David Signor

When I discovered the CIT Sport Development diploma it immediately appealed to me as it was offered to study online. I live in Alice Springs and work as an Athlete and Coaching Development Officer at Northern Territory Institute of Sport; so the online aspect allowed me to complete my studies remotely whilst continuing to work full-time.

I found this course so relevant to my industry, even with my 12 years of experience in the sector I was learning and being challenged. I currently work with a huge spectrum of sporting types and demographics, including indigenous children; mentoring and engaging with junior athletes and parents who are passionate about coaching. From this viewpoint, the diploma is perfect for anyone looking to work and apply their trade in the sports industry.

The practical face-to-face week was a highlight for me from a peer-to-peer perspective; I was able to interact with my classmates, relating our industry experience back to course assessments.

The teachers were industry experienced and personalised assessments to take into consideration my skill level, ensuring I was adequately challenged and not just ticking boxes.

One of my biggest kudos about the course is the content and the structure - it's linked with industry and

If I had these skills five years ago it would have made my earlier job roles easier. Each stage of the course was directly tied in to my current coaching role, and the assignments are based on real life scenarios, easily adaptable to on-the-job tasks.

I see the Diploma of Sport Development becoming a sought after qualification as many grass-roots coaches choose not to go down the university pathway, which tends to gear you towards elite sports and high performance athletes. This is only a small fraction of the coaching industry. I’ve found that vocational education can be more accessible for those who want to work in sports and coach local teams. It’s more flexible and the course had manageable assessment timelines.

I am super excited and optimistic for the future after completing my diploma. I have newfound academic skills to be able to research and assess peer reviewed journals and articles, which I can apply in context of my work. For me this is a really exciting thing that I can take away; I can work with fellow coaches and find new research to be more evidence-based with our practices.