RNC Sports Academy

The UK’s only V.I. Sports Academy is designed to meet the needs of students who have aspirations to progress in their chosen sport.

Sessions are flexible to fit in alongside your individualised academic/vocational timetable. You will receive between one and 10 hours of Sports Academy sessions per week, depending on your timetable and mixture of lessons and sports.

What does the Sports Academy involve?

The Sports Academy provides support to aspiring athletes in a professional training environment with world class accessible facilities and the highest standard of coaching.

The main sports we offer are Goalball, Football, and Judo. We also deliver a range of other sports at a recreational level, including Cricket, Cycling, Golf and Tennis, depending on individual requirements.

For full RNC Sports Academy members, we tailor sport-specific programmes and will encourage you to train like a professional athlete. As well as practice in your chosen sport, your timetable will include receiving guidance around strength and conditioning, nutrition, lifestyle, and injury and rehabilitation management.

We have also had students undertaking different disciplines, including Skiing, Athletics, Swimming and Climbing. Our sports coaches provide support for personal development to complement your training and will link you up with local sports clubs in order for you to access your specific sport.

The RNC Sports Academy works alongside a number of key partners in disability sport including the Football Association (FA), Goalball UK, the British Judo Association and British Blind Sport (BBS). These links have been instrumental in our success, allowing unique access for our students to train alongside other elite athletes and by working closely with national team coaches.

We have a number of Sport England’s Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme (TASS) students, nominated by their national governing bodies, and are proud to be the only Further Education college to have achieved TDS (TASS delivery site) status. The Scheme helps athletes in education to get the best from their sporting and academic careers, focusing on five key elements which include lifestyle support, nutrition, sports psychology, physiotherapy, and strength and conditioning sessions.

In 2021, RNC was also recognised as a TASS Dual Career Accredited Site.

More information on TASS can be found here.

Duration

1to 3 years depending on the student.

Entry Requirements

There are no formal entry requirements. Previous playing experience is preferable but this depends on the individual, the chosen sport and the chosen level. This can be discussed at your Pre-Entry Assessment. Enthusiasm and willingness to learn are essential for anyone wanting to join the RNC Sports Academy. There are recreational opportunities to play, both internally at RNC and at weekend tournaments, for novice players who may not have played sport before.

Where will it take me?

Successful students have gone on to represent their country in their chosen sport, for example, Goalball, Blind Football, Judo, and Skiing, with some achieving a professional career.

RNC Sports Academy for Elite Athletes

If you are a member of the RNC Sports Academy and you are also training with, or affiliated to, a recognised National Governing Body (NGB) and/or have contract links with professional sports bodies, you will be encouraged to study the BTEC Level 3 Sports Coaching and Development course, allowing you to investigate the technical, tactical, physiological and psychological requirements of performing at the highest level.