BLOG: Is a career in sports therapy for me?

MD Tom Heeley was a student once.

 Now, he’s teaching them at Derby University – and has been for the last 18 months.

Tom teaches in the sports rehabilitation module - a second-year module for sports therapy students.

As a former student of sports therapy at the University of Gloucester, a lecturer and business owner, Tom knows all about the routes that young people can take if they want to get into a career in sports therapy or physiotherapy.

And there are plenty of them. As Tom explains, it’s important to have an idea of what you want to get into BEFORE making the decision of which study route to enter into.

“There are two or three options: sports therapy, sports rehabilitation and a physiotherapy degree,” said Tom.

“They all last three years, all give you different qualifications and all have plusses and negatives.

Tom examines a client in his sports therapy clinic

“You could also do a sports science degree and then a Masters afterwards in the areas you really want to specialise in like strength and conditioning for example.

“Ask yourself: Do you want to specialise in sport and sports injuries and management or do you want to have a more rounded approach and wider topics like stokes and paediatrics?”

Tom said that if your goal is to work in professional sport, it’s kind of a given that you need one of them.

Work experience

He used the example of a former colleague, Ben.

“Ben worked here for 12 to 18 months and did work experience with me while in his second year at uni. At the time, he also had a sports massage qualification which he got through university.

“It meant, he could earn money with sports massage and get experience too, which helped his degree. He’s now graduated and is working with rugby teams around and has other roles in clinics too. He’s done great. The earlier you get that experience, the better.

“If I am ever interviewing for a role, if someone has a first-class degree but no practical experience, they may be good textbook learners but I would prefer someone with practical experience and client interaction – like Ben had.

“It doesn’t matter what level of experience you are getting, you are seeing different injuries and how to manage them while interacting with clients and that’s great your cv.”

Sports therapy degree

Tom explained that the sports therapy degree he teaches on, students cover the likes of: anatomy, physiology, sports massage, sports science, assessments, mobilisation, rehab and conditioning work.

“If you are looking to get involved in sports teams for experience, local clubs will approach local universities with their needs so let them know you are keen to get involved.

“Semi-pro football and rugby clubs are great to get involved with and they need people like graduates or post-graduates because they need cheaper help. Doing this sort of work gives you a cv that means you could go and apply for a bigger role after you graduate.

“You may give your time for free because it’s great for your cv but don’t let them take the mickey and not pay you for ages. You are worthy of payment. Suck it and see for a while – if you can afford to do so. But ask for a wage when the time is right.”

Sports massage course

There are other paths to working and finding a career in sports therapy.

“If you are not interested in the university approach, you could do a sports massage course, usually taught every other weekend for six months,” added Tom. “That will give you a good grounding on anatomy and ways to operate but just not the same level of knowledge as degrees.

“If you want to be a physiotherapists, for example, you simply have to do a physio degree.

“My advice would be to decide what you would ideally like to do before you start studying and then go backwards, find out what the best path for you is working towards that role and then make a decision about which area of study is right for you.

“Good luck.”

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