.”
Student Robbie shortlisted for county coaching award
A sport coaching student is a contender for the Lancashire Coach of the Year award.
Third-year BA (Hons) Coaching and Sports Development student Robbie George scooped the Lancaster and District Coach of the Year award in October, automatically putting him forward for the Lancashire county title. Robbie, originally from Cockermouth, Cumbria, was praised for his ‘commitment and dedication to sport’ by Lancaster City Council and he will now compete against other coaches from Lancashire to be named Coach of the Year.
Robbie, 28, was nominated by fellow student Peter Armstrong. Peter has been coached by Robbie at Lancaster Rovers and praised the amount of time Robbie commits to coaching with Morecambe Ladies, Lancaster Rovers and Morecambe FC Football in the Community. Robbie, who is also a sports officer for the Students’ Union, has been involved in organising activities such as Vitality Week, aiming to encourage students to think about their health and general wellbeing.
Robbie said of the nomination: “I have always been interested in and involved in coaching but since starting my degree at the university I have really developed due to the many opportunities to apply theory to practice.
“I’m very pleased to have been nominated and to have all of my hard work recognised. Its great that the effort I have put in over the past two years has resulted in me winning one award and being in the running for a second.”
Burnley Basketball club’s youth team (L-R): Zachary Conroy, Aiden Buffey, Alex Hall, Dean Melia, Tom Fairburn.
Robbie’s course tutor, Colum Cronin, is delighted that his student’s dedication to coaching has been rewarded. He said: “Robbie works very hard both in his studies and in his personal commitments to the local clubs he coaches.
“ It is great to see him get some recognition as his passion for sport and coaching is clear for us all to see.”
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