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Our students have successfully completed the first delivery of the TASS Potential Project, delivered by Durham University.
The one-year pilot programme, funded by the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), is designed to offer support to young athletes aged 16 and over, to help them keep up their academic studies alongside their sporting commitments. Many students feel that they have to choose between the two, and the TASS scheme aims to prevent that.
The Project started with four theory-based workshops that took place at Durham University, and this week, our students completed the final of their six bespoke strength and conditioning sessions. The sessions were delivered onsite at the SRC Sports Centre by TASS facilitators, Tom and Jamie, who both work at Durham University as strength and conditioning coaches.
The 10 students taking part in the programme, chosen from both our first and second year cohorts, come from a variety of sporting backgrounds including football, cricket, rugby, basketball and hockey to name just a few.
Callum, who plays football at county level, said: “The strength and conditioning sessions were really good – the trainers included games to make them fun when they could, and were always able to adapt to us individually. For instance, when I had an injury, they were able to give me some altered exercises so that I could still take part. It was also really useful to learn techniques for weight management and food preparation.”
Brooke, a fellow footballer who has played at a regional level, also found the personal training sessions useful: “I’ve done strength and conditioning before but had a break from it until taking part in the TASS programme. Doing it again showed me just how useful and important it is.”
She said: “The workshops that we had at the beginning of the programme were really helpful too. The session discussing lifestyle management was interesting – you learn a lot about yourself when you actually look at what you’re doing week to week. It was also great to have the chance to meet people from other colleges too.”
Cricketer Tom, said that he found the anti-doping unit the most enlightening: “I didn’t know how many things are banned or have banned substances in them. You have to check things that you wouldn’t consider to be risky, like basic groceries from the supermarket and medication.”
“Learning how to make our own isotonic drinks was interesting, and the nutrition session wasn’t just about eating for sport performance, but also about all the benefits of healthy eating like better mental health or clearer skin. We also learnt how important it is to have the right mind-set and now have more knowledge on motivation.”
Phil Cummins, head of the Sports department at Bede, said: “The TASS Potential Project has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to develop an enhanced knowledge on performance lifestyle. The sessions have covered a wide variety of subjects, which both our students and staff have found eye-opening and invaluable. We hope to work with Durham University again in the future.”
The one-year pilot programme, funded by the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), is designed to offer support to young athletes aged 16 and over, to help them keep up their academic studies alongside their sporting commitments. Many students feel that they have to choose between the two, and the TASS scheme aims to prevent that.
The Project started with four theory-based workshops that took place at Durham University, and this week, our students completed the final of their six bespoke strength and conditioning sessions. The sessions were delivered onsite at the SRC Sports Centre by TASS facilitators, Tom and Jamie, who both work at Durham University as strength and conditioning coaches.
The 10 students taking part in the programme, chosen from both our first and second year cohorts, come from a variety of sporting backgrounds including football, cricket, rugby, basketball and hockey to name just a few.
Callum, who plays football at county level, said: “The strength and conditioning sessions were really good – the trainers included games to make them fun when they could, and were always able to adapt to us individually. For instance, when I had an injury, they were able to give me some altered exercises so that I could still take part. It was also really useful to learn techniques for weight management and food preparation.”
Brooke, a fellow footballer who has played at a regional level, also found the personal training sessions useful: “I’ve done strength and conditioning before but had a break from it until taking part in the TASS programme. Doing it again showed me just how useful and important it is.”
She said: “The workshops that we had at the beginning of the programme were really helpful too. The session discussing lifestyle management was interesting – you learn a lot about yourself when you actually look at what you’re doing week to week. It was also great to have the chance to meet people from other colleges too.”
Cricketer Tom, said that he found the anti-doping unit the most enlightening: “I didn’t know how many things are banned or have banned substances in them. You have to check things that you wouldn’t consider to be risky, like basic groceries from the supermarket and medication.”
“Learning how to make our own isotonic drinks was interesting, and the nutrition session wasn’t just about eating for sport performance, but also about all the benefits of healthy eating like better mental health or clearer skin. We also learnt how important it is to have the right mind-set and now have more knowledge on motivation.”
Phil Cummins, head of the Sports department at Bede, said: “The TASS Potential Project has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to develop an enhanced knowledge on performance lifestyle. The sessions have covered a wide variety of subjects, which both our students and staff have found eye-opening and invaluable. We hope to work with Durham University again in the future.”
