Features: Inside view: Getting a sports science job in football

Written by Graham Allchurch, Editor, Graduate Prospects, February 2013

Millions dream of a career in football. But what about those who are less interested in playing and more interested in getting behind the scenes to help players reach their potential?

If you'd have asked a professional football manager about conditioning, nutrition and sports psychology 40 years ago, the chances are you'd have been laughed out of the ground.

Back then elite footballers had a lackadaisical approach to pre-match preparation, and that's putting it lightly. For many players, it simply consisted of a couple of cigarettes and a cup of tea, or, if they were feeling particularly motivated, a drop of whiskey.

In fact, Jimmy Greaves, the highest goal scorer in the history of English top-flight football, recounted in his autobiography how the Tottenham Hotspur squad would descend on a café in Canning Town, where they would order a 'pre-match meal of roast beef and Yorkshire puddings with all the trimmings, or pie and mash followed by blackcurrant crumble and custard'.

Nowadays, however, sports science has become an integral part of football and many other sports. Footballers put their bodies under immense strain from August through to May - and often in between - and it's up to the boffins to work out how they can sustain their high performances for so long.

That being the case, sports science encompasses a range of areas, from nutrition and fitness testing to training, conditioning and recovery.

Starting out

Demand for sports scientists in football is high, but that doesn't mean it isn't a competitive industry. Sports science courses are extremely popular, with many students hoping for a chance to work in sport - a dream industry for a significant proportion of the population.

Ross Herridge graduated from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) with a degree in sports science. He is now lead academy strength and conditioning coach at Reading Football Club.

He says it's important to gain as much exposure to applied sports science as possible.

'Work experience within the sport is key, and networking is also very important - who you know will get you a job, what you know will keep you there,' he explains.

In fact, that's what helped Ross secure his job - he worked as an intern at the club for a season and was eventually kept on as a full-time employee.

Professional qualifications can also help you stand out from the crowd.

'A lot of jobs now expect you to have been on certain courses or gained certain accreditations, so research the key ones for the sport you want to work in.

'Two important ones for a lot of jobs are the UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) accreditations, but there are others out there. Completing them will help you to get to where you want to be.'

Daily tasks

So, what can budding sports scientists expect of a job in football?

Ross's day-to-day duties are very wide ranging, and include:

• monitoring player training loads;
• monitoring the physiological condition of players;
• creating and assessing individual and group gym programmes;
• post-training nutrition and supplementation;
• implementing recovery methods.

As for the most enjoyable part of his job, somewhat surprisingly it involves hitting the books rather than hanging out with pro athletes.

'I enjoy applying the science from textbooks, articles and journals into real-life situations. Working with players on a day-to-day basis has its own challenges and you have to be able to communicate with them in a way they understand, without just dictating from something you've read. It's an important part of the job, and one I find very enjoyable.'