Very few education courses can boast of having the knowledge and experience of International footballers tailored into their provision, but students at Preston North End enjoyed just that when Irish stars Alan Browne and Sean Maguire popped in for one lesson.
Having endured a fairly lengthy spell out with an injury this season, Maguire was able to talk in length about the mental and physical strains of spending time on the sidelines in relation to the students’ Sports Injuries module to Year two students who are studying a Level three in Sport and Exercise.
Meanwhile, Browne spoke to first year students who are studying for the same course but at the Level Two stage all about the pressures of representing your country, walking out in front of thousands of fans and stepping up and taking penalties as part of their Sports Psychology module.
Maguire spoke about his journey, from the raw emotion of initially receiving the news of his injury, to his rehab and recovery - right the way through to the joy and ecstasy of grabbing two goals on his comeback on Gentry Day.
Browne however was prompted more about the psychological issues of the game such as coping with criticism as students made notes and were made to summarise the answers both players gave and tailor their feedback and knowledge into their assignments.
If you think you’d like to receive professional knowledge, experience and training whilst studying at Preston North End, you can find out more about the programme we deliver as well as expressing an interest in the course here.
Register your interest and you could be wearing Lilywhite as well as tailoring the knowledge from professional footballers in September!