BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy – Advanced Entry

During the final weeks of the Portobello school year, Colm Murphy is frenetically keeping track of his students and handing out grades. It’s an incredibly busy time of year after which anyone would want to take a long break.

But Colm doesn’t go and sit on a beach somewhere. Instead, he dives straight into summer camps for the children at his local tennis club.

“The youngest ones are five. It’s mostly aimed at primary schools so a few of them are 11 and 12. We split them into smaller groups within that but the smallest ones are really small. They’re very funny.”

You can sense the delight from Colm as he talks through the fun of coaching kids.

Even on this unseasonably stormy summer day where the sessions were disrupted more than once, you can sense his enthusiasm and passion. The energy he radiates personifies that delight that only comes from someone who is fully enjoying his day-to-day activities.

Colm had always wanted to be a PE teacher and a coach of some kind. There’s no doubt that he’s living out his dream but that alone isn’t enough to explain him being so content with life.

That kind of happiness comes from someone who has endured a winding and often disrupted journey to where he wanted to be.

“In school it was all about the sport and not about the study. I came to study very late in the day. At the time the only thing I wanted was to become a PE teacher but the academic requirements for that were way out of my reach.

I certainly didn’t regard myself as any kind of student or certainly not an academic. I was enjoying sport far too much to actually apply myself to my studies.”

Needing to get a proper job, Colm forewent college and went to work straight away.

Instead of PE and coaching, he spent his days in a bank. After working his way up through entry level jobs to land in the finance department, Colm was pushed towards doing accountancy exams. A proper job.

“I was trying to basically hammer a square peg into a round hole. It didn’t want to go…I had to stop at the certificate stage, I couldn’t force myself over the line no matter how valuable it would be. I was just completely sick of it at that point.”

Having not found his fit in the bank, Colm departed to an IT Software company. He was closer to what he wanted to be here, filling a position of leadership in quality control and project management. But it still wasn’t PE or Coaching.

While it didn’t feel like it at the time, Colm was very fortunate to be forced away from that career after a couple of years.

“The dotcom bubble burst in 2002 and the company I was with just shrank and shrank and shrank…eventually [my boss] called me into the room and said ‘I have a new list [to let go] and you’re on it.'”

There were no opportunities in the sector. That forced Colm to look elsewhere, which led him back to the tennis coaching qualification that he had earned in his youth.

“Funnily, I really started to enjoy it hugely, really quickly. And I actually got quite busy really quickly as well…this was an enforced change that I wouldn’t have chosen but it was kind of opportune as well. So what else could I do? What else would I like? What else would fit with this?”

At 35 years of age with two kids and a mortgage, Colm couldn’t go back into a 9-5 college education to become a physiotherapist. He instead found a Blended Learning course that could fit into his established life that allowed him to become a qualified physical therapist.

Despite never being a good student in his youth, Colm impressed so much on his course that the Institute of Physical Therapy and Applied Science offered him an opportunity to become a lecturer.

He carried out that role while still coaching and working as a therapist himself for more than 10 years before Portobello Institute came calling.

Colm has been demystifying the course material for Portobello students for five years now. He’s an energetic lecturer with a positive outlook that helps students to build their confidence and knowledge so they can overcome the challenges they have set for themselves.

But more than just putting on a show and celebrating their development, Colm’s journey allows him to empathise with his students on a professional and personal level. Especially the mature students.

“I find the mature students to be really interesting. I suppose it’s because my pathway has been unconventional and a lot of them are in the same boat…You look back at some crunch times in your journey and you wonder how you managed to get through it.

I often end up having that conversation or conversations like that with mature students.

You say, ‘Look there are gonna be bumps in the road here. You mightn’t know yet what they are but they’re gonna pop up and you need to be prepared for the fact they’re gonna pop up. If it does pop up, come and talk to me because chances are whether it’s me or Cathal [Brady] or Barry [Roe] we’re going to have had a similar experience.’”

When Colm was a mature student, he and his wife were both working and studying while taking care of their two children. They had a third child during those years and each of them felt the heartbreak of losing a parent.

So even though students now get to work with an incredibly enthusiastic and positive lecturer who can put on a show in the classroom, the person behind that lecturer also has all the experience to empathize and understand their needs.

Qualifications

•  MSc Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology (Waterford IT)
• Post Grad Certificate in Third Level Teaching & Learning (DIT)
• Diploma in Physical Therapy (IPTAS)
• Tennis Ireland Development Coach (Tennis Ireland)

Research / Industry Participation

• Anatomy & Analysis Tutor for 11 years with IPTAS (Institute of Physical Therapy & Applied Science). 2006 – 2017
• Physical Therapist in private practice since 2006
• Tennis Ireland Development Coach since 1994
• Sport Performance Coach since 2015

“I think the interactions with students are great. You always get different feedback off different students. You’re teaching them, but they’ll teach you a few things as well which is brilliant.”

Ciara Mulrooney is currently a lecturer on the BSc in Sports Therapy for the Portobello Institute. But her journey to becoming a qualified athletic therapist was a rather scenic one. While becoming an athletic therapist was on her radar going back to her school days, it was a different venture that kept her busy in the aftermath of her Leaving Cert.

“I had always thought that being a sports therapist or physio is what I wanted to do. But during school I used to work in sailing, I would go away on the tall ships. So, after the Leaving Cert I went away and sailed on tall ships for a while. I sailed around Ireland, the UK and northern Europe”

After her maritime adventures, Ciara then travelled down under a spent a full year in Australia before returning home to Ireland. Once back, the desire to become an athletic therapist was re-discovered, but she wanted to be sure of herself before fully pursuing that career path.

“When I came back home, I went and did a PLC course in Sports Therapy in college just to make sure that going back in-person weekdays was what I wanted to do. So, after that I went to DCU as a mature student and did my Athletic Therapy and Training degree there because I was fully sure that it was something that I wanted to do.”

It would be another while before Ciara would venture into the world of academic as she returned to her native Sligo. Ciara works as Head Athletic Therapist for a number of teams in the northwest.

• Sligo Ladies football team at Senior, Minor, U16 and U14 level
• Sligo Rovers Women’s teams at U19, U17 and the incoming senior team
• IT Sligo GAA Academy in hurling, football, and the ladies’ teams
• Coolera GAA in hurling football, and the ladies’ team

In addition to her responsibilities with the teams above, Ciara also set up her own clinic, Recalibrate Sligo Injury Clinic in 2016. Her main enjoyment came from interacting with her patients but before long, she began taking on final year students for their placement.

“I started taking final year students and mentored them for their final year placement. So, I think that lead to looking more into the academic side. I went on to Trinity College then and did my Masters in Sports and Exercise Medicine. Finished that at the start of 2020 after handing in my thesis. Then the opportunity in Portobello came along and I’ve been happy teaching students since then.”

Ciara has been with Portobello for almost two years and, while maintaining her field work, has really enjoyed the opportunity to teach what she learned in her career so far.

“I think the interactions with students are great. You always get different feedback off different students. You’re teaching them, but they’ll teach you a few things as well which is brilliant.

“It’s just great to see them develop, see them move and gain confidence in their skills and see how they progress through the different modules and getting confidence and competence going into the real world.”

Brian Spring is a tutor for Portobello Institute’s sports department, working across a number of different modules including Human Physiology and Applied Principles of Strength and Conditioning.

Brian grew up in Co. Mayo, developing a strong love for sport and fitness through his playing of soccer and Brazilian jiu jitsu. He carried that love of sport right through his youth and into university.

“I decided to do Sport and Exercise Science in UL. Did my undergrad degree there for four years and loved every second of it. Ended up graduating top of my class.

“Then I went on and did a master’s in Sports Performance in UL also,” he said.

During his time doing his undergraduate, Brian was able to avail of some valuable practical experience many miles from his Mayo home.

“I worked with the West Coast Eagles in Australia for a year during my undergraduate degree.

“During their 2018 Grand Final winning season, I helped out with them on the sports science. Things like GPS, questionnaires, RPE monitoring and also their strength and conditioning side of things. In the gym with the lads every day, helping them with their gym programmes,” Brian said.

Brian’s disciplines cover a wide area of professional sports, but he says there isn’t one specific area he prefers working in.

“I enjoy everything because it all works together in terms of nutrition, psychology, physiology.

“Nothing works by itself; they all complement each other. I like looking at sport in a broader sense, trying to make the puzzle work and make everything fit together,” he says.

While on the field success was always the end goal for him and the team, Brian says there’s much more to enjoy from a backroom perspective than winning on matchday.

“Obviously seeing the team win on game day is great.

“But I also like seeing players return or if they are coming off a bad patch of performance and you’ve helped them do a bit of extra work in the gym. Whether it’s a bad patch of performance or coming back from injury, seeing them have a good game on the day is quite satisfying as well,” Brian said.

Upon returning from Down Under, and completing of his second degree with the university, Brian was offered a role as a teaching assistant with UL, discovering a passion for teaching along the way.

“After my master’s I worked as a teaching assistant in UL for a year. I taught labs and tutorials on nutrition, physiology, biomechanics, strength and conditioning, a bit of everything really, from undergraduate to postgraduate degree.

“I really enjoy seeing the students reach their goals for learning.

“From week one, their knowledge on physiology isn’t that wide and you get them to week 12 and you can have a proper discussion about exercise physiology and strength and conditioning, and they can start critically analysing what I’m saying to them and ask questions. Knowing that they can bring that information into a practical setting is quite rewarding too,” he said.

Like many practitioners who teach alongside their practical work, he likes how one can inform the other, and vice versa.

“The better understanding you have of the physiology and the strength and conditioning and all the theoretical things, the better you are able to explain these things to the athletes. That increases their buy-in, it makes them more likely to engage in the programme and what you’re telling them to do.

“And vice versa, obviously having a better understanding of how to communicate with athletes, how the theoretical knowledge is used in a practical sense, you can take that information to the students. There are times when there’s a bit of a disconnect between people who are lecturers, and who aren’t practitioners. It’s good to do both,” Brian said.

Brian now works with Portobello Institute across multiple degree programmes. While the UL position was something offered to him, he says that his current role with Portobello that he actually went looking for.

“In UL, it was something that I was approached for. But the Portobello gig is something I sought out and got in contact with Susan about. I love the teaching so it’s definitely something I want to keep on doing going forward.

“Now I’m in Portobello, lecturing on physiology, exercise physiology and strength and conditioning modules.

“I’m loving it so far. As I mentioned, I love working with people and helping them reach their goals. But I think the part I’m enjoying the most, so far, is seeing people’s knowledge grow.

“Having them a bit confused on week one until they’re asking some really great questions come week 12. We’re able to have conversations as a class and have a debate in class on certain topics. Just seeing their understanding and confidence grow is probably my favourite bit,” he said.

While he is exploring his passion for teaching with Portobello, Brian does not rule out a future focus on a return to more practitioner work.

“I definitely would like to keep working in sport in some respect.

“I think before, I always wanted to work at the highest level of sport. I now like the idea of working at the academy levels or with youth athletes a bit more because I feel like their development is nearly more important than the elite athletes’ development, which has nearly peaked.

“You’re maintaining their levels of fitness or skill whereas in a developing age, you can see the growth a lot more.”

Portobello Institute graduate and founder of Rebound Injury Clinic, Shannon Byrne has returned to Portobello as a lecturing assistant on the BSc in Sports Therapy.

Shannon established and runs Rebound Injury Clinic based in BeDo7 Fitness‘ purpose-built Sports Therapy room.

Throughout her education journey she has achieved an Honors Degree (Bachelor of Science) in Sports Therapy, obtained from London Metropolitan University in 2020 through Portobello Institute.

She is also a member of the Society of Sports Therapists and the Irish Massage Therapy Association.

Shannon brings her previous private practice experience where she treated anyone from athletes to desk workers, young and old, for a wide range of injuries to her role at Portobello.

As well as this, she has worked pitch-side with football teams, volunteered as a therapist at Iron Man events and worked with world championship level dancers with a focus on improving flexibility and injury prevention.

Shannon’s experience and qualification mean she has the knowledge, ability and skills to provide immediate care of injuries through assessment, treatment and rehabilitation.

She brings her past experience as a student at Portobello, her practical pitch-side experience and her academic knowledge to lecturing at Portobello Institute.

After completing her Leaving Certificate, she did a PLC in Coláiste Íde in physiotherapy. Thanks to her superb results, she was able to go straight into the second year of our Sports Therapy degree.

“I got all distinctions in that so I was delighted. That led me to Portobello where I started in the second year. Because of my results, they let me bypass the first year which would have been a foundation year. Did the two years then in order to get the undergrad degree and I finished up in May of last year.”

Before going to Coláiste Íde, Shannon developed a keen interest in sports science and the impact of injury on the body.

“I was a dancer myself in multiple different styles. It always led to injuries here and there.”

However, her sister also helped to develop that interest.

“I have a little sister who has special needs as well, so she underwent an awful lot of physiotherapy and speech and language therapy in her early years.

“We were told she’d never walk or talk and now she’s at stage school singing and dancing and acting. So when you see it first-hand it’s definitely more inspiring to get into it.”

But it was more so the sports side that Shannon wanted to get into and in October of last year, just five short months after finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Portobello, she opened up her own injury clinic.

“Usually you’d go work somewhere first. But what happened for me was that we were in lockdown, and I just had an idea.

“Back in March 2020 when lockdown kicked in, we had one business module, a hypothetical what would you do if you opened your own business and what you needed to know. I said I’d do it on a clinic.

“My sister does digital marketing so I asked her what would I need. She made up a logo. It was kind of boredom. My sister kept saying ‘I made that logo and it’s so nice and it’s not going anywhere’.

“Then I was off on annual leave and a guy I know years who owns a gym, he plays for Dublin GAA, gave me a ring and asked was I qualified yet and I said yes.

“He said he had a room in the back of the gym and he had this idea of opening an injury clinic in the gym and having a person on-site so that if someone in the gym gets injured we can have somebody to send them to.

“Eventually I said why not, let’s go for it. If we can do it in the middle of a pandemic you can do it outside of a pandemic. We painted the room ourselves and we opened.”

Now, in addition to running her own clinic, Shannon will be helping out her former thesis supervisor, Cathal Brady, to lecture on the very degree she gained at Portobello in 2020.

The role allows Shannon to pass on the useful knowledge she has picked up both inside and out of Portobello.

“I’m really excited about going in and passing on what I’ve learned. Cathal was an excellent lecturer when I was there and was really helpful.”

One of the things that Shannon really enjoyed about her time in Portobello was how personable it was and that is something she is looking forward to being part of again.

“I have a twin sister who went to a different college and she was just a number in a class.

“In Portobello I think everyone is much more close-knit which I loved. Putting names to people instead of numbers. So I’m really looking forward to being able to make it a better experience for other students and pass on what I learned,” she said.