The new partnership with the UWS School of Health & Life Sciences at their Ayr campus, around the delivery of their BA Hons Sports Coaching and Development degree, is a great opportunity for students.
Student, Nikola Zlatev, from Dobrich, Bulgaria, is about to start the third year of the sports coaching course. He is currently a volleyball coach in south Ayrshire, ‘When Blair and Andy told me about the partnership, I was really excited. Volleyball is a great sport and the opportunities it has provided me to develop my skills and coaching ability have been great. I was working in Europe in the summer at a volleyball camp because of the support I have had from the staff at Scottish Volleyball. To hear they will be working closely with all the year groups is amazing news and a great opportunity for all the students.’
West Region Development Officer, Blair Pettigrew, who has been involved in developing the partnership, on behalf of Scottish volleyball, is a graduate of the degree course. He endorses Niko’s comments, ‘Having returned to full time education as a mature student at UWS to study sports coaching and developemnt, which included a level 1 Volleyball coaching qualification, I felt I was in a unique position to offer some support to the current cohort of students. Facilitating access to the workings of our National Governing Body gives real life examples and provides opportunities to gain industry experience at a progressive level. I am sure this partnership will really help the students when it comes to either further education or entering the sporting workplace at the end of this degree.’
You can listen in to staff from both Scottish Volleyball and the University of the West of Scotland on a special Scottish Volleyball TV live tonight on YouTube and Facebook at 1900hrs