Personal Statement
Having broken my arm when I was National Champion at fourteen I realised the long road to recovery was not just based on my physical state but also the state of my mind. During my recovery to compete at the Commonwealth Trials in Glasgow and swim in the Junior Finals I began to realise the importance of psychology within sport. I became fascinated with how the mind of an athlete and how psychology in sport can be a major factor. In addition to studying ALevel P.E and BTEC ICT I was selected as an elite swimming athlete and have voluntarily committed to studying an Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence for two years. This qualification allows me to look at athletes and how they work on a psychological and physiological level. It has also allowed me to develop and use skills like teamwork, which has made class work and team training a far more valuable and productive experience. I now have a range of theories to support race preparation, nutrition and organisational life skills. I want to study further how the body works whilst doing sport and how eating and drinking certain foods can enhance an athlete's performance. Another experience which has fuelled my passion is the work I carried out with the Graphics Team at Speedo International. For a week I helped design swimming products and learnt how the team use technology to enhance athletes’ performance in sport by creating specialised racing suits.
This experience has helped me be a more effective member of county, regional and national swimming teams and as a result I was rewarded by being asked to be England Central's Swimming team captain at the Sainsburys 2012 School Games at the Olympic Park in London, where I won a gold and bronze medal. I was selected to represent NOVA Centurions Swimming Club at the opening of Speedo's International offices. Their choice was based on my diverse range of personal, social and communication skills as well as my swimming ability. I was asked to meet and greet Princess Anne when she came to open the building.
ICT has been a very relevant and practical subject as it has taught me how technology is used within the working world and how this technology can then be transferred to various situations such as sport. I have recently organised my own work experience at the ICT department at Boots Pharmaceuticals. I was involved in the project of programming IPads with the Boots software and creating tracking programs for these tablets. Working as part of a large team in a professional environment has further improved my communication, teamwork and leadership skills. As a leader I have enjoyed setting a good example to other members of my swimming team by motivating the younger swimmers and boosting team spirit and teamwork. As a result this encouraged high participation and a greater level of performance of the individual members of the team. I have gained valuable leadership skills by voluntarily completing a Level 2 Sports Leadership course. This involved planning and leading sessions in football and hockey for groups of 12 year olds thus allowing me the opportunity to develop my communication, organisation and teamwork skills. Since I've passed my driving test I have become completely self-reliant, I now drive myself to training before arriving at college to further my studies. As a result of this I am self-motivated, organised and manage my time effectively. My career aspirations and life ambitions all lie within the sport and leisure industry. I will strive towards a career as a professional swimmer, after which I intend to use my studies and work experiences in fields such as sports management, where I hope to mentor up and coming younger athletes and use ICT to develop technology to benefit sport. I believe that the courses that I have attended will help me realise my aspirations and that the skills that I have demonstrated will make me a positive addition to your University.
