Kicking off a sports science career: From Middlesex to FC Midtjylland

Getting hands-on access

In my day-to-day role, I am primarily responsible for managing the global positioning system (GPS) data for the academy players. This includes ensuring the data is correctly collected, accurately tagged, cleaned for analysis after training. Subsequently, key findings are then presented to the coaching team.

Additionally, I lead the sports science provision on match days for both the under-19 and under-17 teams. This includes everything related to GPS data, match-day nutrition (including hydration and supplements), and monitoring players’ physical performance during matches.

Growing skills through applied experience

I am so grateful for this opportunity, which has provided me with a much deeper understanding and appreciation of applied sports science in a professional football environment. The skills I have developed in data analysis, performance monitoring, and sports nutrition will undoubtedly help me going forward and hopefully, make me more employable after graduating.

Further to this, the exposure to top-tier coaching staff and players has given me some insight into the practical demands of working in professional sports, further equipping me for some of the problem-solving scenarios that I am likely to find during interviews.

Want to get international, hands-on sports science experience like Issam? Explore our sport and exercise science courses.