Sports Coaching BSc (Hons)

Michelle Morgan

Michelle Morgan joined the University of Worcester School of Sport and Exercise Science full-time in 2011, after fulfilling a number of part-time roles within the School during both her undergraduate and MSc studies. Michelle has a range of experiences in sports coaching (both in the UK and USA) with a Netball specialism as a UKCC Level 3 coach. In her role as Course Leader and Senior Lecturer for the BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching Science degree, Michelle uses her industry and academic experiences to support and develop students’ understanding of the demands of the sporting industry, including the skills and qualities needed to be employable.  

Dr Andy Cale

Andy has a wide and vast experience in Higher Education, Sports Coaching and Sports Psychology. He has worked in Professional Football as a Sports Psychologist, has managed and coached in the Champions League, has worked for the Football Association as Head of Player Development and Research and worked as a Senior Football Manager in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. Andy uses all these different experiences to help students learn and develop as people and coaches.

Dr Christian Edwards

Dr Christian Edwards is a Principal Lecturer in Sports Coaching Science and one of the School’s Academic Integrity Tutors. He is a member of the Gender, Identity and the Body research interest group and a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Christian teaches on sociological, psychological and research methods modules within the School’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Christian also supports postgraduate students on the MRes Socio-Cultural Studies of Sport and Exercise programme.

Christian’s principal research interest is on the psychology of resistance exercise, specifically psychological strategies' influence on strength performance and muscularity-orientated body-image. He has published his work in, and reviews for, a number of leading international academic journals in this area. In addition to his work in this field, he also collaborates on projects focused on workplace physical activity and well-being.

Alongside his academic role, Christian is a cycling coach.

Glyn Harding

Glyn came to the University of Worcester in 2004 having previously worked as a PE teacher, youth worker and the Assistant Academy Director at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.

Since coming to the School of Sport and Exercise Science, he has undertaken the roles of HND co-ordinator and course leader for Sports Coaching Science and has developed the coaching of disabled athletes, culminating in a unique taught degree pathway in this evolving area of study. As part of his role, Glyn supports and provides guidance to elite athletes in their pursuit of sporting and academic excellence; these have included the GB paralympic blind footballers Ajmal Ahmed and Lee Greatbatch, the Port Vale footballer Robert Taylor and GB downhill mountain biker Jessica Stone.

Glyn has been a key pioneer in the development of the Brazil-UK Football Development Course undertaken in partnership by the University of Worcester and the University of São Paulo.

Dr Jennifer Joyce

Originally from Ireland, Dr Jennifer Joyce joined the University of Worcester in September 2013. Jennifer graduated from the University of Limerick, Ireland in 2007 with a BSc in Sport and Exercise Sciences (1st Class Honours), before continuing her studies at the University of Chichester, UK where she received a Masters degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Having developed an interest in the relationship between exercise and the brain during her time at both of these institutes, Jennifer completed a PhD examining the effects of exercise on cognitive function in older adults.

David Mycock

David consults and researches in the field of coaching science and coaches externally in elite level football. He has helped evolve the game of blind futsal and is a qualified FA Tutor. David is the Head Coach of Worcester Blind FC and has previously coached the England and Great Britain Blind Futsal teams at major tournaments, and is currently the Head Coach of the Czech Republic National Blind Football team.

David has a variety of NGB Awards and as an ex-professional football player is a member of the Professional Footballers Association. His role at the University has grown since 2006 and he is now the Link Tutor for the SSES Partnership programmes with Masaryk University in the Czech Republic.

Alexandru Radu

Alexandru Radu joined the School of Sport and Exercise Science in May 2010 after lecturing at Northumbria University, where he gained an MSc in Sport Management UK/European and the APT Award (Applauding and Promoting Teaching). As well as teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, Alex is actively involved in coaching basketball – Romania Women National Team, Romania U20 Women National Team, Worcester Wolves (BBL) men team, Cardiff Archers (WBBL) women team and Wales U18 Men's National Team are amongst some of the teams he coached (as either Assistant Coach or Head Coach). 

The books Basketball: A Guide to Skills, Techniques and Tactics and Basketball Coaching and Putting Theory into Practice are two of his key publications.

Dr Don Vinson

Don's specialist area is sports coaching.  He is driven by balancing his roles as teacher, researcher and practitioner, applying his expertise in learning and pedagogic theory to all areas of his work. Don has written extensively in the area of sports coaching, performance analysis, leadership and higher education pedagogy. In particular, his recent research focuses on Coach Developer learning through the perspective of Landscapes of Practice in various contexts.

Don is a member of the International Council for Coach Education (ICCE) Research Committee, founder-member and Secretary of the Cluster for Research into Coaching (CRiC) Steering Committee and is the UK representative for the International Advisory Board for the Teaching Games for Understanding Special Interest Group.

Don has worked with a large number of National Governing Bodies (NGBs) including the Football Association, British Cycling, British Gymnastics, British Rowing and the British Equestrian Federation. Don has also consulted for many influential bodies within the sport sector such as UK Sport, UK Coaching and the League Managers’ Association. 

Don is passionate about most sports and, in addition to hockey, can also be regularly found playing squash, badminton and golf.

Dr Julia West

Julia West has a keen interest in sport and performance. She played football for a number of years in the Women's premiership as goalkeeper for different clubs and earned her England University caps against America, Scotland and Wales. As a keeper, Julia's perspective on football may be slightly different, if not interesting, and she is happy to discuss this with all comers. Julia read her BSc in Sport from Brunel University, where she also successfully achieved an MSc in Sports Coaching. Having completed her PhD in situational motivation, which arose from observations within her goalkeeper coaching, Julia has now turned her attention to all things goalkeeper related. 

Craig Williams

Craig successfully blends his passion for student learning and employability in his roles at the University of Worcester where he is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching Science, Course Leader for the BSc Cricket Coaching and Management degree and the Coach Education and Development Manager. As well as a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching Science, Craig is an affiliate tutor with the Football Association delivering courses from Level 1 to 3 (UEFA B) and a qualified and active Cricket Coach.  

Since 2001, Craig has created a vocational coach education programme that has provided over 16,600 opportunities for University students and community coaches to secure accredited coach education and relevant coaching and officiating CPD. These qualifications and opportunities provide University of Worcester students with the necessary skills and qualifications to secure coaching and officiating opportunities.

Dr John Francis

John Francis returned to the University of Worcester in 2018 as a Lecturer in Performance Analysis. He has an array of applied and research experience in performance analysis with elite able-bodied and disabled sports teams. John has provided support to a variety of teams during six European Championships, three World Championships, one World Cup and a Paralympic Games. His research has involved working closely with the British Wheelchair Basketball squads, where his findings helped the male and female performance squads secure a bronze medal and a fourth place finish at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. More recently, he has begun exploring how coaches, athletes and support staff perceive the use of performance analysis to help improve the delivery of the sport science discipline. John uses all these different experiences and skills to help engage students in the field and develop future performance analysts.

Michael Bateman

Mike joined the University of Worcester in January 2017 following a career as a Performance Analyst in professional football. Mike had worked closely with the University before becoming a member of staff by developing placement and internship programmes for both undergraduate and postgraduate pathways.

His passion continues to focus around the importance of performance analysis within the coaching process and utilises his knowledge of the applied field to assist in the education of students. He also supports the University of Worcester franchise teams, utilising technical expertise to help bridge the gap between the applied and theoretical world of performance analysis.

Jamie Kyte

Jamie joined the University in March 2019 following a successful period at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC where he completed a placement alongside a MSc in Sport Performance Analysis. Jamie progressed from this to becoming the club’s first ever Loan Player Analyst where he was tasked with delivering the analysis provision for all Wolverhampton Wanderers loan players.

His passions continue to lie with a focus on performance analysis with Jamie still a key part of local team AFC Telford’s preparations. He also now leads the provision of analysis for the University of Worcester franchise teams where he can utilise his mix of applied experience together with his technical skills and theoretical knowledge.