It was a proud moment for Rugby League star Kyle Amor as he was awarded a BSc in Physical Education & Sport Science at Liverpool Hope’s graduation ceremony on Thursday.
Describing his experience, Kyle said: “Challenging and extremely rewarding are the words that spring to mind when I look at the last three years. I can’t believe that I’ve gone from worrying about an introductory 800-word piece of work, to producing a dissertation in that time.”
For Kyle, the biggest challenge was balancing so many things at one time. He said: “Although professional sports people are used to being very disciplined, I was concerned that I wouldn’t manage to keep all of the plates spinning - playing rugby full-time, increased media commentary work, studying, and being a husband and dad - but I did it.
“The pandemic meant the course had to be studied remotely for some of the time, but the support and help we all had from the tutors at Hope was great. I can’t underestimate the difference it made. Being able to study on the Hope Park Campus though was a real highlight of the three years, it has amazing facilities and labs.”
On why getting a qualification was so important to Kyle, he talks about the struggle so many sports people have when they finish their careers, usually when they are still young.
“It became pretty clear to me that many rugby players were struggling with poor mental health after they left the game, and looking around I could see that was common across most sports,” Kyle said. “I wanted to be able to do something about this and also broaden my options.
“The degree course from Hope ticked all the boxes for me, and the tutors teaching it as an evening course at Carmel College helped too.
“I learnt much more than the actual course material, it taught me valuable life skills: time management, planning, group presentations, but most of all, it has given me a sense of confidence that I never had before. Getting a degree isn’t meant to be easy, but it is so worth doing. I’d recommend anyone of any age to consider studying with Liverpool Hope.”
And what next for Kyle?
“I’ve moved from St Helens to Warrington Wolves, where I’ll be playing part time. The media work is increasing and I’m going to train to be a Biology and PE teacher, something I would have never believed was possible without the confidence and knowledge my degree has given me. And of course, there’s still the big job - being a dad.”