Richard Sackey-Addo, Graduate
BSc Sport and Exercise Science, 2011-2014
MSc Sports Performance, 2014-2015

I look back fondly on my time at Bedfordshire and credit a lot of what I was taught and the work experiences I gained whilst studying in Bedford as key factors in leading me to my current role working in the Tennis Development Department of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the world governing body of tennis.

I believe that much of the knowledge and skills I developed at the University of Bedfordshire help me with some of my current day-to-day responsibilities including; overseeing many of the ITF’s coach education resources and publications, editing the ITF’s quarterly Coaching and Sport Science Review journal and assisting with the organisation of coaching conferences and courses across the globe amongst other responsibilities.

In January 2018 I will be taking up a new position of Education Coordinator with the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), the lead international body responsible for combatting betting-related corruption in all professional tennis. This role will require me to coordinate the delivery of TIU anti-corruption training and education to players, coaches, officials and other stakeholder audiences on an international scale as well as identifying new and additional training and education opportunities/resources to demonstrate the sport’s commitment to the highest standards of education.

The lecturers in the Sport Science and Physical Activity (SSPA) Department were instrumental in accommodating students with valuable industry contacts, as many of us attained vital lab/research based experience or internships at various professional sports clubs and high-performance academies. Sports Science is such a broad field, and despite having particular topic interests I am thankful that my degrees helped expose me to many different areas in the sports industry.

The relationships I had with my lecturers, dissertation supervisors and staff in the department, whom are all highly experienced and respected technicians, academics and practitioners, also played a big part in my decision to continue with a postgraduate degree at Bedfordshire. They really supported me and allowed me to develop not just my subject specific knowledge and study skills but also many valuable competencies that are useful in my professional life. I felt that the staff often went above and beyond to support me in my career ambitions and encouraged me to actively seek continued professional development and networking opportunities no matter what phase of my career. The excellent facilities in the sports science labs are state-of-the-art and much of the equipment, which students become more adept at understanding and using, can be seen in many high-performance or clinical settings.

I would thoroughly encourage current or future students to enjoy their experience at the University of Bedfordshire, take pride in what they are studying and to fully utilise all opportunities possible particularly outside of contact hours as you never know which doors these could open for you in the future. I believe that in such a competitive industry it is key to make the effort to make yourself stand out from the crowd and to always look to develop yourself and your knowledge.