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Top Young Athletes Can Excel Through Special College Programme

Posted: 13th September 2021 - 4:46pm

The country’s best young athletes are being urged to apply for a special Loughborough College programme which helps them balance their studies with competition.

Loughborough College’s Talented Athlete Support Scheme (TASS) Dual Career Programme will help a select group of enrolled students balance their academic study with high performance sport.

Sport England-backed TASS has accredited Loughborough College because of its offer to young elite athletes who consistently go on to excel on the national and international sporting stage – including Paralympic 100m T38 champion Thomas Young.

Steve Wilkinson, who heads the TASS scheme at Loughborough College, said: “We are specialists in enabling young athletes to balance the demands of their sport and their education, offering them the chance to excel at both.

“We do it by offering students the flexibility and support they need to focus on their training and competition at the highest level and to coordinate that with their studies.

“The programme is demanding but we offer key lifestyle advice on nutrition, psychology, sleep and time management and can liaise on their behalf to help reduce the demands on them.

“We also offer an environment where they can talk to each other about their experiences or the challenges they’re facing and how they’re overcoming them.

“This support makes it easier for the student athletes to develop the concentration, motivation, confidence and maturity that will boost their opportunities for success in the classroom and in their sport.”

Previous TASS athletes at the college include:

  • Thomas Young (Paralympic Gold Medallist and Double European Champion - 100m T38)
  • Jodie Ounsley (Sale Sharks & England 7s)
  • Jodie Hutton (Aston Villa & England U19s)
  • Ethan Damerum (England U19s Basketball)

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday, 24th September 2021.

Click here to submit your application.