ADAM BYERS LEAD STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH
mature and challenging day-to-day decisions and sacrifices. One such sacrifice, be it to make way for academic work or sports training, is of time spent socialising with peers, which can entail its own consequences. Ffion Thompson conducted a case-study of ‘sports friendly schools’ in 2022, highlighting that the term identified “an educational institution that aligns themselves with elite sport and provides academic flexibility for students who train and compete in their own sporting environment.” In other words, a school where educational and high-quality sporting facilities are on the same site, with a programme that provides a holistic development programme covering everything from nutrition and athletic development to strong pastoral care (at DC we call this The High- Performance Programme). Being a ‘sports friendly’ school, Dulwich College caters for an increasing number of dual career students, a trend that looks likely to continue. It is essential, therefore, that we pre-empt and cater for a range of challenges: • academic lessons being missed due to sports fixtures • physical injury • lack of physical relaxation • fatigue • difficulty in balancing sporting and academic commitments • lack of free time outside education and sport • body image issues However, we can also recognise a wealth of positive associations, such as: • stress relief through playing sports • success in academics • identity as an athlete • inter- and intra-personal skills • potential for improved or stronger mental health • generally higher motivation to succeed The added complexity of a dual career programme will come as little surprise. Recent data suggests that an average of 15 hours’ sporting commitment is added to a typical 27-hour weekly academic commitment, depending on the sport. This does not include competition time. When problems arise, surely the sport commitment should be the first area to give way – we are a school after all...?!
A word of caution: when we remove students from a sporting commitment, be it through choice, circumstance or injury, the impact can be significant. Kristin Haralsdottir produced a report in 2021, highlighting issues related to identity, belonging and mental health when young people are removed from a sporting endeavour. Not only are we removing adolescents from an important social circle, we remove opportunities to develop self-esteem. Subsequent effects on academic performance are well documented by Markus Duncan, who has demonstrated how positive markers of mental health are linked to an array of educational outcomes: positive educational behaviours; higher attendance; completion of independent work; and ultimately higher academic grades. This growing field is one that I am keen to explore in more detail. Working with students who fall into the dual career category, I have been impressed by how they develop strategies to manage a busy timetable at such a young age. Many of these students are balancing high academic attainment with success and pride in their sporting achievements, demonstrating extraordinary discipline in both. However, I have also seen the challenges: injuries leaving students with a reduced sense of purpose, high levels of fatigue and the prospect of not being part of a team. My personal challenge is to undertake a PhD in this area, specifically looking at the holistic impact of injury on dual career students. I expect that our school’s holistic approach to dual career students will form much of the discussion. We are already helping many of these students with bespoke plans for intense periods of sporting competition or during periods of high academic workload. Collaboration between coaches, strength and conditioning staff and teachers will be paramount if we are to achieve the sophisticated, individualised and responsive support systems that will help them to thrive on all fronts.
Balancing Acts Navigating the Dual Demands of Academia and Sporting Commitment
The global increase of professionalism in sport has filtered down into our education systems. UK schools are having to position themselves as Talent Identification and Development Systems (TIDS), assuming the responsibility of supporting students who may progress onto professionalism in their chosen sports. This puts the student in a unique position; the term ‘Dual Career’ has been widely adopted to describe those who fall into this category. Dual career students have the difficult task of balancing educational and elite sporting aspirations. It covers a range of sports: currently at Dulwich College we
have dual career students in rugby, football and swimming; also, in more niche sports such as fencing, badminton and rowing. The relationship between physical activity and academic success has fuelled a long-running debate. In 2011, Alicia Fedewa pulled together a meta-analysis of 59 major studies, concluding that there was a significant and positive effect on academic success, especially where aerobic exercise was concerned. However, the dual career student faces a dichotomy in which they must make
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