Pitch side reporter

Pitch Side Reporter PSR APRIL ISSUE /// TAKE A FREE COPY

ROCKIN’ RIO

Paralympian Oliver Nugent tells us about representing his country

JUST TRY IT A story of getting over fears and playing in a new sports team

KICKIN’ OUT

Instructor Ross Sharman reflects on the success of MMU TKD

AN MMU MASTERPIECE MEET THE MAN AT THE HELM OF MMU MEN’S 2ND FC PSR 1

STAY HYDRATED

SMART WATER “NOW THAT’S CLEVER”

By Matty Blake

-Contents4- BUCS 6- Record Breakers History Makers 12- From East to Best 20- Back-to-back Champs 24- A Journalism Masterclass 26- A day in the life of a Scholar 27-30- Posters 32- Cerebral Super Striker Nugent 38- The eRevolution is Here 44- Support in the Name of Sport 46- Active Campus 48- Hope for the Hoops 49- Football’s Femme Fatals 50- Disc-overing a New Sport 52- Higher, Better, Faster Stronger

Welcome to the April issue of Pitch Side Reporter!

We at PSR have been out and about around campus to bring you the conclusive issue of the 2016-2017 season. With the conclusion of the competitive season and the end of the Active Campus sessions in March, Matty and Matt have been rounding up the biggest success stories from this year in BUCS as well as doing the final round of Active Campus spotlights for the year, we’ve got some hidden gems in the spotlights.

I ventured slightly further afield to cover professional gaming in Germanythere’s more on that on Page 38. I had a lot of fun at the LCS and I’d like to thank Jonathon Singh and Becca Roberts for their help on getting me ready to cover the event.

The two posters for this edition are from the MMU Football Men’s 2nd team’s huge run through the cup, as well as some esports action- don’t forget to take the page out and stick your preferred side on your locker or club room.

I hope you have as much fun reading this as we had producing it, and be sure to pick up your copy of the next issue soon.

Yours, Liam PSR 3

Futsal team prepare to start their drills. Photo by Matt Ramsey

BRITISH UNIVERSITY

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Y & COLLEGE SPORT

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MMU vs Chester Northern Conference Cup Semi-final

RECORD BREAKERS In the fickle world of Premier League football, title winning sides usually keep the core of the squad together. Even dropping down to semi-professional football, sides still look to keep the team together to build on last season’s performances. University football has a different system in place.

You go in to the new season not knowing the team you’ve got to work with, making preparations for the season difficult, something Mourinho would complain about, no doubt.

With third year students moving on to pastures new, and other players getting placements, you can face losing around half the squad from the season before. How can they build up a strong team cohesion when they’re only playing together for a year? There’s a method to the madness.

With around 400 players turning up to trials, it’s whittled down to those talented enough to compete in the blue and orange of MMU. The team bonding blossoms from there. Team nights out, away day coaches….standard sports life at university, but it’s effective.

It’s not the only change though, each year the captain’s change and have the opportunity to take the team in their own direction. So with three new captains for each side, which captain would have the most successful side?

This year it was undisputedly MMU 2nd’s captain, Luke Sands, who guided his side to MMU F.C. history.

Last season saw the seconds win the league and get promoted, so being successful in the league above would always be a challenge. Except the main success 6

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story came in the Northern Conference Cup, rather than the league and it makes sense as to why.

In the league system players can interchange between the three teams relatively freely. In the cup, once you’ve played for one of the sides, you’re merged in to that team for the year.

Throughout the cup run, the squad stayed together, got to know each other’s style and played the same system which allowed the side to build up some consistency.

The same as any sport in university, the leagues are split

HISTORY MAKERS

Pictures and Story by Matty Blake

As the games progressed the fan base grew along with the beliefs that they could re-write the history books.

The cup campaign began with a home game against UCFB 1st’s, a team in the same league. It was at this stage that MMU 2nd’s exited the cup last year, so a win in this round would already better last year’s showing.

A victory is what followed; running out winners with a comfortable 3-0 win, it was onto the next round.

MMU travelled to Lancaster in the next round, and it again proved too easy for the free scoring side. With both the other Manchester sides now knocked out the cup, MMU took around 30 fans with them, those fans soon became the 12th man.

The side began to gather some momentum and managed to put six goals past the Lancaster goalkeeper and keep another clean sheet against a well-drilled Lancaster side. Whispers were circulating the campus, could they achieve something great here?

into regions and rankings making league games fairly even. This isn’t the case in the cup. You can find yourself facing anyone from the Northern region, meaning the chances of success are significantly lower.

MMU seconds didn’t quite get the memo this year though. They were the giant killers, the history makers.

Never before had an MMU side got further than the quarter finals, until this year’s side got their cup campaign underway. MMU 2nd’s made it through to the final, against all the odds conceding just two goals on the whole run, and scoring 14, they were more than worthy of their place in the final.

MMU advanced into the fourth round and it was the big one against their main rivals, University of Manchester. UoM made the short trip to Platt Lane and were welcomed by the faithful MMU fans. One league above the MMU first team, UoM went into the game as overwhelming favourites, but every football fan knows there are no favourites in cup football.

It was a hard fought but well deserved 2-0 win in front of the home support and captain, Luke Sands feels this was the turning point. He felt this is where the players started to believe they could make something of the journey they found themselves on.

The quarter finals came around and the players knew this was their moment, they could make history if they could overcome Bishop Burton 1st’s, a team that was two leagues above the MMU first team. It was another scalp PSR 7

there to be claimed. A 2-0 victory when again they were given no chance of progressing meant that Sands’ side became the first MMU football side to make it past the quarter final, they wrote their own chapter in the history books.

Platt Lane Complex, MMU’s home ground.

The semi-final was a tense affair. Away to Chester 1st’s. The game was a cagey, intense affair on a small, narrow pitch that suited their opponents.

The week beforehand the side prepared for the long ball football they were going to face.

MMU’s fans were in fine voice for the third consecutive Wednesday afternoon. Around 30 of them made the trip to the game against local rivals, Chester. Even though they were outnumbered compared to the 80 odd Chester had in attendance, they didn’t stop supporting the side and were eventually rewarded for their efforts.

The game was 0-0 with 80 to go with both sides struggling to hit the back of the net, but it wasn’t for the want of trying, MMU hitting the woodwork on three different occasions. However, it was Chester who scored to go one up. MMU simply wouldn’t lie down and with two minutes left they equalised through Anthony Williams.

The game ran through extra time and into penalties. MMU remained calm in front of the Chester fans and won the shoot-out thanks to the heroics of their keeper, Dan Carr, and the level heads of their spot kick takers.

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The celebrations begun, they were into the final and would face Leeds Beckett first team up in York.

The atmosphere around the University was buzzing, knowing a week later they’d be playing in the final. Coaches were booked and sold out

almost instantly. MMU were taking around 60 fans up North in the hope of one last triumph.

MMU were well aware they were facing a side made up of semi-professional footballers so the pressure was away from them, as it had been all tournament. They’d defied the odds to get this far and were 90 minutes away from greatness.

Throughout the game the MMU side gave it 100%, contested everything, created their fair share of chances and not once looked like they were out of place Unfortunately it was one game too much, Leeds Beckett won the game 1-0. Whilst the cup may not have been won, the achievement of making it that far is a reward on its own. MMU had beaten teams nobody gave them a chance against, they made their own history and their journey is not to be overlooked.

Getting to the final of a cup tournament is always a momentous occasion but for this set of players it was extra special. They repeatedly proved the doubters wrong by winning games they shouldn’t have, they worked hard as a team and brought the university sports societies together. The members of the squad are deservedly regarded as ‘history makers’.

Next season, it’ll be back to the drawing board and starting a fresh with a new set of players and a different captain. It’ll be interesting to see how the side reacts next year and whether they can push on from this year’s strong performances.

TEAMMATES WITH DAN SIM

We sat down with MMU 1st Centre Midfielder Dan Sim and asked him “who is...”

The fastest? fastest is probably Tunde, he just glides past people like they’re not there, 1 on 1 you have no chance.

The slowest?

He won’t be very happy about this but I’m going off the fact he only has little legs. He may even drop me for this, but it’s Luke Sands.

The most skilful?

There’s a few really skilful players, Josh Pickering has a few tricks in his locker but I’d probably go for Alex Kennedy, he’s the most skilful.

The Joker?

It’s a really good laugh playing for MMU but a couple stand out. Ash Kennedy makes me laugh quite a bit but Alfie has to take this one, absolute joker.

Best looking team-mate?

Most of the team think they’re good looking, which is fair enough but I’d go with Josh Pickering, purely down to the fact he has the best looking missus.

The best singer?

This is a tough one, people perform little bits but I’d say Alex Kennedy. I enjoyed his little Courteeners tribute a lot.

MMU Midfielder Dan Sim

The worst dresser?

Worst dress sense is definitely Yann, no idea where he shops but I’m staying away from there.

Longest in the shower?

Guess I owe him a bit here after rinsing him in the last question, Yann again.

The best dancer?

This is a toss-up between Alfie and Dan Carr, but Dan has to take this one, his moves are something else.

The biggest moaner?

We do have a few moaners, Josh loves to complain but I’d say E-Money is the biggest.

Biggest name on the AU? Right now it’s Russ, the guy seems to know everyone, but Cow would’ve taken this title a year ago I reckon.

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CAPTAIN’S CHATTER Each year a new member of the football team takes the reigns as captain. After last season’s title winning side moved up a division, the new captain had a lot to follow on from.

This year, Luke Sands, a sports management student at Manchester Metropolitan University, took the armband.

Even though no silverware was won, the success that Luke guided his team towards was remarkable. Finishing second in the league after promotion is a good feat on its own, but creating MMU F.C. cup history takes the limelight.

Having played at academy level with Leeds and Middlesbrough, Luke was aware of the big game pressures heading into this seasons campaign, whether he was aware he’d play in big games week after week, he captained his team well which ultimately got them to the final, only to lose against a semiprofessional side.

I spoke to Luke about the season’s performance and what was next for him in the footballing world.

Q: When the cup began did you have any idea how successful you would be?

A: When the first round came along I didn’t have much expectation of doing well. To be honest I thought it’d be the same as last year and that we’d be knocked out in the first round. Even after winning the first game I didn’t expect to go on and make history.

Q: Which game personally stood out for you on the way to the final, where you started thinking, we could do this?

A: The game that stood out for me on our journey would’ve been the game against Uni of Manchester seconds. We went into the game as massive underdogs being two leagues below them but we had a great fanbase, as we did throughout the run to be fair, but we expected to come away with nothing. Instead we came away with a 2-0 win against our biggest rivals. I think this was where we started to believe we could do it.

Q: How was it going into a few of the games

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as underdogs, was the mind set different going into games?

A: Yeah it’s a bit different. You go into the game with no pressure, no expectations but I think that helped us. We could relax and pay our own game and ultimately I think that’s why we got to where we did.

Q: For you personally, how would you sum up the experience?

A: For me personally was out of this world but I embraced every second of it. I took over as captain this season and I dreamed of being successful. To look back now and say I was the captain of a team that made history is very special.

Q: How does this achievement compare to your other achievements in the game?

A: From a team point of view I’d say it’s one of my greatest achievements. Nobody gave us a chance and we just kept on producing.

I’d put it up there with playing at academy level, but they’re a bit more of a personal achievement, this was definitely a team one.

Q: What can the team take away from the experience of getting to the final?

A: They can take a lot of pride away from this experience, they did the club proud. Not only that, they will have more knowledge and experience of playing in high profile games which I’m sure they’ll all continue to do in their careers. That sort of experience is really valuable to have.

Q: What do you feel were the main components for your success this season?

A: The main reason for our success was without a doubt our team morale. We laugh and joke about together but when we need our game heads, we put them all together and get a job done. We’ve come out of this run as a close friendship group, it was great!

Q: What can this do with regards to next season?

A: I feel we can build on this and perform better in the BUCS league. We proved anything is possible so hopefully next

season we can build on this and get some points on the board and who knows what could happen from there. We’ve shown our capabilities.

Q: How would you reflect on the league campaign?

A: We finished second in the league after being promoted last season so I’d say we had a successful season on that front. There were a few slip ups along the way but that happens. Hopefully in the next couple of years we can push on and try climb up the leagues.

Q: What support did the new coaches provide you? Do you feel they played a part in getting to where you did?

A: The new coaches were absolutely brilliant.

The brought a new style of leadership to the club along with a wealth of knowledge which meant better training sessions for us to implement in the games. The payers took to them well and I think there is a lot of respect from both parties.

Q: What went well this season and what do you feel could be improved on going into the new season?

A: Obviously a lot went well for us, they speak for themselves. I’d say the only negatives were after the cup run, the organisation on match days but it’s a lot of work for us students to do to get the right balance. We went a bit sloppy and lost a bit of routine but it was a tough loss to take in the final.

Q: Next year you won’t be playing due to placement, would you be interested in a captain’s role again when you return?

A: After my placement I’ll come back to the team and continue playing, but not in the captain role. I enjoyed doing it and it gave me great experience but I feel someone else now deserves that experience, one of the younger players. They can then take the club in the direction they want to without any interference.

Player Profile Name: Luke Sands Preferred foot: Right Date of Birth: 18/02/1997 Best moment: Playing for Leeds United for 7 years Worst moment: Being released by Middlesbrough/Losing in the final for MMU Favourite food: Spaghetti Bolognese

MMU vs Chester Northern Conference Cup Semi-final

Favourite team: Arsenal Favourite TV programme: Prison Break Favourite music artist: AJ Tracey

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TKD Training at Sugden. Picture by Matty Blake

FROM EAST TO BEST TAE KWON DON’T MESS WITH THESE GUYS

By Matty Blake Additional Reporting by Matt Ramsey

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Tae Kwon Do is a sport that many people will be unfamiliar with, but the success the Manchester Metropolitan University club have achieved over the past couple of years is unprecedented.

Tae Kwon Do is the Korean’s martial art that has been developed over time. It’s split into various different styles. The most familiar one was established in 1955 by Choi Hong Hi and is practiced

by International Tae Kwon Do adherents.

TKD is a kicking based martial art with emphasis focussed on technical kicks like spinning kicks and head height kicks.

The grading system in TKD involves belts that determine what level that student is at. The colour of the belt determines what training and combat learnings that student can perform.

The grading system can be a tough system to advance through. Often the student will perform their skills in front of a judge panel. Here they will present the judges will their knowledge of the martial art.

They’ll perform specific sequences that can reflect on their techniques and patterns they’ve learnt, they’ll then demonstrate their ability to use those techniques with power and control.

The most common way of doing this is breaking through pieces of wood.

It’s not all a physical test though, the students usually have to show that they understand the philosophies of TKD and

produce evidence that they’re aware of the concepts, terminology and history of the art.

As you advance through the ranks the more formal the testing becomes, when reaching the black belt grade, some may have to sit an exam as well as a physical assessment.

Granted it’s not as popular as football or rugby, but the rate of success that the Manchester Metropolitan University TKD side has been achieving is eclipsing that of the more popular sports clubs. They are feats that shouldn’t go below the radar.

The club is just 5/6 years old and is on course for a back-to-back ‘doubles’ having won the British University Taekwondo League Championship last year.

Winning a league title is always a great achievement, couple that with cup success and heads will begin to turn.

That’s exactly what MMU TKD did. They were crowned ‘North West Champions’, which is one the cup competitions within the sport. Each MMU competitor that competed in the championship won their gold medals; they were the undisputed, double winning side.

You’d have expected them to sweep up at the end of season AU award ceremony. However, they didn’t win any team awards. Those awards came the

year before. MMU Taekwondo, ‘Sports Club of the Year 2015’, they won the main AU prize for team sports. It was clear to see the revolution of the new martial arts team was beginning to pick up some serious pace, and it certainly didn’t slow down.

The club have built on their success from the past couple of years and have continued to win medals. In 2017, 15 of the fighters at the club went unbeaten throughout the league campaign.

Any sports fan knows how hard of an achievement it is to come out of a season saying they hadn’t lost a single battle, and credit has to go to the fighters. They’re using the wealth of knowledge and direction their coach is teaching them and dominating their sport.

MMU TKD recently made it back to back league titles and no doubt they’ll be looking to retain the ‘North West Championship’ and make it back-to-back doubles.

They could go one better than the double this year though. With the combative calendar still running, MMU TKD remain in the hunt for various cup titles. They’re still competing in the league cup and National’s cup and will hope to add those to the trophy cabinet.

Given their success again this year it’ll be interesting to see whether they scoop up anymore AU awards in May.

TKD Training at Sugden. Picture by Matty Blake PSR 13

Ross Sharman with Sam Capp and Sharah Elliott.

Photo by Alexandra Hume

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS The main success story came in the same year as their first double.

MMU TKD took over Poland in 2016 and returned as the ‘Unified International Taekwondo Federation European Champions’.

They became the first MMU club to win European gold, an achievement any sports fan will recognise and respect.

‘Unified International Taekwondo Federation President Grand Master’ Hwang Kwang Sung.

Seven members of the club flew out to Wroclaw, Poland to compete against the world’s best. The 4 competitors were joined by their coach Ross Sharman and two assistant coaches; Elliott Moore and Alexandra Hume who were looking to guide their students through the tasks ahead.

Competition began, and it took less than 24 hours for one of MMU’s fighters to win gold. Colour belt Sam Capp won European Gold in the sparring against his opponent from Germany.

Over 500 competitors from 14 different countries were there trying to fulfil their dreams with some of the biggest names and masters of TKD in attendance.

Even being in that calibre of company would be regarded as an achievement, but the competitors from Manchester weren’t there to make up the numbers.

The biggest name there was the 14

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Hwang Kwang Sung is the first Korean grandmaster of Tae Kwon Do. He was there presenting the winners with their medals. It was certainly an incentive for the team to work towards.

Capp got to meet his idol when he was presented with European gold and Capp’s success continued as he managed to get Bronze in his patterns outing.

Capp could go to bed that night knowing he helped the club make history by being the first club at MMU to win European gold. I don’t think he will forget that in a hurry.

The gold medals continued on day 2. This time black belt Sarah Elliott won Gold in Sparring, beating an

English compatriot in the final.

Elliott also went on to exceed expectations in her patterns event by acquiring a silver medal, a double European medalist.

Two others were participating in the competition but couldn’t quite replicate the success of their teammates.

Jack Baker got to the men’s quarter finals whilst Luca Raimo made it to the semi-finals, not that anything should be taken away from their performances.

Once the competitive battles were over the team from Manchester had a well-earned break. They soaked up their surroundings along with the other UK participants they were lodging before they returned back home as European champions.

Performing on that kind of stage can give those fighters a great sense of pride, experience and knowledge that they may pass down to their own students one day.

It’s not just in the ring that MMU Tae Kwon Do have had success. In 2016, they won the ‘MMU Sport Event of the Year Award’ having raised over £3’000 for charity.

As a team they organised a charity fight night that was held in February. It was held in the student union and had 6 sparring fights in a full size boxing ring.

The event was presented in the way a traditional fight would but also included personal ring entrances for each fighter, giving it the fun, charitable feel.

The allocated attendance of 300 was a sell out as the crowd built up to support the club’s initiative. Having raised £1’092 from the event, it was considered a big success for a good cause and got the recognition

it deserved throughout the AU. December came round and the club decided to do a re-take of the event they hosted earlier in the year. After the previous success of the fight night, the club managed to increase the number of fights as well as the allocated capacity. 380 was the allocation and again the club sold out the event.

This time round, they worked alongside the MMU cheerleading club who performed their routines during entertainment intervals.

The expansion of the event saw nearly double the amount of money raised. The second event saw £2’084 raised for charity so it’s hard to dispute the fact that MMU

TKD deserved yet another award.

It’s clear to see that this team’s talent doesn’t end in combat, they can work as a team to host events that benefit a community. It’s developing into a club that the other sports clubs will be striving to emulate and if they continue to work alongside each other, the achievements will continue to add up.

For a sport that relatively is unknown, the club at Manchester Metropolitan University are definitely moving in the right direction to getting the sport out there. The levels of success that they’ve been achieving, on a regular basis is admirable. They deserve all the recognition they receive and who knows, maybe other sports can start following suit and add to the success that MMU is witnessing.

CHARITY FIGHT NIGHT Photo selection of the MMU TKD Charity Fight Night Photo by Alexandra Hume PSR 15

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The full MMU TKD Roster. Photo by Matt Ramsey

Announcement of Sam Capp’s victory at the European Championships. Photo by Alexandra Hume

MMU TKD Charity Fight Night Photo by Alexandra Hume

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The Man Behind Tae Kwon Do’s Success

By Matt Ramsey Additional reporting by Matty Blake

He started MMU’s first ever TKD team in January 2011 and has since become one of the most prestigious coaches on campus.

The success started for Ross in 2015, where he took home two individual awards in the shape of ‘Club Official of the Year’. This is awarded to the committee member who gives the most for their club, and on this occasion, it was MMU’s very own.

For an award that is competed for by 426 people, it shows that the work Ross is doing is admirable. Ross also received recognition for the work he’s been putting in to TKD, by winning the ‘Outstanding Volunteering Coach’ in the same year.

In 2016, Ross took his individual achievements to a new level. Firstly, he won the ‘International Taekwondo Council Distinguished Instructor Award’. Later that year Ross was awarded with the ‘Brownhill Evans Award’, the most valued individual award at MMU. The award is in memory of James Brownhill and Dan Evans who passed away doing the sport they love. This award is given to the individual who has dedicated everything to his club, essentially a lifetime achievement award.

When asked what the award meant to him, Ross said: “I’ve won a fair few awards during my time as a MMU Taekwondo Instructor but this one is special, it’s an honour to receive this award. It’s a special award to be given considering the commitment James and Dan gave for the sport they loved and I’m just looking to give something back for the sport I love, if I continue to provide the knowledge and experience I bring to my pupils I’ll be happy. I won’t ever forget the feeling of being presented with that award.”

In the space of two years, Ross’s dedication to TKD had started to pay off. He had not only single handedly brought a new sport onto MMU turf, he transformed it into one of the most accomplished teams on campus.

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PSR met up with Ross Sharman at the Sugden Sports Centre to find out more about the man behind the success.

Q: How long has the team grown since you started coaching?

A: I’ve been leading the team now for 6 years, it was the first TKD team on campus, and I’ve seen it grow in so many ways since. The club’s members have grown from only 12 in the first year to a massive 56, so we’ve got huge numbers there. With this, I feel it has helped with the achievements we’ve gathered, year by year gaining more momentum. So, I’ve seen it grow in that kind of way as well.

Q: Where did your sides success suddenly come from?

A: This year we’ve had more success because these opportunities have only come about recently. With our biggest achievement to date being the European championships; that only came about because we won the league title. So, we were invited as the first ever University team to compete at a European level, thanks to our progress and our wins throughout the league last year, it opened many doors for us to feature in events like this.

This year we were crowned league champions for the second year running, so hopefully that will open further doors again for us.

Q: With your class welcoming all students, there is bound to be a gap in terms of skill level. How does this impact your training regime?

A: Obviously, people are going to be at different weights or different levels, but I try and make sure that everyone’s treated equally. But what I will say is this is how it works is; we line up in grade order, making sure that we’ve always got the assistance there for each group.

So, if you come at a lesser ability to everyone else, it doesn’t mean you’ll drop down a class, you can still train at that intensity and learn from others that will eventually build you up to a higher level.

Q: What is it about this martial art that appeals to you?

A: TKD is the newest of all the martial arts, starting in 1955. So, it’s not got a huge amount of history compared to all other arts, but you see that’s an interesting thing for me, because TKD was created by the Koreans to find the flaws in other martial arts, to see if they could turn it into a stronger form of defence. So, it appeals to me as I find it takes a bit of everything from other martial arts, making it unique to other arts that only tend to only specialise in one form of defence.

Q: With this sport teaching you selfdefence, how important is discipline in your sessions?

A: That’s the most important thing. The problem is you’re teaching students how to use the body in a very effective way.

Discipline is the key to it; without it you are essentially teaching people how to use the forces for the wrong reasons. With taekwondo being made for the Korean Army, discipline was naturally very high, so we aim to repeat this ourselves. It’s important for us to be very formal in how we address each-other in the practices we do. There’s a big emphasis on respecting each other in using the skills when necessary.

Q: What advice would you give to students who are thinking about joining the team?

A: I would say go give it a go, get out there and give it a try. The hardest part is stepping through the door as no one knows what to expect and it can be quite daunting. Obviously with it being set up though the university it’s a very social thing, so we have a laugh, it’s great for your confidence and it’ll help with other kinds of problems.

I also think it benefits your personal skills in life, personally for me it made me more confident and improved my fitness. It helps a person progress in many ways and it’s not all just about self-defence.

Fancy coming along to a TKD session? Why not learn with the European champions?

Get involved and join the team. Sessions are held for MMU students at the Sugden sports centre every Tuesday 6:15-8:15 and Thursday 7:00-9:00.

Ross Sharman speaking to PSR. Photo by Matty Blake

All good things come in pairs and for MMU Tae Kwon Do instructor Ross Sharman, the last two years have been greater than good. His side’s success in the European and league cups has come with an array of personal awards for the IV-degree black belt.

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BACK-TO-BACK A royal audience as we met the Kings of the Court

By Matt Ramsey

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The full MMU Futsal roster. Picture by Matt Ramsey

CHAMPS

Futsal is a variation of 5-aside football played indoors on a hard court. It’s also one of the newest sports on campus. It’s an obscure and relatively new sport in the U.K, so you may not have heard about futsal before. MMU’s team has only been running for two seasons now so, if you’re interested in finding out more about futsal, not to worry, Pitch Side Reporter has all the information you need to know!

Futsal was created in the 1930’s by a teacher called Juan Carlos Cerani, from Uruguay. His aim was to create a game that took rules from a range of different sports that would complement the game of football. In making the rule book he replicated ideas from a host of other sports, including: basketball; with only 5 players per team and the game duration (40 minutes), water polo; regarding the goalkeepers positioning, as well as handball; for the field and goal sizes.

By 1965, the game had become a big draw across South America. The continent formed its own league in the: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol de Salón, featuring nations from; Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina and Brazil. The fast-paced nature of the game attracted a huge audience across the continent to get behind the sport.

Futsal started to change the style of the modern-day footballer, demanding for a slicker, sharper style of play. A style that developed some of the best footballing talent in the world. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Neymar, all massive names in the worlld of football, all of which played Futsal in their early years. Eyebrows were raised over the skill behind the sport, and worldwide people were becoming increasingly aware of it.

Suddenly futsal was on the map and the sport was starting to grow. Teams began to quickly form, leading to more competitions taking place. This further led to the BUCS, the governing body for university sports, starting a Futsal league for universities to partake in 2011/12, later leading to MMU becoming a part of the movement prior to the 2015/16 season.

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Key Rules of The Game -5 players per team.

-Must be played on an indoor court. 24-42 metres in length and 16-25 metres in width.

-Two 20-minute halves on a stopping clock.

-A maximum of 1 minute time out per half, per team, per match.

-Roll on substitutions at any time.

Yann Van Mayengele has been the captain of the MMU futsal side for 2 years and in that time, he’s seen the team go from nothing into one of the best university sides competing in BUCS today.

and football?

We visited Yann at training, who reflected on his Futsal experience and discussed what factors have led to his side’s double success.

A: The biggest difference is the intensity, believe it or not Futsal is a lot more intense than football.

Because with football you may play 90 minutes, but you can find time to rest on the pitch. With Futsal, you can’t, its literally back to front. You go on the back then you’re on the front, you go on the back then you’re on the front. You literally give yourself 2-3 minutes on the court, exhaust yourself, take a breather, then come back in again. You see, this is the main reason I think we won the league last season, because every player that came in when called on gave 200%.

Q: How much has the MMU Futsal team progressed since it started?

Q: Following on from your side’s back to back success, what is the room for improvement?

A: Well to be fair, we’ve done a great job in the 2 years that the team has been running. Last year we won the league, which was massive considering the team was basically made from scratch and not many people even knew about Futsal. This year we improved even more, playing at a higher standard at the top [Northern League A] which we went on to win. So, the improvements couldn’t have gone any better really.

A: There’s always room to improve. We need to push on from last season and give much more. I’m sure the standard of next years league will be 10 times harder than last [season], so its important we work 10 times harder in trainings and games.

The skipper has been playing Futsal in Belgium for as long he can remember. However, his best moments of the sport come from here at MMU, being at the heart of his squad’s recent back to back success.

Q: What’s the plan for next season?

A: So, we were supposed to play in the play-off that would have seen who got the position, but BUCS decided to restructure this year meaning it got called off. So, basically two or four of the top teams from the Premier League and the Midlands will join us, becoming a single league, which will be much more of a challenge for us.

Q: Were you aware of the sport prior to joining MMU? A: I played a lot more football compared to Futsal when I first moved to England, but when I lived in Belgium I used to play a lot of Futsal and loved it, so I knew about the sport. So, when I came to the Fresher’s Fair and spoke to the coach who told me about the team, I couldn’t wait to try out and get started.

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Q: What advice would you give to students who are hoping to join the Futsal team?

A: We’re all welcoming. We may be a small group but it’s a big family at the same time. You’ll enjoy yourself, you’ll improve your skill like you don’t have to be Ronaldo to play Futsal. It’s literally the amount of commitment you have, and how dedicated you can be on the court, that’s it. We all have a lot of fun; we go out on big socials as a team. There’s much more to it than just the game itself.

“This is the main reason I think we won the league last season, because every player that came in when called on gave 200%.”

Yann Van Mayengele speaking to PSR. Photo by Liam Overend

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Tyme Regent-Bascome being interviewed by MMU Tutor Lawrence Brannon.

A JOURNALISM MASTERCLASS Athletics meets Acedemics Pictures and Story by Matt Ramsey

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Loick Pouale demonstrating his skills for the class.

Manchester Metropolitan University’s masterclass session was set up to give journalists and scholars the chance to interact, preparing them for their careers ahead. The session gave journalists the opportunity to practice their multi-media and reporting skills, something they’ve been developing on over the course of their degree. The session also offered scholars the experience of dealing with journalists, something that they’re likely to encounter if their sporting careers kick off.

The session starred Loick Pouale and Tyme Regent-Bascombe, some of MMU’s hottest basketball scholars, who represent MMU’s pro division 1st team. The session also featured Jerome Read, MMU’s Sports Performance Manager, whose job it is to ensure that all teams who compete in BUCS across campus are working at a quality standard. BUCS is the governing body for competitive sport, that covers all universities across the U.K. We managed to catch up with Jerome, who gave Pitch Side Reporter an insight into his MMU experience, and our successes in competition over the 2016/2017 season.

Q: 18 months into your new job, what are the main things you’ve taken away so far?

A: So, the main thing is it’s a blank canvus, there’s lots of investment going on into sport, particularly performance sport at university, and we’re looking to integrate that as much as possible with the rest of the university as it’s a new beast. Some people don’t know where it sits, so what we’re trying to do is make sure that this satellite beast called performance sport gets fully integrated into the university.

teams want to deliver, with the knowledge and expertise that we’ve harnessed from the high-level coaches that we’ve got to facilitate that movement.

Q: What would you say to people who are looking to get into performance sport to start competing in things like BUCS?

always a chance and the coaches are fully aware of that. We get a range of people coming from day 1 of university, and we’re open to that and we’re looking to help people grow through the university, rather than looking at talent spotting at the very beginning. We don’t talent spot we talent develop.

Q: What would you say for scholars who are looking to make the top cut?

“We don’t talent spot, we talent develop” A: I think anyone can have a go. There’s always transfer of talent skills even if you’ve never played sport before. Most people know how to walk, they know how to run, so you could start by going to something like the athletics club, getting an idea of what the sets are, it’s a very individual sport and you can find a discipline that suits you.

However, if you like team sports you can try out and go to any of the sessions and see what they’re like. It may take three or four sessions to get into that sport, but there’s

A: They’ve got to be thoroughly engaged with the university and they’ve got to be thoroughly engaged with the club. There’s no such thing as a free meal, so what we’ll do is support them in their desire to be great at academia, and to also be great at their sport, but to do that there needs to be some sort of payback.

That payback can be: just getting involved with the club, delivering something to other students, coming down and doing interviews, it can be a whole range of different things.

We’re looking for a well-rounded scholar and not just people that are good at the sport.

We’re not just looking for talented athletes, we’re looking for people who are wellrounded so when they leave University they’ll represent MMU going forward as well.

Q: As for this season, what’s gone well for you?

We’ve had some fantastic successes with teams in their leagues. We’ve got multiple promotions for teams that are in the third tier of university leagues, going up to second tier which is really important for us. On top of that we’ve had 6 conference cup finalists, of which 4 teams came away as conference cup champions. Coming up we’ve got a team in the trophy, which is second tier of knockout cup and we’ve got a team in the conference, which is top tier of knockout cup, and some of those are ground breaking with regards to this university.

A: The premise that we’re looking to improve at the moment is maximal gains. So, we’re not at a state of British cycling where you look at marginal gains, we’re looking at maximising every single big gain that we can. That just means: proper training slots, proper game time, good support for training; including things such as strength and conditioning. We’re trying to work on that as much as possible in selecting stronger coaches in some of the teams.

We’re essentially looking to deliver what the

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Jerome Read speaking to PSR.

Q: What’s coming up next year and where’s the room to improve on this?

A Week in The Life of a Scholar Ever wondered what it’s like to balance a sports scholarship with your studies?

Tyme Regent-Bascombe balances his basketball scholarship with his Financial Services Planning and Management degree. The 22-year old spent some time with Pitch Side Reporter to talks us through his weekday routine…

Monday: Full day of Uni, so I focus fully on that.

Tuesday: I get up early in the mornings, go to Platt Lane for a strength and conditioning session. Have lunch, relax and then do some uni work. I then go to the physio to get a rub down and check-up.

From there I then go to training with my team, go home and rest up.

Wednesday: So, Wednesday is match day. I don’t tend to see the physio but sometimes I go to Platt Lane for a conditioning session, occasionally I’ll meet my nutritionist for some advice. Then in the afternoon we go out and play. I’ll spend the evenings resting and recovering.

Thursday: Full day of Uni again.

Friday: Friday has a bit of everything.

Usually I’ll get any work I’ve got left to complete done. I’ll either spend the day resting, or practicing basketball depending on what’s to come over the weekend.

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MMU vs Chester Northern Conference Cup Semi-final. Photo by Matty Blake

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The LCS Studio in Adlershof, Berlin. Photo by Liam Overend

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Tyme Regent-Bascome showing his skills. Photo by Matt Ramsey

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Oliver Nugent, aged 19 at local Football pitch.

Cerebral Super

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Striker Nugent We sit down with Team GB Star Oliver Nugent who reflects on his time at the Rio Games Pictures and Story by Matt Ramsey

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Oliver Nugent, is 19 years old with cerebral palsy. He competed in his first ever Paralympic games last year in the cerebral palsy 7-aside team that finished 5th at the Rio Games in 2016. He is currently taking a year out to work with disabled children, but remains keen to get back and continue his studies, and with one of his five university offers being MMU, with some luck, this talent may be on our turf next year.

side, scoring hat-tricks week-in-weekout. It became clear for everyone to see that this lad had something special.

Leading up to Rio

During this time, he represented Merseyside, aged 14, striking the side to National Cup success., as well as making his senior debut for England’s cerebral palsy side against Ireland, aged 15. An achievement he ranks up there with the best.

Nugent was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, a disability that his family expected to be life changing for the worse. Cerebral palsy is a rare condition that effects the brain, hindering a person’s ability to co-ordinate and move their muscles as well as other motor functions. Specifically, with Nugent, it affects the right side of his body, mainly affecting his hand and arm. Despite this, Nugent continued to improve year after year in fulfilling his dream of competing on an international stage.

Oliver Nugent, practicing his keepy-ups.

Like most children, Nugent first kicked a ball at primary school, playing most lunch times with friends. His parents soon picked up on his passion for the game, leading to him joining his local side Shaftesbury FC, aged 7. The team played 5-aside every Saturday and Nugent quickly found his feet in the

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From being on the radar of several scouts, Nugent eventually signed for Tranmere Rovers FC a year later, aged 8. He enjoyed a successful 10 years at the club, a time that saw his parents dismiss endless offers from teams across the U.K, to ensure his studies weren’t affected.

An impressive childhood only continued as Nugent turned 18. He chose to join Chester FC’s senior side ahead of the 2015/16 campaign.

His impressive start to the season didn’t go un-noticed, and Nugent soon learnt that he had been placed on the shortlist for the 2016 Paralympic games.

Team GB broke the news to Nugent in December 2015 that he’d been selected for the squad at Rio. A dream come true!

Looking back

Q: When did you first hear about Team GB’s interest, and how did it then feel to be selected?

“Hearing fans shout ‘Nugent’ was such an amazing feeling” A: I was first contacted about the games at around Christmas time, 2015, where

I was selected for a long list, which then became a short list. It was the proudest moment of my life when I got that phone call, showing that my hard work over the years had paid off.

It was also very important for me to thank my family in helping with my disability; considering how much it not only affected me, but them as well.

Q: How did it then feel to go out and represent your country on such a big stage?

A: I got the shivers when I came on in front of 15,000 people, mainly Brazilians. It was the best feeling ever and knowing it was for my country, in the second biggest competition in the world made it feel even better.

Hearing some fans shouting ‘Nugent’ was such an amazing feeling when we played Argentina. The atmosphere was the best I’ve ever experienced.

Q: As the youngest member of the squad, did your teammates give you any advice in dealing with the pressure?

A: Yes, I was the youngest squad member being only 18. There was one teammate who had been to two other Paralympic events that helped me the most. Not to mention the coaches who helped with things like playing in

front of big crowds, dealing with the pressure, as well as the obvious stuff like tactical information on other team’s setups.

Q: Your team were obviously hoping to place higher than 5th. What improvements do your squad need to make to improve ahead of the next games?

A: We needed to be more clinical in front of goal; we created many chances, but simply couldn’t find the back of the net.

That would be the main aim for the team as every game was very tight and only had one goal in it.

We also needed to be calmer and more intelligent on the ball in other areas of the pitch - like other teams were doing very well. Therefore, it’s important to train on our game both on and off the ball, with drills that focus on passing and moving the ball quicker.

Q: Outside of football, what are you doing with yourself?

A: I work with disabled children who have a range of conditions, helping them with their studies and coaching them in a range of sports. I’ve just finished my A-Levels and have recently received all five of my university offers

back, one being from MMU. I also play table tennis, pool, snooker and tennis. I often jog and go to the gym once a week to keep myself fit. I also do some work at Shaftesbury Youth Club working with younger children.

Q: What advice would you give to people who share your dream of representing their country some day?

A: Firstly, working hard is the main thing. Keeping fit and making sure you are always trying to improve are also important things. Always accept help from others that have done what you’re trying to achieve. Ex-players or excoaches, who have years of experience are the ones that give the best advice.

They understand how to get to the top level, and you’ll learn a lot if you take on board what they say.

Such a tenured career at only 19 is quite a feat, and is a story of overcoming odds. Looking forward, it will be down to Nugent to manage balancing his University studies with preparation for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Whether he makes an appearence for the CP Football Team is in his own hands- but he has a long and exciting career ahead of him regardless.

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Player Profile Name: Oliver Nugent

Oliver Nugent with his signed kit from Rio.

Preferred foot: Left Date of Birth: 19/10/1997 Best moment: Appearing for England’s cerebral palsy team aged 15 or being selected for Rio. Worst moment: Losing the second game at Rio to Ukraine, putting Team GB out of a chance for a medal Favourite food: Pancakes Favourite team: Arsenal Favourite TV programme: Soccer AM Favourite music artist: Drake 36

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OUT WITH THE PREDATORS, IN WITH THE GLORO’S

By Liam Overend

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Flag outiside the LCS Stuido in Berlin.

THE eREVOLUTION IS HERE “Wait, who let these guys out of the basement?”

Pictures and Story by Liam Overend To many, especially older generations, video games are seen as a hobby worthy of a stigma- fat, lonely, introverted nerds who dwell downstairs in their mother’s basement out of sight from the world. However, in recent times, we’ve experienced a trend in “smart is the new sexy”- and Esports ‘athletes’ such as Martin ‘Rekkles’ Larsson and Petter ‘Hjärnan’ Freyschuss are the new A-listers on the block.

Esports first bloomed in the 1990s with titles such as Quake and Starcraft at Local Area Network (LAN) events- where gamers would physically have to gather in a room with their primitive gaming rigs to get their game on. Other titles such as Counter Strike revolutionised what it meant to be an esport in the early 2000s with team-based shooter combat.

It wasn’t until 2010 however that a thensmall company, Riot Games, would launch their flagship- and to-date only video game- ‘League of Legends’. League of Legends is unarguably the biggest video game in the world right now, and brings in colossal numbers in the player base. In September 2016, IGN reported that LoL broke the total of 100 million active monthly players- which was an increase of 30 million players per month in two years since Riot’s last player count. For comparison, LoL’s biggest competitor, Defense of the Ancients 2 (more commonly referred to as DOTA)

reported having 13 million active monthly players. LoL sees 1 billion hours of playtime per month- compared to each Halo title on Xbox combined totalling 2 billion hourssince 2004.

Despite the game being Free to Play, Riot Games made $1.6 billion in microtransactions alone from players buying characters or cosmetic upgrades for said characters.

With such a player base, a professional scene was inevitable. Players who sit in Challenger are the best of the best- the top 200 players of each region out of the mass of 100 million global players are those considered gifted enough to become an esports athlete- but that’s not all. Players are expected to have a positive work ethic and clean behavioural record- there are not many D.Vas (that’s an Overwatch pun for the uneducated) in the pro LoL scene, and those that have a big attitude are those with big skills to match.

After being picked up by a team, the player moves in with at least 4 other teammates as well as any substitutes and infrastructure staff into a large gaming house, where they practice playing the game full time. Being an esports star is no mean feat- they have to play the game for at least 10 hours a day, whether it being Solo Queue, a gamemode in LoL to climb the competitive ladder, or

Scrims, a friendly match against a rival team to more accurately replicate official match conditions.

There are 5 major regions of competitionNorth America, Europe, China, Taiwan and South Korea, with each league having a division where these teams compete weekly for an opportunity to represent the region on the international stage- either the Mid Season Invitational in late spring, or the more prestigious World Championships where in 2016, three-time champs SKT T1 hailing from South Korea bagged a modest $2.68 million dollars for their trouble, as well as the bragging rights of being the best team in history, led by ‘Faker’ who may be a familiar name for those that have heard of competitive gaming, touted as “the best player in esports history”.

As an avid esports fan, as well as a player of LoL since 2012, I visited the European League Championship Series in Berlin, Germany, during Week 8 building to the climax of the split to see what most only view through their computer screens live in the flesh. The teams were all jostling for positions in their respective groups to make playoffs- with the finals being held in Hamburg- as well as avoiding the Promotion Tournament, where the two weakest teams enter a round robin with with the two strongest teams from the lower division.

With teams such as the Bundesliga’s Schalke PSR 39

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Teams G2 Esports and Misfits shake hands after G2’s victory.

04 and Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain esports divisions looking hot in Challenger Series, the lower LCS teams had reason to be worried.

Team Roccat made a late sprint in the race to playoffs, and in Week 8 became the first bottom team in the bottom 4 to topple a team in the top 6- in this case long standing organisation Fnatic in a bid to muscle them out of their spot.

Origen, Worlds semi-finalist in 2015, put the final nail in their coffin after a nightmare year, which started with losing their entire roster and being forced to scrape a second-rate team together before the split began. Their games versus Team Vitality and Splyce on Thursday and Saturday respectively were their final chances to earn safety from the Promotion Tournamenteven if by some miracle Origen pulled it off- their fate would still be in Vitality’s hands and out of their control.

Their losses sunk them down to an abysmal 0 wins and 11 losses for the split and eliminated them from competition.

However in Group A, kings of Europe G2 Esports dispatched Misfits in an exciting series which took their record to 10-0 W/L for the split, as they achieved an undefeated year in all domestic competition, although this is only in match score, as they have lost a handful of games including one to Misfits, and finished last year’s Best of 2s with a handful of 1-1 game scores.

With such a booming professional scene in LoL amongst other popular esports like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA, Overwatch and Super Smash Bros., the rise of esports has seen a rise in gamers as gaming has become more mainstream. MMUGG, MMU’s own gaming society, has 1005 members in their Facebook group, and they hold many social events and competitions.

The beauty of esports for the general public is that there is no travel time or equipment needed- the majority of middle-end laptops will run most games like LoL, Hearthstone and CS:GO with relative ease.

MMUGG have a weekly Sunday hangout on Discord, a popular voice chat program, where they get together and play games akin to a game of pickup basketball, all from the comfort of their rooms (or maybe mother’s basement, who knows?).

The National Esports University League is the closest that we’ve come to organised competition, but has been far from perfect in representing esports as part of the crowd rather than the spotty brother of the football pretty boy.

With more and more people in pursuit of professional gaming as a career choice, it comes to question whether esports need to be included with traditional sports when it comes to British Universities and College Sport and scholarships. There are universities in Scandinavia and Robert Morris in the United States that offer scholarship to prospective esports stars, but is not seeing the same traction in the UK.

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Lewis Collier, a Foundation year Mathematics student is a member of MMUGG as well as a high-elo League of Legends player. He plays and livestreams on popular site Twitch under the name ‘AnotherTallGuy’, and plays games such as Albion Online, Rocket League and Hearthstone, but his drive and love is embroiled with League of Legends. Collier is in the top 10,000 players globally for League of Legends- which does not seem that incredible but it actually places him in the top 0.36% of all players globally. I asked him for his thoughts on gaming as a massive phenomenon.

Q: What is it like being part of such a large group of players at MMUGG? A: At first it was quite nerve-wracking due to the fact that you game and speak to people ‘virtually’ and don’t interact with them on a physical level very often but it turned out to be a real great experience. It covers all games from retro console gaming to card games and with such a large group of people and players there is no judgement on your taste of games, although you do get bullied a little for playing DOTA over LoL. There’s also lots of meetups too.

I won a Call of Duty tournament there, which was loads of fun and they even gave me energy drinks and nachos as a prize.

Q: What motivates you to keep trying to progress?

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Team Vitality ready to take action.

A: Sadly, it actually comes from me trying to be the best out of my friends. However it started to change when I actually reached Diamond Tier and then started focusing on seeing how far I could get really. Because I’m so passionate about the LoL, I wanted to try and be the best I could be at it.

Q: How hard is it to stay near the top of the tree?

A: A lot more difficult than some would say! For myself, I tend to fall after I have climbed because my friends are lower elo and it gets quite lonely playing alone at the top, so I sometimes go on my other accounts to play with them- which in response makes me play worse when I go back.

However, I peaked at Diamond 1, very close to Master Tier [and Challenger Tier], when I was grinding as hard as I could playing against professionals such as Rekkles and Jesiz of Fnatic. So it is quite difficult to stay near the top because of how much you have to focus per game.

Q: Has there ever been any consideration from you to try to reach a professional level?

A: This question is like asking a young footballer “do you dream of going professional?”. Of course every player does and so do I. It’s a dream amongst players who start to reach a high tier in the game and when you do you start to wonder “do I have what it takes

to make it?”. However, being in university and having assignments and exams it brings you back to reality, which is a shame as only those with the time can really afford to make it.

“[Esports] are on the rise whether they accept it or not.”

Q: What would be your opinion on having an esports club- where high elo students are in competition with other teams with training via scrims rather than the casual nature of societies?

A: This would be a lot better in my opinion. Having this would also form close relationships with people from the university with the people on your team and also bring in a more competitive nature.

There could be endless possibilities for people on the team which could even lead to a spot in the Challenger Series, so the players may be able to finally reach their goal.

Q: Do you think that MMU and BUCS should consider esports the same level as traditional sports, offering scholarships and organised University competition?

A: People still share the impression that gamers are nerdy and that still follows in comparing, what some say, ‘actual’ sports to esports. However it should be considered it as it gives people in university the chance to shine in an something they feel so passionate about.

Over in Korea, Faker is viewed as a celebrity on the level of David Beckham, and treated as one because of the views that country hold about esports, whereas the UK seem to still discriminate against gamers. However it is on the rise whether they accept it or not.

Fan favourite Martin ‘Rekkles’ Larsson after a disappointing week PSR 43

Charity Match Poster made by Mystic Events.

SUPPORT IN THE NAME OF SPORT In 2011, Danny Miller and Dan Jillings founded a charity called Once Upon A Smile. Once Upon A Smile is a bereavement charity. It’s set up to provide emotional, financial and physical support for families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. It’s the only bereavement charity in the country.

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Once Upon A Smile is a relatively new charity that was set up in 2011 by Dan Jillings and Dan Miller. The charity was set up to provide emotional, financial and physical support for families who suffer a bereavement. They felt there was a lack of support for families who lose a loved one and given they are the only bereavement charity in the country, it was something that needed addressing.

The idea is to provide aftercare support for those affected by a loss to their family, instead of being left to grieve alone. Once Upon A Smile outlined three principles to follow so they could identify who they wanted to help. They decided it must be long term support, it must be needed and most importantly it must be a family.

For the first couple of years, Once Upon A Smile stayed below the radar, they wanted to create a platform to work from and build up their fundraising schemes without being commonly known.

By 2013 however the charity was more in the public eye, they were regarded as the ‘national source of support to families throughout the UK’. They were providing more support to individuals and families, especially through schools with a large demand of children seeking counselling.

This led to the creation of a support group that’d work alongside the charity to cope with the levels of demand in education, this group was called ‘Children’s Bereavement Support Group’. This group was set up to provide additional support for children as often they’d feel alone because not many people their age have experienced the loss of loved one.

The children join groups and partake in fun activities like bowling, arts and crafts and sports. This idea is to help lessen the effect of loneliness and often friendships are made

within groups which is important, it helps the children recover.

Once Upon A Smile set up a celebrity football team that travels the country playing games to raise money for different cases.

The OUAS side is made up of celebrity stars like Jake Quickenden and Reece Douglas, as well as ex professionals Carlo Nash and Paul Dickov. Founders Danny Miller and Dan Jillings also play a big part in the side, helping develop the spine to the team. The support that the team gets throughout the season is a testament to the work they put in to provide much needed support for those grieving.

The support this charity gives to people who have lost a loved one was reflected by the amount of fans they brought to their first match of the season. With around 200 in attendance and many more interacting through social media, it’s clear to see the impact this charity is having after only being established for 6 years. The support they receive at their games is a testament to the support they provide for those who need support from Once Upon A Smile.

Their first match of the season took place at the AJ Bell Stadium, Eccles on the 5th March. The game was hosted by MMU Events group, Mystic Events. Their opponents were MMU Mens F.C. On a cold and wet afternoon OUAS F.C. brought their celebrity stars along with a large fan base looking to start their season off with a win, but unfortunately the youthfulness of MMU came out on top. OUAS took the lead through ex-jungle celeb, Jake Quickenden.

Against the run of play Douglas broke down the left side after being released by former Sunderland star, Neil Wainwright. Douglas cut the ball back to Miller who dummied

a shot before threading a ball through to Quickenden who coolly slotted the ball past the MMU goalkeeper.

It didn’t take long for MMU to respond, and it was almost a carbon copy of the OUAS goal. The fresh legs of Burgess were released down the left side before he cut in on his stronger foot before placing the ball underneath the onrushing Nash. Both sides kept it tight until the end of the half and went in at 1-1.

The second half followed suit with MMU dominating possession and fashioning chances, only to be continuously denied by Nash, but OUAS were still looking dangerous on the break.

It wasn’t until the 75 minute that the third goal would be scored, and it went MMU’s way. Tattam put a low driven cross through the corridor of uncertainty leaving Heyes with a simple finish. OUAS had to come out and chase the game in the final stages but were looking fatigued.

With OUAS looking to break the MMU defence down a loose ball fell to Coone of MMU before he played through Heyes.

Nash came out to sweep the ball but Heyes managed to get their first, rounded the keeper and put it into an empty net. It was game over at 3-1.

The remaining minutes were enjoyed by all in attendance with some show boating and appreciation for the 90 minutes of football they’d seen. OUAS will be looking to improve on their result heading into their next game, but the performance was there.

After the game, both sets of players headed to the bar area to mingle with the fans and discuss what’s ahead of them in the next few months.

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Netball hoop primed and ready at Active Campus. Photo by Matty Blake

ACTIVE

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CAMPUS

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Lining up the perfect shot at Active Campus. Picture by Matty Blake

Netball has been played in the UK for over 90 years now and stands as the most popular female sport.

Netball is the female equivalent to basketball, except with a couple of differences in rules. Netball is a 7-sided game lasting 60 minutes. Each player has their own position which is indicated by the letters on their jersey. When in possession of the ball, the player has 3 seconds to either shoot or pass the ball, but they cannot ‘travel’ with the ball.

Even though it’s been an ever-present in British sport for the best part of a century, it still has its limitations.

Before the last three Olympic Games, the netball governing body, International Netball Federation have been vying to get netball included as an Olympic sport but they have failed in their attempts.

INF believe they could be making inroads in getting the Olympic classification. Netball has begun to expand in Africa and South America so more countries are looking to help push the idea through. It’s now a case of proving that netball would be beneficial to the Olympic community.

Netball remains a very popular sport within the Commonwealth nations which is reflected in the fact that netball has been played at the Commonwealth Games and has seen sell-out crowds and high broadcasting figures. It’ll now by on the agenda to push it through as an Olympic sport.

Netball is also a dominant sport at grassroots level. Throughout education, netball is on the sporting curriculum for female students. This is important for the sport as it’s where people will develop their interest and skills and possibly look to

pursue the sport and a more competitive level.

This is the same in universities throughout the UK. Over 400 teams are now competing in the BUCS league system. Those teams will compete in a league pyramid from October to February before they move onto either the Championship Trophy, Cup Trophy or Conference Trophy. Each team’s league position determines which trophy they qualify for.

There are still sessions put on for those female students who aren’t looking to play at a competitive standard. Instead they can play through the active campus programme.

Twice a week during term times, netball sessions are freely available to the students who wish to attend, here they can enjoy the sport without any pressure on them.

I went down to the Sugden Centre to speak to active campus organiser Jemma Reynolds, who also plays for MMU’s netball side to see what her thoughts are on active campus’s role in netball.

Q: How effective is the set up at active campus in providing a stepping stone to play at a higher level?

A: I think it’s very effective! The more people who attend active campus sessions on a regular basis the more they’ll improve and those participants that activators feel are good enough to transfer up to play club level re invited down to training.

Q: Do you feel over the last couple of years, netball has grown as a sport and how do feel it could expand further?

A: Yes netball has continued to grow over the last couple of years. We now have over 5 hours dedicated to active campus netball alone, and even then sometimes it’s not

enough time to do what we plan to get done. I feel that campus sessions could be developed more by promoting it more.

That way we can get more people down and possibly expand on the times we are allocated for our sessions.

Q: With the recent growth of women’s football and rugby, do you feel it could have an impact on the number of female students looking to play netball?

A: The growth of women’s sport is a good thing in my opinion. The way active campus sessions are organised these sports don’t clash with each other so people can attend both if they wanted to, it shouldn’t affect the numbers we get at our sessions.

Q: What ways do you promote netball to other students?

A: I promote netball as an activator through social media, promoting the idea of regular participants to bring their housemates and friends down with them. Promotional stalls around university are also quite an effective way to promote the sport. I do feel it can be promoted better at the beginning of the year and focus more on second year and third year students. The freshers fair is good but it only really focuses on new students and they get bombarded with so many flyers it may get lost in amongst the rest.

Q: What are your thoughts on netball being an Olympic sport?

A: I think it should be an Olympic sport yes. If it was to happen it would increase participation in more countries that don’t play netball already. It’s a very popular, competitive sport that wouldn’t be out of place in the Olympic set up.

By Matty Blake

HOPE FOR THE HOOPS

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Textbook control at Active Campus. Photo by Matty Blake

FOOTBALL’S FEMME FATALES For the past 10 years women’s football has being developing from grassroots level right through to the top.

Women’s football is now trying to compete on the same platform that men’s football does. More TV coverage of women’s football, scouting systems set up to identify young talent and often training in the same facilities as the men’s teams do.

Women’s football seems to be gaining more respect across the sporting world and it’s largely down to UEFA that women’s football has developed the way it has. Behind the scenes, work goes on daily to help promote the sport and try and get more girls and women involved in playing football.

More female students are showing an interest in football, and MMU currently has two different teams competing in the BUCS competitions. If interest continues to expand, it may see more teams being set up.

It’s not just at a competitive level that women’s football is growing. More women are simply looking to get involved in fun sessions where they can develop their skills and possibly advance on to a competitive standard.

At the Sugden centre, Manchester, Active Campus sessions are set up for female students to attend and gain an experience for the game without being thrown straight into a competitive situation.

I went down there to speak to Marcianne

Q: What do the sessions consist of?

A: We used to have a coach from Manchester City F.C come down who’d put on the session for them. They’d learn new skills and develop current ones and then put them into practice in a match at the end.

Follows suit of most football training sessions really.

Q: How long have these active campus sessions been running for?

A: This is the third year this club has been up and running for now and over the past two years numbers has definitely increased, so there has been a lot more interest in women’s football which is good.

few matches against other Active Campus sides but when you start to hit assignment and exam time you always see the number of girls turning up decrease which we understand.

Q: Obviously women’s football is developing at a quick rate already, where do you feel the sport could be at in the next 5 years?

A: I think it’s going to continue the same way.

It’s being introduced to schools a lot more now so by the time they get to university they already have the interest, talent and motivation to continue. You’d think that would lead to quality increase too if more players are playing from a younger age. It’s all about sustainability for women’s football right now.

Q: What ways do you promote these sessions to try and get more people down here?

A: So we kind of depend a lot on hearsay and people bringing their friends down which I know isn’t ideal, and is something that will be addressed and the start of the next academic year.

We are going promote more by increasing our use of social media like Twitter and Facebook and work directly alongside MMU Sport to try and promote this sport further on a bigger platform.

Q: As this year has advanced has the number of participants increased?

A: Yes. It peaked right before Christmas. We started playing a

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Maricanne Dunk speaks to PSR. Photo by Matty Blake

Stepping down a level, it’s still clear to see that women’s football is becoming as big at grassroots level as it is at the top. Most universities, including our own have women’s football teams competing in leagues and cups across the country.

Dunk, who organises and supervises the Active Campus sessions.

By Matty Blake

UF in action. Photo by Matt Ramsey

DISC-OVERING A NEW SPORT We went down to Sugden to see what Ultimate Frisbee is all about, and it turned out to be a hidden gem...

By Matty Blake

Ultimate Frisbee originates from American colleges where they used to throw round pie dishes in the 1950s, and in the recent past it’s expanded into a global sport, but still remains quite unknown to the public.

Whilst Ultimate Frisbee is a competitive sport at local, national and international level, the amount of participants remains relatively low in the UK. The rules are relatively similar to American Football to a certain extent, except it’s a non-contact sport. To score a point you have to throw the Frisbee into the other opposition’s end zone with a receiver on the end.

Whilst in possession of the Frisbee, you have to remain static, similar to netball. Other rules include the phase of turnovers. You can turn over the Frisbee in many ways.

that’s the problem. If we can get a good promotional campaign going for the sport and work alongside MMU there is no reason as to why a team couldn’t be developed through active campus players.

Q: What more can you do to promote ultimate Frisbee here at the Sugden?

A: It was hard promoting this year. By Christmas everyone is settled and decided what sports to pursue. This coming year we are going to be more visible, hopefully set up at the fresher’s fair and try to appeal to students of MMU. Q: What advice would you give to newcomers looking to play Ultimate Frisbee?

A: Come with an open mind. It’s an easy sport to learn. You’ve got nothing to lose by playing a new sport, and it gives you the chance to meet new people, who knows; it may become your favourite sport, but you don’t know until you try.

If an opponent was to intercept the Frisbee mid-flight, it becomes that team’s ball, incomplete passes and out of bound passes would also see the Frisbee overturned, so as you can imagine, in adverse conditions it makes for a high intensity game of sport.

What makes Ultimate Frisbee so interesting is the fact that ever since it began in the late 60’s, it’s never had an empowering official at club level. Instead the sport relies on the honesty and sportsmanship of the players, quite the contrast to a sport like football, maybe they could learn something?

When reaching professional level, ‘advisers’ are introduced to oversee any disputes, but not the hands on officials you see in other competitive sports.

With the sport being played under 3 categories, Men, Women and Mixed it’s surprising to see that our university doesn’t have an official side set up as of yet. Instead it remains an active campus sport where people who want to play can head down to the Sugden Centre, Tuesday 5pm to participate.

I went down there to speak to Luke Hillen, sports activator to see what direction Ultimate Frisbee could be heading in MMU. Q: What is it about Ultimate Frisbee that made you want to begin playing?

A: It’s a very good team sport. Most people will have thrown a Frisbee at some point in their lives, whether it’s at a park or on the beach so yeah, I thought why not give it a go. The rules are similar to other sports I follow and as a beginner, there isn’t anything too challenging.

Q: Can you see an MMU Ultimate Frisbee team being set up in the near future?

A: Yes definitely, I mean this has only been set-up since Christmas and over the weeks we have seen abit of interest, it’s the consistency 50

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Luke Hillen speaking to PSR. Photo by Matt Ramsey

GET A BIT OF BITE IN YOUR SKIN MAN’S BEST FRIEND

By Liam Overend

HIGHER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER

Flying high at Active Campus. Photo by Matt Ramsey

A reflection on my junior season in University sport

By Liam Overend

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Getting into a new sport is for many people a large and scary step, especially for first years who come alone to university and are daunted when they see the number of sports clubs at the Fresher’s Fair in September. Even though I’m a second year, this was my first in a sports club and the first time playing sport seriously in my life.

Some people may think it strange that a club was something that I ignored in the past, considering the huge impact the last six months have had on my lifebut I have good reason. In the Easter of 2016, I was in a motorcycle accident which temporarily majorly inhibited my movement. In hindsight, I was lucky to get away with the few injuries that I did sustain. However the mental toll it took on me was huge. In a way, it made me question my mortality. People in my club still assume that I’m a first year- despite my many displeased voicings- and when they ask where I was last year- my answer is always the same.

“I thought that if I was ever unfortunate enough to have some other accident happen to me, and I fully lost ability in my body, my biggest regret in life would have been never seriously playing a sport.”

Now that is not to say I was never a sportsman- in my youth I enjoyed playing football, and am the proud owner of the Progress Sports Most Improved Player Trophy 2004- even though everybody knew ‘most improved player’ was the bogey prize that anyone could win. I used to swim at the local leisure centre twice a week. In 2005, I started studying the Martial Arts with local school Matt Fiddes Martial Arts who specialise in Tae Kwon Do and Mixed Martial Arts (or more commonly MMA, which is the foundation to techniques used by stars such as Conor McGregor in the UFC) to help my self confidence in school, and in a few years I became the youngest owner of a Black Belt within the school at just 10 years old. I continued my habitual training until 2014, and still proudly hold my 2nd Degree Black Belt, when I quit to focus fully on my education. You don’t have to fear me anymore however- I’ve all but completely lost my technique.

Thank God I’ve never needed to use them.

In high school I was completely disenchanted with sport- with the exception of a handful of games where I actually tried. I still remember working on changing speeds with the ball in football and I outclassed one of the team despite

not having any active desire to break into the team. I was always the first of the last to be picked- I was only called upon by my peers in sport when the only alternatives were the token overweight fellows and cookie-cutter goths you find in every high school.

It was my accident that completely changed this thinking for me. It was just a matter of choosing the sport. This was also clear though. Volleyball has always been a sport that intrigued me since I was small. The only opportunity I had ever had to play Volleyball was once in high school, but just so happened to be on a day I didn’t want to try, and I couldn’t seem to gather the technique from what I remember. It was one of my other passions, Japanese Animation, or Anime that would be my gateway into the crazy world of Volleyball.

The series Haikyuu!! is a show following Hinata Shouyou, a tiny high school student who saw a Volleyball game on television when he was a child which flared his interest. It’s a story about being the underdog and understanding what it means to be a team. Despite being a whole eight inches taller and four years older than the character, his story was something I wanted to feel for myself.

So I went for it. I remember meeting the Chairman, Filip Zukowicz, and putting my name down on the sign-up sheet, as well as seeing other players scouting out the tall guys who would make great Middle Blockers, who are now someone of my closest friends. The memory doesn’t feel like it belongs in my lifethese people were so alien and scary to me when I met them at the booth but now are people I lean on for strength.

The week rolled around and it was time for the trials. Through some poor luck, it turned out that the trial was on my birthday- September 25th. My party was on the night of the 24th. I was the only sober person at my own party. I even told my parents I wasn’t coming home until my trials were done- this is how much Volleyball meant to me, even in the infancy of my playing days.

I didn’t play amazing during the trialsbut what can you expect for a completely new player? I met with some new people and had a fun session. The highlight of the day was- by some miracle- receiving a spike from a player who has played at County-level. It just so turned out that this player was one who encouraged my development the most.

I wasn’t outright selected to make the team. I barely felt noticed.

Coach Howard Ainsworth informed us that the trials weren’t concluded and would continue the next day- with the Volleyball regular training day being Monday. So I turned up and it turned out it was one of the best choices of my life.

I had made it onto the team, amongst others who had to resolve to come back despite initial disappointment. I then decided it was now or never.

I’ve never been really good at anything.

I don’t have many natural talents and I can only consider myself ‘skilled’ at something with diligent practice and studying. I believe this is the distinction between others and I, I’m always studying ways to get better at Volleyball, as well as tactics and techniques.

Through October and November my first task was trying to catch up with the rest of the team. My teammates are all amazing at what they do- and they are what I strive to achieve. I want to be at an even and competitve level with them.

I picked up extra training sessions each week going 4 hours out of my way to train with a team in Oldham, who I was connected to in Local League and it being one of our player’s local club.

I had the opportunity to play for MMU in two BUCS tournaments in Bangor. It was an awesome feeling, and I met some players from whom I would love to learn.

It also drove me to mentally compete with these players, and I hope to return to that stag to finally take our revenge against such stars.

I’m not perfect, and coming to the end of my junior season, I only have positives in my head. My team have always had my back and help me develop as a player.

I often get comments at either Active Campus or training with people telling me how much I’ve improved. I’m moreoften-than-not modest about it but I also believe that there is a huge gap between the Liam Overend of September and how I am today. I still have much to learn but knowing the mastery lies ahead gives me a thrill.

What I’m trying to say is that if you are unsure about joining a club or society, my only advice is to pursue your curiosity as you only have a lot of treasured memories to gain.

There is no reason to be fearful- were’ll all students and we’re all in this together.

People with whom you share a passion for whatever sport you play will prove to be a friend indeed.

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Player Profile Name: Liam Overend Position: Outside Hitter Date of Birth: 25/09/1996 Best moment: Representing MMU in BUCS Tournament in Bangor Worst moment: Being left out of the Volleyball England Tournament Squad Favourite food: White Rice Favourite team: Italy Favourite TV programme: How I Met Your Mother

“The trick is the ball on fishing line mate�. Photo by Matty Blake

Favourite music artist: Black Pink

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THANKS FOR READING PSR That’s all for this season, I hope that you all had a good season and enjoyed following our ongoing coverage. We’ll be back in September with our Trials Edition as a new group of Freshers embark on a new MMU Sport adventure and build on the successes of the 2016/2017 season.

See you next time, Liam, Matt and Matty

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Photo by Matt Ramsey

SKINNY? NO WHEY!

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GET YOUR DIETARY IMPACT TODAY

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By Matt Ramsey