Sports Coaching and Exercise

Sports coaching and exercise science together address the practical and scientific dimensions of helping people perform better and live more actively. Coaching is concerned with the design, delivery, and evaluation of training programmes, the development of athletes and participants across all levels, and the interpersonal and pedagogical skills needed to support learning and improvement in sport and physical activity. Exercise science provides the physiological, biomechanical, and psychological knowledge that underpins evidence-based coaching practice.

At Teesside University this part-time programme is work-based in its orientation, designed for students who are already engaged in coaching or exercise-related work and who want to develop their skills alongside their practical experience. The programme uses a reflective cycle as a central learning tool, encouraging you to examine your own practice, identify areas for development, and engage with academic and professional knowledge in light of what you encounter in your work. Personal development planning, observation of others, peer reflection, and structured self-assessment are all part of the curriculum.

You will develop skills in planning, monitoring, and evaluating coaching sessions and exercise programmes, and in the kind of systematic reflection that distinguishes the developing professional from the practitioner who simply repeats habitual patterns. The work-based context means that your learning is immediately applicable and that the connections between theory and practice are direct rather than abstract.

Graduates move into careers as sports coaches, strength and conditioning practitioners, physical education teachers, sport development officers, community sport coordinators, and exercise professionals in leisure, health, and sport organisations. Many continue to further professional qualifications or postgraduate study in coaching science, sport and exercise science, or physical education.