Internships offer fantastic opportunity to work in sport

The Guernsey Sports Commission is once again offering a valuable opportunity for up to three young people to gain experience of working in sport.

‘We are looking to recruit to our popular internship programme for the next academic year from September,’ explained the Commission’s Performance Director, Jeremy Frith.

‘We can offer up to three placements to students studying, or who have graduated from, a sport science or teaching related degree. The placements will support our work in schools, performance sport and the wider sporting community.’

‘Covid restricted our intake for the 2020-21 academic year when we were only able to take on one internee but we are now seeking expressions of interest for the next intake,’ said Jeremy.

Students who have previously completed the internship highlighted the benefits.

‘The internship helped me develop skills in several areas,’ said George Mason who completed his placement in 2019.

‘There were plenty of opportunities to practice my coaching and session delivery across a range of primary school ages which also helped me develop my leadership and communication skills.

‘I not only had the chance to observe and learn from other staff members, I also had the opportunity to complete a Level 2 Multi Sports coaching qualification which has helped my understanding of Fundamental Movement Skills and how PE contributes to physical development,’ said George, who now works full time for the Sports Commission as a PE & Sport Development Officer.

The placements also provide the opportunity to work with some of Guernsey’s leading sports organisations such as Guernsey Raiders and Guernsey FC.

‘Last year saw us engage the services of a university student via the internship which was game changing for the coaching staff and team,’ said Tony Vance, Team Manager for Guernsey FC.

The placement focused on the use of specialist sports science software and video analysis.

‘Having a dedicated individual to work with us on a regular basis to analyse and deliver key performance data was integral to our collective improvement as a team,’ said Tony.

‘We were also able to utilise the industry leading video analysis software that we had at our disposal to full effect as we now had the resource to use the software and its analysis features to the maximum.

‘The internship works both ways of course and whilst the benefits for Guernsey FC were significant, the student was able to gain an excellent working knowledge of analysis tools and software systems whilst also seeing first-hand the impact that can be made capturing data and providing key analysis to individuals and the team.’

Tom Procter was the student lucky enough to have this experience working with GFC.

‘This internship gave me a great insight into a real working environment of a career path I would be interested in pursuing. I am interested in becoming a performance analyst at a professional sports club. The chance to work at a football club that operates at a professional level allowed me to understand what the day to day role of a performance analyst would entail,’ said Tom.

‘Working for the Sports Commission in schools really improved my people skills among other things. The role forces engagement with others, something I had not always excelled in but this internship really improved my communication skills.’

The Sports Commission is offering up to three internships, one of which would be based in Alderney.

‘We are really looking for people who have either completed their studies or who are looking to do a placement year and who are passionate about sport,’ said Jeremy.

‘This really is a fantastic opportunity to work alongside our experienced staff in schools and the community and our interns will also be able to carry out a research project in an area that particularly interests them. Guernsey FC have also confirmed that they are keen to use our interns for continuing performance analysis

Details of the internships are available at https://guernseysports.com/about/vacancies/

Anyone interested in applying should contact jeremy.frith@gov.gg in the first instance