Billy Bodin took time out to offer an insight into the recovery and psychological side of dealing with an injury for the benefit of PNECET Sports College students over the weekend.
The North End attacker answered the students’ questions, asked by former Lilywhites midfielder Graeme Atkinson, who is now Recruitment and HE Development Manager for the Trust.
The 27-year-old answered questions on the difficulties of suffering an injury and the mental and physical challenges that come with it.
His insight will be passed on to the PNECET Sports College students for their exclusive use working on their sports injuries module.
Graeme said: “It is fantastic for our students to gain insight from Billy Bodin, who is a true modern day professional and a key part of the Preston North End team.
“His knowledge will help our students to realise the extent of the work that goes into making a successful recovery from suffering an injury and methods of dealing with the mental side of such a setback as well.
“Having exclusive opportunities such as this – learning from the everyday experiences of a professional footballer – provide our students with an invaluable insight to support their career and personal development.
“Billy was open with his responses and generous with the time and effort he provided, which will no doubt prove extremely beneficial for our students.”
Students remain engaged on their education programmes despite being unable to attend lessons at Deepdale because of the ongoing health crisis.
As well as lessons moving to an online format, education staff have been checking with students on an individual level as well with once-a-week phone calls.
Education staff are also paying visits to some students as part of the ongoing PNECET Helping Hampers campaign, delivering hampers to those in need on both the OCR Technical Diploma in Sport and USW Community Football Coaching foundation degree programmes.
Students have immersed themselves in competitions and live workouts to remain physically and mentally healthy, with one student running in excess of 100 miles over recent weeks.
Course inclusive challenges and tournaments such as quizzes and gaming competitions have also been introduced to keep up students’ competitive spirit and encourage them to engage with one another!
The Trust is continuing to recruit for new students to start in September on the OCR Technical Diploma in Sport diploma course for current year 11 students preparing to leave high school, and the USW Community Football Coaching foundation degree programme for college leavers aged 18 and over.
Courses are ideal for those looking to pursue a career in sport. Students on both courses will have the opportunity to represent the Trust in the EFL Community and Education Football Alliance League with plenty of other bespoke opportunities throughout the year.
🥗 It was a pleasure to welcome Declan Rudd to the #PNECET offices last week as a guest speaker for our students' nutrition lesson!
— Preston North End Community and Education Trust (@pnecommunity) February 10, 2020
Dec spoke about the importance of diet before, during and after training and on a matchday. 💪#pnefc pic.twitter.com/6buo8ndYhu
As well as the latest experience with Bodin, students have welcomed fellow North End stars Declan Rudd and Tom Clarke into their lessons earlier in the academic year, providing exclusive insights into the world of professional football, for the benefit of their studies.
PNECET Sports College students also have an annual trip to Portugal where students are able to visit and study in top class sporting facilities with opportunities to play against native opposition.
We are holding a range of online open evenings to allow interested students to speak with members of the education team about their potential future studies with the Trust.
You can express your interest by clicking here or emailing education@pne.com. Learn more about attending an online open evening here.