As next door neighbours, Glyndwr University is proud to be supporting Wrexham FC at Wembley and beyond.

The university and football club have helped support one another on a number of occasions over the years.

When the football club went through difficult times off-the-field, the university stepped up and purchased the Racecourse Ground in 2011 which helped secure the future of the club and stadium.

Now the club is thriving under new ownership, the town, university and whole of north Wales is reaping the benefits.

Ahead of the season we were pleased to welcome the first-team squad to our Human Performance Lab where the players were weighed, measured and tested under the watchful eye of our Sports Science technician Richard Lewis and graduate Chris Wallace.

The chance for Chris to work with the squad is typical of the opportunities we provide here for students wanting to work within the world of sport.

Our BSc (Hons) Football Coaching and the Performance Specialist degree offers the chance to students to gain their UEFA B Licence, a qualification which opens the door to coach at a high level within the game.

But the course also presents an opportunity to learn skills that can be used in other roles within the game and sport.

Current Sport Performance Analysis and Sports Coaching students have been working with a budding local gymnast targeting a future Commonwealth Games.

That partnership also includes elements of strength and conditioning and sports psychology too.

As well as practical experience, students also benefit from the use of top-class facilities, whether that be the Sports Centre and international standard hockey pitch, to the revamped Colliers Park which is run in partnership with the Football Association of Wales.

Another of our Sports Science graduates, Joe Newton, is now working in the Premier League as a performance analyst for Brentford FC.

Speaking last year, Joe explained how enrolling at Wrexham Glyndwr, helped him to discover his interest in and talent for analysis

He said: “I like technology, I like being on my laptop, watching football, and the Sports Science Degree gives you experience doing everything – coaching, physiology, psychology, but analysis was the one I really enjoyed the most.

“There are very few Uni’s that have links to such an organisation like the FAW (Football Association of Wales). From an analysis point of view, that was literally priceless for me and the access to Colliers Park – that’s the biggest thing for me as well as getting hands-on experience.”

Our BSc (Hons) Applied Sports and Exercise Sciences degree is designed to meet the needs of students wishing to follow a career within a sport and exercise environment.

It provides insight, understanding and the necessary skills required to develop a range of ability athletes and teams, examining sport and exercise from both performance and participative perspectives.

So if you are looking to take that next step towards a career in sport, while following the Wrexham FC  journey, find out more here: glyndwr.ac.uk