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Leeds Rhinos Players Swap the Rugby Pitch For Books
22 October 2003
Six Leeds Rhinos players, including team Captain Kevin Sinfield, have enrolled on degree courses here at Leeds Metropolitan University and have praised the University for its excellent sports facilities.
As well as the sports facilities the athletes were attracted to Leeds Met because of its flexible learning opportunities. Their Individual Programme of Study (IPOS) degree course means they can study away from the University, either at home or in the workplace, and can follow negotiated learning which is ideal for anyone who is juggling study with a busy life.
The rugby players have each purchased a Leeds Met annual sports pass so they can train alongside fellow students in what are considered to be some of best sports facilities in British higher education. Facilities available to them include state-of-the-art fitness centres and a range of indoor and outdoor facilities including synthetic turf pitches, athletics track, grass pitches, indoor and outdoor tennis courts and a climbing wall.
Kevin, who put his plans to study at Leeds Met on hold when he started a full-time Rugby League career, said: "I have enrolled on the course to gain a qualification, as you never know how long a rugby career will last. The study programme is flexible enough to fit around my rugby schedule.
"I chose to study at Leeds Met because as a professional
you look for the best sports facilities and Leeds Met's facilities
are great."
Australian International Chris McKenna: “The campus is
close by and the lectures don’t interfere with training
commitments.
“You have to prepare for life after rugby and with an outside interest it means you are not wasting nervous energy and becoming bored sitting around the house. It will help the younger guys even more so.”
Professor Carlton Cooke from Leeds Met’s School of Leisure and Sports Studies said: “It is good to see that we are building on our existing links with Leeds Rhinos, with several of their players now studying at the university. The team already uses our excellent sports facilities at Beckett Park for some monitoring and evaluation of the training of players. As students of the university, these players now have the choice to train alongside fellow students and staff on the days when they are attending for their studies.”
A Leeds Rhinos spokesman said: "We are delighted that the university and the club can work together to further these players career. Unfortunately, the longevity of a player’s career can often be cruelly short and having a degree will certainly enable to players to plan for the future.”
Pictured Rhinos players (left to right): Willie Poching, Matt
Diskin, Chris Feather, Kevin Sinfield, Chris McKenna and Jamie
Jones-Buchanan.
