Sport Students Visited by Anthony Crolla

Former WBA lightweight title holder visited Nicholls Campus to talk to Level 2 and 3, Sport students about what it takes to have a successful career in sport.

Level 2 and 3 Sport students at The Manchester College were recently treated to a Q&A style workshop with former WBA lightweight title holder Anthony Crolla.

During the session students Anthony shared the secrets to his success and provided an insight into life as a professional athlete. He also answered a wide range of questions from students covering topics including improving sporting performance, nutrition, preparation, training and mental resilience.

In answering questions Anthony stressed the importance of having a plan for a career after sport, the critical role of education, and gave his advice on how to recover from set-backs including injury and defeat.

Anthony, who himself grew up in Manchester, commented:

“Education is so important to any student. It gives you something to fall back on if you pick up an injury that ends your sporting career. It will take the pressure off if it was to go wrong, you’re not lost as much. You can find ways to reach goals in other ways and, in general, education provides you with important life skills.”

Speaking after the session, NVQ Level 2 Activity and Leadership student Asim Khan, said: “What I learned is that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. He is a local lad, just one of us, and I aspire to be like him as a person.

“In any sport there is a variety of professional and amateur ranks, with lots of opportunities, so if you are dedicated and put your mind to it you can be anything you want to be, even if people are putting you down.”

Stuart Nickson, Sports Tutor, commented: “From the outside and looking at how a career in sport is perhaps portrayed by athletes on social media, it is too easy for our students to think that a career in this sector is easy. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, so having Anthony come along to give a real insight into the hard work, dedication and sacrifice that goes into a successful career in sport and what life as an athlete is really like was hugely important. The session was incredibly insightful and I would like to thank Anthony for giving his time to provide his insight and advice to our students.

View our range of Sport courses online for more information about the options we offer to help you start your own career in this exciting sector.