Penny Walker - Following her Passion to Work With Elite Teams Through Sports Therapy

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Penny Walker – Following her Passion to Work With Elite Teams Through Sports Therapy

BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy

Sports

Penny Walker is in her final year of studying for her BSc (Hons) in Sports Therapy at Portobello Institute.

Her interest in playing sports and experiencing physiotherapy after an injury directed her career path as she was inspired to work with elite sports teams.

After completing a PLC course, she was recommended sports therapy at Portobello Institute and hasn’t looked back.

“I chose Portobello because I’ve always played sports and I’ve gotten injured, so I went to a physio. The physio I went to was in a hospital, very clinical-based, and I thought it would be nice to do this but with sports teams and more sports-specific.

“I found sports therapy at Portobello and that suited me more. There is a clinical option but you’re also out on the field with athletes.

“I find the course very accessible; I first did a PLC and I found it through the PLC, they recommended it, and they spoke very highly of it. We just had to do an interview process and get a certain amount of distinctions and it was smooth sailing from there.

“I feel I am really following my passion by doing this course because I like helping people and I like sport, so I found this course tied the two together very well,” she said.

Penny enjoys the flexibility at Portobello, with on-campus classes and online classes available so she can fit everything in around playing sports.

“The advice I would give someone thinking of doing this course is to definitely give it a go. They suit any type of lifestyle if you are working five days a week there is a blended learning course and it’s really interesting. It gives you the confidence to do what you want to do.

“I found Portobello to be very flexible, as a sportsperson I was worried about it being full-time and not being able to play sports but they are very flexible, you are on campus but you can also do some online classes so it works both ways,” she said.

When Penny went on work placement, she felt completely ready and up for the challenge.

“I find it really interesting applying the stuff I’ve learned in the college to my placement work and seeing how everything links together like how everything can go back to the spine and how different injuries can affect different things like the psychological aspect I find quite interesting too. An injured person could be more reluctant to return to sport.

“In the course, you really go through what it’s going to be like in a matchday setting or what it’s going to be like in a clinic, so it’s really easy when you are in that situation.

“When I went on placement I didn’t feel out of my depth because we had gone through it so much in college like this is how you assess someone, this is how you should approach them, telling them constantly what you are going to do if it’s going to be a hands-on treatment and stuff like that. They really prepared you for the outside world.

“After I have completed my course I would like to progress to a Master’s in Physiotherapy or work with an elite sports team,” she said.

Portobello Institute has a dynamic sports department with a range of top qualifications for the next step in your career.

If you are interested in any of our sports courses or have any questions you can book a consultation call with our expert sports advisor Jason Lester, email [email protected] or call 01 892 0029.