Sports student Jordan nets an IFA trip to Tenerife

Jordan Pattison from Ballymena is doing a Foundation Degree in Sport, Exercise & Fitness at the College’s Coleraine campus. He travelled to the Canary Islands with the Northern Ireland Under 17 Women’s Football squad as part of their preparation for the UEFA European Championship Elite Stage Qualifiers.

Jordan was presented with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of providing sport science support to elite athletes. He said the trip gave him a real insight to the level of professionalism in women’s sport.

Jordan said: “One of my lecturers, Damian McCarry who normally does performance analysis for the IFA, was unable to go so he put my name forward. It was a brilliant opportunity and the experience was second to none.

“It was a real eye opener for me. I was really impressed with the level of professionalism, the squad’s work ethic and commitment to training.”

In addition to the squad of 20 players, Jordan worked along with the head coach, goalkeeper coach, strength and conditioning coach, doctor, physiotherapist and IFA delegate.

Jordan said: “By watching videos of individual or team performances, we could identify weaknesses or find trends and patterns that could be changed. Analysing the opposition’s performances also gave us an edge on our competitors.”