Portsmouth Football Club Magazine July 2020 | Page 3

Combining
professional
sport with
study
Is it possible to ‘have it all’? Well one
University of Portsmouth student is proving
that it is. Professional footballer, PGCE student,
personal trainer and teacher, Jade Widdows is
packing a lot in.
Jade comes from a sporty family. She fell in love
with football at an early age and started
playing with the boys. But at age 12 was told
she had to go and play with the girls. This led
her to Brighton & Hove Albion’s Centre of
Excellence. Such was her talent that she
was then offered a sports scholarship to
South Carolina in the States. She studied
Communications with Sports Science, alongside
playing football. Jade explains ‘It was such a
good learning experience. We trained hard
and we trained a lot. University sport is really
big over in the US. I played in the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and for a
semi-professional league.’
THE NEXT STEPS
Upon her return to the UK Jade signed to
Brighton & Hove Albion and became a personal
trainer. She then signed for Chichester
Ladies F.C. but the teaching bug was calling.
She started teaching sports psychology at
Chichester College, and then sports coaching
GET ACTIVE WITH JADE
Jade is doing her bit during lockdown to
help people keep active. She is uploading
regular fitness videos to YouTube for
people of all ages.
@Jade_Widdows
@Corona-Fit
at South Downs College. The experience left
its mark and led to Jade opting to study for her
PGCE at the University of Portsmouth.
‘I’m in my second year now. I’ve always liked
the idea of teaching. I think about those sporty
children that are like I was at school. I want
them to have the opportunities and realise their
potential the same way that I could. I like the
fact that I’m helping those young people achieve
that.’
Whilst studying for her PGCE, Jade was
approached by Portsmouth F.C. and signed
March 2019. The Club’s set up and aspirations
attracted her to the team. ‘We’ve got such an
amazing group of players and coaches who
are all looking in the same direction. I think we
can take it to the next level if we get the right
support. I’m very proud to play for Portsmouth.’
MAKING IT ALL WORK
Juggling professional sport with study and
work is a challenge. The flexibility of our PGCE
course has helped make this possible. Jade
chose to study with the University as she could
fit studying around the other areas of her life.
So how does she do it? She explains ‘I think
I’m quite good at managing my time. I work
long days so I think I just somehow manage to
fit it all in. Teaching, personal training work,
evening class for my PGCE, studies and football
training. I don’t have a lot of spare time but I
prefer to keep my life like that. I don’t think I’ll
ever be one of those people who have a quiet
schedule! I’m very grateful for the opportunities
at Portsmouth. It’s a very good experience.’
WORKING TOGETHER
Enabling everyone to take part in football is
what Portsmouth F.C. is all about. This inclusive
attitude is one of the reasons that we’re their
Main Club Partner. The University and the Club
share the same ambitions – we both want to
help increase participation in higher education.
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