Physical Training

The three-year bachelor's degree program in Physical training aims to train university-qualified coaches and experts in the field of movement. Aligned with global trends in coach education, the program focuses on mastering theoretical knowledge and developing practical professional skills in coaching, along with interdisciplinary skills from fields such as psychology, medicine and physiotherapy, nutrition, and more.

This program allows students to specialize according to their interests, choosing from curricula like Fitness Training, Sports Training, Special Education of Security Forces, and Sports Education. Depending on their chosen specialization, graduates will be equipped to provide physical education and sports services to a broad spectrum of clients, including the general public, athletes of varying performance levels, and security personnel.

Graduates will also gain a comprehensive set of skills in enhancing physical performance, promoting health and lifestyle management, and preventing injuries and diseases. They will tailor these competencies to their client's age and developmental stages. Additionally, the program emphasizes developing transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, digital literacy, critical thinking, and foreign language proficiency, which are crucial for professional success and personal development.

Educational goals include enhancing communication skills, fostering teamwork in multidisciplinary teams, and using modern training methodologies that effectively develop fitness and movement skills specific to each curriculum. The program also covers competencies in managing, planning, periodizing, recording, and analyzing training processes. Further focus areas include compensatory and health exercises, recovery techniques, nutrition, the use of dietary supplements, and understanding doping issues. A strong emphasis is placed on utilizing modern tools to monitor and assess training responses, fatigue, and other physiological parameters using the latest technologies, which also support online monitoring and coaching.

The professional orientation of the program ensures that students gain real-world experience directly in sports centres and clubs facilitated by the faculty. This hands-on training, combined with courses offered in English and opportunities for international internships, prepares graduates to compete effectively in the global job market.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• to explain the basic theoretical knowledge of the multidisciplinary field of sports science applied to the field of coaching (human physiology in the context of physical load, biomechanics, anatomy of the human body, etc.);
• to work with international professional databases, scientific articles and literature, assess the quality of information, and critically evaluate current knowledge and information;
• to set training goals, create an adequate training plan in the context of the client's needs, the annual training cycle of the sport or the specific needs of the client;
• to reflect the individual needs of the client and adapt the training plan to avoid overloading or injury;
• to diagnose the client's fitness, movement skills and selected health indicators;
• to fulfil the social role of an expert in the prevention of diseases of mass incidence in the general and sporting population by positively modifying their lifestyle;
• to communicate effectively and empathetically with athletes, clients, parents and other colleagues, giving them constructive feedback and motivating them to personal, health and sports development;
• to take a holistic approach to the client (biopsychosocial approach), but also establishing cooperation with experts across the scientific field of sports science or medicine if the cooperation exceeds the graduate's competence;
• to incorporate modern instrumentation, software and other technologies assessing training response and effectiveness, fatigue and other physiological parameters, analyze the results and apply them to coaching practice;
• to recommend appropriate recovery procedures and methods, including basic nutritional recommendations;
• to include some basic techniques and methods from interdisciplinary fields - psychology (e.g. relaxation methods and selected mental training techniques) and physiotherapy (e.g. health and compensatory exercises, kinesiotaping);
• to implement the above competences also in English.

Graduates of the Coaching study program are entitled to register in the Trade Register and subsequently operate the business 'Provision of Physical Education and Sports Services'.

Graduates find employment in the labour market in line with the profile of each curriculum by demonstrating competencies specified in the learning outcomes:

1. Fitness Training - This specialization focuses on providing physical education and sports services in fitness training. Graduates qualify as personal trainers in fitness within the fields of Physical Culture, Physical Education, and Sport. They will apply their theoretical and practical skills in planning, managing, and implementing fitness training programs in both private and public sectors, including sports or leisure institutions. This curriculum is available solely in a full-time format.

2. Sports Training - This profile concentrates on providing physical education and sports services in sports training tailored to the specific sports sector derived from the graduated specialization. Graduates will employ their theoretical and practical skills in planning, managing, and implementing sports training at regional and national sports associations, regional sports academies, sports clubs and centres, centres for talented youth, and other sports-focused leisure organizations. The specialization also prepares students for head coach or assistant coach roles in professional and semi-professional clubs, including national teams of selected sports. After completing this curriculum, students may seek coaching certification from sports associations based on their requirements. This curriculum is available solely in a full-time format.

3. Special Education of Security Forces - This profile is geared towards providing physical education and sports services in training security force members (including military and law enforcement). It involves theoretical and practical skills in planning, managing, and implementing fitness, sports, and specialized training (with an emphasis on combat sports, martial arts, and self-defence) in sectors that focus on training and physical preparation of security forces. This curriculum is available solely in a full-time format.

4. Sports Education - Graduates of this curriculum are specialized in general physical training within the framework of physical education and sports services. This curriculum is delivered in a combined format. It encompasses the overarching themes of the Coaching study program, including the individual curricula of Fitness Training, Sports Training, and Special Education for Security Forces. Through lifelong learning opportunities, such as micro-credentials, students can acquire additional competencies that prepare them for specific roles commonly taught in the full-time curricula and enhance their prospects for subsequent employment.

The curriculum for the professional programs in Fitness Training, Sports Training, and Special Education of Security Forces spans a mandatory 12-week period, focusing on both individual client engagement and group training program management tailored to each program's professional direction.

The 12-week period is structured into Preparatory Practice 1 and 2, one week each during the second and third semesters, followed by Professional Practice, spanning ten weeks in the fourth semester. The practicum aims to provide experience in leading, managing, planning, documenting, and assessing the training process. Students will learn about teamwork dynamics within a team, such as the distribution of responsibilities among the head coach, conditioning coach, physiotherapist, etc. They will also engage in essential administrative tasks related to coaching, including maintaining attendance and injury records, monitoring training loads, and more.

Additionally, there will be a strong emphasis on utilizing modern equipment for sports performance diagnostics, software tools for planning and recording training sessions or annual training cycles, training analysis, fatigue assessment, and other physiological measures.

The bachelor's thesis for students in specialized programs will focus on the methods of collecting and analyzing data gathered during their required practicum. The thesis should be between 20-40 pages, spanning from the introduction to the conclusion. It will detail the design and execution of a training plan, which must be grounded in a thorough review of current literature and include a critical analysis of these findings. The training plan should be tailored to suit individuals or groups, depending on the curriculum being studied. It must align with a comprehensive approach to physical training that meets predefined objectives. It may also integrate other tools from the field of sports sciences, such as those from the fields of regeneration, psychology, pedagogy, and nutrition.

Completing the final thesis is mandatory for graduating, as it is a core component of the state final examination. This examination involves defending the thesis and engaging in a professional discussion about its subject matter.

Graduates of the bachelor's degree programme will be able to follow up with any Master's degree at the Faculty of Sports Studies of MU. Study programmes with a direct link to the bachelor's curriculum are:

Applied Sports Education of Security Forces

Conditioning Training and Applied Kinesiology