South Eastern Regional College (SERC) sports students were selected for a two week work placement in Malta in collaboration with Luxol Sports Club.
The programme aims to develop professional and personal skills in a real life working environment in another European country. It is funded by Eramus+ and support by the European Commission.
During their placement the students supported the Sport Malta team in promoting physical education to different primary schools. The first day was challenging as the students were involved with organising over 500 young children.
The students also worked with national level football coaches at Luxol’s football academy, coaching children aged six to twelve. They got the opportunity to observe, learn and put into practice new techniques and gained a Coerver® Coaching Level 1 certificate which is endorsed and recommended by top football federations and associations. The group had some time to learn about the Maltese culture and traditions and were treated to tours of medieval Medina, the capital Valletta and the smallest island Comino.
Sport student Chelsey Logan from Killyleagh believes the programme was invaluable to her learning and said: “I was very nervous to start with but as we gained more practice I grew more confident. It was difficult communicating with the children in English as it’s not their first language, but we learned to find other ways of communicating.
“Working with the football coaches was a great learning experience and I picked up new skills and techniques that I can apply back home.”
SERC Sports Lecturer, Carl Bailie, accompanied the group and explained: “It was great to see the students working directly with the children and adapt and perform in different situations and think on their feet.
“The whole experience has helped them develop not only professional skills relevant to their industry, but the employability skills employers’ demand. We have built a fantastic working relationship with Luxol in Malta and we will use this to help more students ‘get the edge’.”
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