The sports sector provides a wide range of career options for aspiring students.
At Velocity Football we provide students with a development pathway to build successful careers in sport, both on and off the pitch.
In July, we heard from goalkeeper Ethan Gough who was accepted onto a sports journalism course at Staffordshire University after graduating from our programme.
Now, first-year student Summer Major is hoping to follow a similar pathway and fulfil her ambition to promote women’s sport to a wider audience via Velocity Football.
The 16-year-old enrolled in September after working with Velocity coach Aliyah Anthony at a summer camp organised by our sister company Ignite Sport.
Summer is a keen footballer and represents Oxford City U17s on the right-wing. But her passion is in media, and she plans on studying a sports journalism course at university after completing a two-year Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Sport course.
She said: “Velocity Football is providing me with a platform and pathway to broaden my knowledge of the sports sector.
“When completing year 11, I had the choice to go to sixth form, college or join Velocity. Combining full-time training with education and competitive matches appealed to me and I’ve really enjoyed my time on the programme.
“In the future, I want to be involved in the media and help promote women’s sport generally. My time at Velocity is providing me with a good understanding of the different roles in sport and how the sector operates.”
Studying the Velocity programme allows young people to establish themselves as a student-athlete.
Full-time training and weekly competitive matches means some students pursue their dream of becoming a professional athlete while gaining an industry recognised qualification. For others, they can explore or follow the variety of exciting professional roles sport offers.
“It’s a great environment to learn in,” said Summer. “There’s a lot of freedom and the relationship we have developed with our coaches and tutors is really strong.
“When you study a programme you enjoy, everything seems to run smoothly. My classmates are great too. We support each other academically and on the pitch.
“Right now, we’re in a great run of form on the pitch which is great for our team morale. We’ve reached the Last 16 of the National Cup and we really want to continue our run.
“Lauren (Haynes, Head Coach) and Aliyah are great coaches to learn from and I feel my personal game has really developed this term.”
If you are interested in learning more about Velocity Football and its proven development pathway, you email [email protected]. Alternatively, information evenings on Wednesday evenings in 2022 are due to take place on February 9, March 30 and May 18.
