Football Coaching (With Professional Practice Year) Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

This course prepares you to work as a skilled coach across a variety of football settings. You learn a range of coaching skills to help you deliver and plan training sessions; evaluate performances; implement improvement strategies; and put your learning into practice in football-related scenarios. There are also opportunities for placements, including with our official Education Partners, Luton Town FC.

Professional Practice Year\
Take your course over four years and include a Professional Practice Year after your second year of studies. It is an opportunity to apply your learning in the workplace while enhancing your knowledge and skills through fee-free paid practice. It also builds your CV and industry contacts with many students progressing to employment within their practice-year organisation or institution.

Course accreditation/industry endorsement\
We increase the employability of our graduates by being a Higher Education Partner of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). You also have the opportunity to gain a free CIMSPA qualification in Gym Instruction.

Facilities and specialist equipment\
Purpose-built strength and conditioning facility\
Free gym and Olympic weight room\
Sports arena\
Multi-use games areas\
Sports therapy and rehabilitation MSK centre with a sports injury clinic, open to staff, students and external athletes/clients\
Sports massage rooms\
Industry-leading performance-analysis equipment, including a Nacsport camera system, In-Play Sports online performance analysis and Catapult GPS system

Career-powered links\
We are official Education Partners of Luton Town FC and Bedford Blues RFC as well as other sporting organisations in the region such as Bedford Tigers RLFC, MK Dons, Cricket East and Be Active, giving you opportunities to build your employability through work placements. Our partnership with Luton Town Football Club opens up opportunities for work experience; behind-the-scenes involvement and observation; guest speakers and masterclasses; and field trips to matches and training sessions.

Your student experience\
Learn from academics who are practising coaches through a combination of lectures/seminars, field trips and practical experience – including on-site events management operations.

Gain valuable work experience at our [Human Performance Centre](https://www.beds.ac.uk/human-performance-centre/), which offers testing to sports people, teams and the public for fitness, flexibility and body composition assessments.

Take up opportunities for placements at local football organisations and non-league football clubs as well as coaching opportunities with local schools.

Take part in behind-the-scenes tours and match-day experiences to football clubs such as Luton Town FC and MK Dons.

Extend your learning through guest speakers. Recent speakers include Jack Cassidy, first-team assistant coach at Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga; Scott Hazard, co-founder of In-Play Sports; Frank Fry (alumnus), academy coach at Peterborough United FC; Kyri Zavros (alumnus), Head of Coaching, Bloomsbury Football.

Field trips include St George’s Park, Burton-on-Trent, the home of England Football, and football clubs around the country.

Our Bedford campus is a small, thriving academic community where academic staff get to know you well.

Benefit from the support of your own personal academic tutor who will guide and support you throughout your student journey.