Shane Malone – Sports Science is my Passion

“I was always interested in the ‘why’ side of sport.”

With a young family, Shane Malone’s personal life was set. He had his girlfriend and his son making him as happy as could be. But the professional side still left something to be desired. Shane wanted to find a job that would be fulfilling for him every day but also one that would allow him to take care of his family and open doors for them.

That’s what led him to Portobello Institute’s BSc (Hons) Sports Science and Performance Analysis degree.

“I discussed it with my family and we came to the conclusion that a degree would benefit us and my son in the long run… the long term impact of this course and the doors it will open in the long run convinced me to sign up.

Mainly it is the strong interest I have for sports science, I always said I want a job that I enjoy doing and the opportunity to go to Portobello to study sport science and performance analysis will give me the chance to do that.

The course was only sports performance analysis when I started but fairly quickly into the course Dr. Giblin emailed me about the thoughts of changing it to “sports science and performance analysis” which was a huge plus for me!”

Shane had no issues applying for the sports science course. He spoke with then sports course advisor George Boylan about what he would be studying. George answered all of his questions and it was important for Shane that he would be studying relevant modules that both appealed to him and his future employers.

“What modules I would be doing was a big one for me, with biomechanics and physiology was a major deciding factor in choosing this course.”

Biomechanics and physiology open opportunities for students who don’t necessarily come from a sports science background. It helps our students get a grounding in sports science to then become advanced, elite professional practitioners by the time they graduate.

For Shane, the modules were vital but how he would study was important too. He needed to take care of his son and spend time with his family. Portobello’s scheduling allowed him to do that:

“I think the flexibility of it all although it is full time it is only 2-3 days a week, granted you do have to do assignments and study but I fit that around my working life and being a dad I also found the flexibility of it very helpful.”

The course gave Shane an opportunity to better himself and he developed a drive to go even further in his academic career.