Sport An Art Or A Science?

The world of sports is more than what we see on our television sets. Maithili Modi seeks out the courses you could pursue to make a career in sports.

Most laymen are oblivious of the intricacies of the world of sports. Every IPL match or tennis grand-slam, is in fact backed by an entire industry, without which, the nal outcome available to us, would not be so. However, for you sport acionados, who hope to make a career out of your passion for one of the world’s most glorious disciplines, there are two kinds of degrees you could take up in order to study sports. One is called B.A. in Sports Studies and another, B.Sc. in Sports Studies or Bachelor’s in Sports Science. While some characteristics can be attributed to each of the degrees, due to the enormity of the subject, there prevails very little uniformity between course content of the same degree offered at different colleges.

SPORTS STUDIES
However, by and large, most universities oer the following subjects of study under their degree of sports studies:

Cultural understanding of sports
This theme seeks to explore the relation between sports and the society. Moreover, it looks at contemporary issues regarding sports and also analyses the global importance of sport.

Sports Development
This includes skills such as talent identication and sport management and coaching. Most universities lay immense emphasis on this particular facet of sports studies, as most students of sports studies aspire to be sport managers.

Sports Technology
With our rapidly developing age, one can only imagine what wonders the amalgamation of sports and technology can bring us. Be it hockey sticks, tennis racquets or even the surface we play soccer on; technology is incessantly innovating and rening conditions for sportspeople, to optimize eciency.

Statistical measurement and analysis
Whether you’re a sportsperson or a sport developer, statistical measurement and sports go hand in hand. This is because it is tremendously essential to measure performance and then analyse the data to further improvise. Hence, we see, though not many, but some universities offering statistical measurement as part of sports studies.

Sports History
Sport is the perfect embodiment of man’s mind and body. And therefore, the story behind the origin of each sport is legendary itself. Understanding the circumstances under which a particular game took birth, and the evolution of the same, helps in better understanding of the sport and its dynamics.

Sports Ethics
With competitiveness comes the human tendency to swindle. Hence, as competitive rivalry in all sports increases, it is becoming increasingly indispensable to induce the value of ethics in anyone who aspires to be part of the industry.

Specialisations
Other than the above core components, universities oen oer specialisations in sports psychology, sports medicine, physiotherapy, sports marketing and sports journalism.

BEYOND ACADEMICS
It is needless to say that in addition to these various aspects of sports studies, each university provides its students hands on practical experience in sports training. Moreover, almost all universities who oer sports studies’ courses lay emphasis on research and students are usually asked to submit a course project or research paper by the end of their graduating year.
Furthermore, for those who are adamant on being a coach for a particular sport, though rare to find,
some universities have intense mono-sport coaching courses as well.

WHERE TO STUDY
Sadly, our Indian education system has not yet been able to put sports studies on such a pedestal. No Indian institutions provide its’ students with an option to pursue sports studies. What we do have though, are diplomas and certificate courses in few areas of sports management, sports psychology and training.
Nevertheless, there are profound universities in the United Kingdom and e Americas who run elaborate courses (as explained above) for those young people wishing to be a part of the sport industry.
In the United States, one of the best universities for sports studies is the United States Sports Academy. As the name suggests, their sole focus is sports education and hence have not just one, but multifarious courses on sports education, including many specialisations.
As for the case of the United Kingdom, the Higher Education Statistics Agency in 2014 ranked Durham University, Exeter, Bath and Birmingham University as the top four that provide the best sports training courses. Also included in the top 20 are Edinburgh, Kent, Liverpool John Moores and Hull.

HOW TO PICK YOUR UNIVERSITY
While India may have a couple more decades to embrace a career in sports on the same platform as that of medicine or engineering, going abroad seems like the more feasible option to pursue your dreams of becoming an athlete. In order to decide the sport that you would like to major in, ensure that you research extensively on the types of sports training courses available in the country that you wish to study in. At the same time, one must keep in mind to take into account the weather, geographical preferences, cultural background, resources available for training and future prospects in the sport that you decide to take. Accomodation and travel will be just as important a decision to take as one would consider it while opting for any other course abroad.

FINAL VERDICT?
In terms of financial aid in India, only widely popular sports like football or cricket is give due importance on a global sphere. One hears several sportpersons taking phenomenal leaps in their respective fields and yet struggle to make a bountiful career in the same. But if you are determined to go the whole nine yards, let nothing stop you!

Volume 5 Issue 2