A student says working with Tamworth FC on their incredible FA Cup run has been ‘like a dream’, as he played his part in one of the biggest competitions in football.
Ethan Parker, 22 and in the 3rd year of his Sports Coaching degree at the University of Worcester, has been working as Tamworth FC’s Performance Analyst as part of a work placement-based module for his course.
Tamworth faced Tottenham Hotspur in the 3rd round of the tournament over the weekend, with Spurs winning 3-0.
Heading into the game, Tamworth sat at 16th in the Vanarama National League, while Tottenham were positioned 12th in the Premier League.
Ethan said: “Starting my placement in August I had no real idea of where it would go, so to have played my part with a team which beat two League One sides and took on Spurs was incredible.”
He continued: “I’m the only analyst at Tamworth, so I’ve been able to lean on my lecturers a lot to help me learn on the job and go through the process.”
Ethan is one of eight members of staff at the club who are either current or former students or staff at the University of Worcester.
Among them is Tim Dudding, First Team Head Coach and Academy Manager, who is a current PhD student at the University.
Head Therapist for the club, Beth Willment, is also a Sports Therapy Technician at the University.
She said: “Tottenham will have several full-time people doing all of the different roles I do for Tamworth, so I’ve been very busy these last few weeks!”
She continued: “We were speechless when we found out we were playing Tottenham, we didn’t really know what to expect until we arrived at work before and the carpark was full of film crews and kit from Tottenham, that’s when it hit us!”
She added: “Having that exposure for the club and all of us has been great, we’ve made a lot of connections which we will have for life.”
For Ethan, his FA Cup journey and placement at the club have helped him decide on a path for the future.
He said: “I enjoyed performance analysis before my placement, but this has shown me that it’s the field I want to work in.”
He added: “My next step is to apply for my Master’s in Sports Performance Analysis at Worcester.”
For information on courses at University of Worcester visit www.worcester.ac.uk or for application enquiries, telephone 01905 855111 or email [email protected]