UCFB In The Hot Seat: BSc Sport Psychology academic Kirsten Height

UCFB Wembley academic Kirsten Height, who lectures in BSc Sport Psychology, is the latest guest in our In The Hot Seat podcast series.

In the episode, Kirsten spoke us through her education and career in the field alongside her work at UCFB, as well as the importance and rapid growth of sports psychology.

Kirsten initially studied sports coaching at undergraduate level before studying a Master’s degree in psychology, sport and exercise.

Working in areas such as swimming and alongside basketball teams, Kirsten worked in a college before securing her role at UCFB.

Speaking about her time so far at UCFB, she said: “It’s been really great, actually. I enjoy working with the students.

“Compared to a college, it’s the maturity side. Everyone has identified their passion and interests.

“When you go to uni, you can really specialise within that topic, and because our cohort is quite small, it means we get individual time spent with students, so I’ve really enjoyed building of a rapport with them. I can have more one-to-ones with our students, which is nice.”

She added, speaking about the BSc Sports Psychology course: “One of my modules is applied sport psychology. That’s where we actually do look at the theories and we start to compare different theories within sports psychology.

“So, a lot of it is putting more of an analysis on the theories. So maybe you’re looking at theories on anxiety or motivation. Now, how do these theories then relate into performances, into sports?”

She finished by offering some advice to students wanting to forge their own career in the field.

“Push yourself,” she said, “and go and take those voluntary opportunities.

“I know sometimes it’s really hard, and it’s difficult because you’ve got to put yourself into a position where you don’t feel really comfortable.

“So before you come to uni, maybe just go to some coaching classes or if you can, have a coaching qualification, that would be great.

“But if you can’t, maybe go into some local clubs and be like, ‘Can I support you with some coaching?’ and just look at how the coach is interacting with their players, and that is all the psychology side to it.”

Find out more about UCFB’s sports coaching- and science-related degree courses and where they can take you and your future sports industry career.

You can also view a prospectus to learn all about our unique courses, campuses and everything about life at UCFB.