Why do a University Placement Year?
Going on a Placement Year is the perfect opportunity for university students to gain invaluable work experience before graduating. This year in industry can be incredibly beneficial, particularly when entering the competitive post-graduate working world!
Throughout their Placement Year, students are encouraged to apply their academic knowledge whilst gaining practical experience and understanding in an area they are interested in. Here at SotoTennis Academy, we offer various placement roles in different departments: Strength & Conditioning, Marketing, Operations & Communications, and CTC Podcast.
Our goal is to offer students the chance to not only work and connect with athletes and experts from different backgrounds and nationalities, but also become an integral part of our Team.
“Deciding to complete my placement year with SotoTennis Academy was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I had jumped on the same bandwagon as most of my university friends thinking that London was the place to be, and while there are many positives to working and living in the city, when I weigh them up with what I experienced during my year in Sotogrande, to me they can’t compare!”
Faye Rodgers (Communications and Marketing Assistant, 2018-2019)
Our Connections
Over the last few years, SotoTennis Academy has built a brilliant relationship with the University of Bath in the UK. The connection started back in 2018, when we welcomed our first student intern, and has since progressed to STA welcoming five students from the Universities of Bath, Exeter and Birmingham in 2023!
We look forward to continuing to build connections with British and European universities and students.
Moving to a different country and adjusting to a different culture may sound like a daunting prospect, but it’s actually one of the best parts about our student placements! The STA Team helps to settle our students in from the moment they arrive, and is on hand to provide support and guidance throughout their year abroad.
“I never felt like I was on my own. From giving up their own time to help me with my projects at work, to giving me time off to explore Spain, the team at STA couldn’t have been more helpful in making the move to a new country feel really comfortable.”
Matt Harbour (Communications & Operations Assistant, 2021-2022)
“The University of Bath has been working with STA and sending placement students to Sotogrande for a few years now, so the team at the Academy were fantastic at helping us get out here and making us feel at home.”
Gemma Poland (S&C Assistant, 2021-2022)
Our Values
From the beginning of their placement year, our students are encouraged to live by our Academy values, which are condensed into the acronym GROWTH (Gratitude, Respect, Ownership, Want, The Daily Bill, Honesty/Humility). We believe that, alongside our players and staff members, our placement students will grow both professionally and personally by demonstrating these values day in, day out.
“The values at STA are what make the Academy so unique. Speaking of my own time at STA, the most prominent value was ownership – I learnt to be proactive in my own development by creating my own opportunities rather than waiting for them to happen.”
Sophie Harrod (S&C Assistant, 2021-2022)
Role Responsibilities
At STA, our placement students are as valued as every other team member, who are collectively working towards making the Academy one of the best in the world.
Our placement students may be thrown in the deep end from the beginning of their year – taking on lots of responsibilities and eventually leading their own projects – but as a result gain as much as possible from their time at the Academy.
With responsibilities come a lot of opportunities! After graduating in 2020, our 2018 placement student Faye returned to Sotogrande and is now our Head of Marketing. One of our current S&C placement students recently travelled to Mallorca with our junior players, while our other students have been developing their professional skills and experience, including Spanish language, injury prevention, physiotherapy, researching and editing, digital design, etc.
“Throughout my placement year I led numerous projects – from various social media campaigns to promotion of events and marketing strategies for Control the Controllables Podcast – which won an award for the Best Tennis Podcast of the Year! The most amazing part of leading so many projects is the fact that I had tremendous support from everyone in the team. They were all genuinely working with me to see my ideas become a reality.”
Denis Hristev (Digital Marketing Assistant, 2021-2022)
Opportunities & Experiences
Our placement students meet people from different nationalities, backgrounds and areas of the sporting world every week, expanding their networks and returning to university after their placement years with some great contacts. Outside of working hours, we encourage our students to explore the beauty of southern Spain and enjoy their time abroad!
“When I had time off, I was able to explore so many different places in Andalucía including Sevilla, Ronda, Tarifa, Marbella, Caminito Del Rey, Estepona mountains, to name just a few adventures! I tried so many different activities and absolutely loved the Spanish culture. It was genuinely one of the best years of my life – the connections I made and the people I met will stay my lifelong friends and colleagues.”
Isabel Ovens (S&C Assistant, 2020-2021)
A word from our 2022-2023 Placement Students
“I could not recommend doing a placement at STA enough! I absolutely loved my year with SotoTennis Academy. Professionally, I learnt so much. The team is quite small, which I think is ideal for a placement as it allows you to get stuck into a variety of different tasks and projects. You’re surrounded by extremely caring and talented people, which makes STA a great place to learn from the best and challenge yourself on the job.
From being on court, in the gym, behind a camera or on tour… you can really cover it all as an STA placement student. I loved the flexibility within the role, as it allowed me to develop particular skills in the areas I was interested in.
When it comes to life outside of work, Sotogrande is a very relaxing and peaceful place to live. With a marina-based apartment, arranged as part of your year out, you’re not going to find a luckier placement student! Not only this, but you’ve got the whole of Andalucía on your door step. This means your weekends can often consist of a trip exploring one of the neighbouring cities, such as Sevilla and Malaga. Or for something more chill, a Soto brunch followed by an afternoon on the beach. What’s not to love?
Now back in the UK, I can safely say living and working abroad has definitely had a positive impact on my final year at University. As a result, I’ve come back to uni with a clearer sense of what I want to get out of the year both from and outside of an academic perspective. I’ll be forever grateful for my year at STA and will always look back on my placement with a huge smile on my face. Would I do it again and again?… 100%.” Emily Cross (Communications & Operations Assistant, 2022-2023)
“I am hugely grateful for the time I spent working at STA. It was an invaluable experience for me, and one I cannot overlook in terms of my professional development. To have access to the wealth of knowledge within the coaching team and be able to draw from their experiences will set anyone up very well for a career in sport, not just tennis. Living abroad was made easy through the fantastic support I was given by the rest of the team. I always felt like I had everything I needed to make the most of my internship, balancing life, uni and work commitments.” Matt Price, (S&C Assistant, 2022-2023)
We look forward to seeing what else our brilliant 2023-2024 student Team members Megan, Alice, Fergus, Eleanor and George achieve over the remainder of their Placements with us.
We’re also excited to be advertising our 2024-2025 Placement Roles here!
Have any questions or want to know more about student opportunities at SotoTennis Academy? Contact us here or email info@sototennis.com
