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What is Sport Studies?
Sport Studies is an umbrella term that includes everything from actual coaching and physical training to administrative tasks and financial skills associated with sport event management. The different courses all have a good balance between theoretical knowledge and practical experience, so students who enrol for one of the Sport Studies Courses would be well prepared to enter the job market within the field of sports and fitness. It is a common misconception that Sport Studies only focus on physical activities such as coaching and personal training, but in actual fact other factors such as science, psychology, business management, social skills, organisational tasks and logistics also feature very prominently. If you are interested in working in this interesting and ever-growing industry, enrol for a Sport Study Course today!
What Sport Studies Courses does College SA offer?
College SA has teamed up with the Exercise Training Academy (eta) to offer you a wide range of qualifications within the field of Sport, Recreation and Fitness. The eta is an accredited education provider and has branches all over South Africa. All their qualifications are benchmarked against sport and fitness practices around the world, so the quality of education is of international standard and aimed at giving their students the best possible training to have successful careers in this industry.
The Full Qualifications comprises the following:
- Certificate Fitness
- Diploma Fitness (exercise specialist)
- Diploma Fitness (sports conditioning)
- Certificate Sport Management
- Diploma Sport Management
- Certificate Coaching Science
- Diploma Coaching Science
The Short Courses comprises the following:
Gym-related courses
Coaching-related courses
What do the Full Qualification sport studies courses entail?
The Full Qualifications could be divided into two categories, namely that of Certificates and Diplomas. As indicated above, Certificates are one year courses, whilst Diplomas are obtained over a two year period. Although the first year content of the Diploma Courses is exactly the same as that of the Certificate Courses, it is not a criterion that students need to first complete a Certificate Course. If they wish to start with a two year Diploma Course straight away, they have the opportunity to do so. Should they, however, choose to end their studies after the first year – having completed all the assignments and exams successfully – they would receive a Certificate for that specific programme.
To give you a better idea of what the Full Qualification programmes entail, a short summary of each follows:
- eta National Certificate: Fitness NQF Level 5
- eta National Diploma Fitness – Exercise Specialist NQF Level 5
- eta National Diploma Fitness – Sports Conditioning NQF Level 5
- eta National Certificate: Sport Management NQF Level 5
- eta National Diploma: Sport Management NQF Level 5
- eta National Certificate: Coaching Science NQF Level 5
- eta National Diploma: Coaching Science NQF Level 5
All students who successfully complete this Course will become qualified personal trainers. Specialisations such as spinning, Pilates mat and aerobics are also on offer, which gives students the opportunity to apply for training positions at gyms or private fitness facilities. This qualification would also open the door to various entrepreneurial ideas, as it deals with aspects such as managing one's own business within the field of sports and fitness. In the 21st century, people have become extremely conscious of their health and fitness, so if you are able to offer this service to the public, you are opening the door to a lot of job opportunities.
All students who successfully complete this Course will become qualified personal trainers at the end of their first year. During their second year, they have the opportunity to specialise in a specific field. An Exercise Specialist works with Special Populations, in other words with clients who have specific needs. This could include pregnant women, growing children or youth, the elderly and even people with certain health risks such as obesity and high blood pressure. It goes without saying that an Exercise Specialist would therefore not recommend the same exercise, diet and stress management programmes to different people, as each one's needs are unique. Your job as an Exercise Specialist would be to design the ideal programme to address the needs of each unique client, whilst at the same time motivating them to pursue good health.
All students who successfully complete this Course will become qualified personal trainers at the end of their first year. During their second year they have the opportunity to specialise in a specific field. A Sport Conditioning Trainer works with athletes or sports professionals who want to improve their performance, so the focus would be placed on fitness conditioning and the development of skills and tactics. This course could therefore be seen as a combination between coaching skills and sport management, which is aimed at a much higher level than merely personal training in a gym or coaching a school's rugby team. Your purpose is to help your clients excel at the levels they are already competing at.
This course is a good introduction to the various aspects involved in the management of sport, recreation and fitness. It not only deals with the management of sport teams and sport facilities, but also pays attention to financial, business and event management. Students would receive theoretical as well as practical training to assist them when entering the job market. This means that they will eventually be able to manage a sport team or fitness facility, whilst also organising sporting events, dealing with financial aspects, performing public relations duties and applying sport psychology.
The Diploma course builds on the learning material included in the Certificate course, namely that of organisation, planning sports events, managing teams and sport facilities, demonstrating financial and marketing skills, and mentoring. In the second year of study, students would however focus more on sport tourism and the ability to market, promote and create sporting events. Once again, social skills is of the utmost importance, as a Sport Manager has to promote team building, deal with the media, negotiate different situations and generally keep all parties happy. Students can also expect to learn more about legal issues pertaining to sport, sport law, statistics and business management.
Contrary to popular belief, coaching is not merely the act of training teams to improve their physical performance. It developed into an actual science, as various aspects such as anatomy, kinesiology, biomechanics, nutrition, and sport psychology became important factors to consider when training people. In this programme students can select one summer and one winter sport (rugby, football, hockey, cricket or netball), and they would learn the basic coaching skills involved in each. In addition, they would also gain knowledge about organisation, how to develop sport and mental skills, as well as what nutritional advice to give to aid the progress of the teams.
At Diploma level, just like in the Certificate programme, students would learn to coach one summer and one winter sport (rugby, football, hockey, cricket or netball) at beginner to intermediate level. Thereafter, they would be encouraged to continue with the sports they have chosen so that they can ultimately enrol for either sport federation coaching or obtain a technical officiating qualification. This would enable them to coach teams at a much higher level. In addition to the coaching knowledge, students would learn more about sport screening, testing, fitness conditioning, ergogenic aids, planning and skills development. In essence, coaches are mentors to their teams, which implies certain communication and social skills. This course provides a good balance between practical sport training and the psychology behind it.
