Gabby de Lord
Performance analyst at Chelsea FC
Sport Performance Analysis and Talent Identification, 2023
After finishing her degree at St Mary’s, Gabby has already landed a role at Chelsea Football Club as a Performance Analyst in the Academy. Despite always knowing she wanted to work in sport, growing up Gabby assumed women would likely only be able to land PE roles. It wasn’t until she started exploring university options that Gabby found other career paths in the industry that she could go down.
“Everything that I did as part of my degree at St Mary’s has got me to where I am today.”
Anything is possible
Gabby completed her Sport Performance Analysis and Talent Identification BSc degree in 2023, having previously done a Sport BTEC in college. She always knew she wanted to end up in sport, but at the time thought as a woman you could only go down the Sport Science route and probably end up as a PE teacher.
After college, Gabby had a job as a teaching assistant which she saw as a taster for a potential career in education. However, the experience ended up putting her off completely. It was at this point that she started looking into university and found the course at St Mary’s.
The Sport Performance Analysis and Talent Identification course ticked all of Gabby’s boxes. She was particularly drawn to the interesting modules and employability prospects. For Gabby, employability was a big motivation for going to university and she knew the course could get her a career in elite sport at the end of it.
“The career paths that the course could lead on to really interested me, it just ticked all of my boxes.”
Another big selling point of the degree for Gabby was that it is an accelerated programme, with students graduating in just two years rather than the usual three. While this meant the teaching was intense and fast-paced at times, Gabby shares that this was a big incentive for her as she joined university a bit later and liked the idea of completing her degree quicker.
She particularly enjoyed how all the modules were very applicable to the real-world, and the compulsory placement module was an opportunity to put theory to practice.
A small group from Gabby’s cohort were able to do placements at Fulham FC thanks to links between St Mary’s and the London football club. She shares that it was particularly nice going on placement with some of her classmates, as it made it feel more intertwined with the programme.
During her placement, a lot of the work Gabby was doing focused on data. While she found this interesting, it actually showed her that she much preferred the video feedback side to performance analysis.
“Doing the placement was a good opportunity for me to try working in a role without fully committing."
"Getting to put theory into practice is a completely different ball game.”
After she completed her placement, an analyst role then came up at Chelsea FC. It was Gabby’s lecturers at St Mary’s who recommended her for the role, using their links at the club to put in a good word.
In 2023 Gabby began as an Academy Performance Analyst, working predominantly with the U11 and U12 players.
Her role sees her film the games, clip them up, and then use this to provide feedback for both players and coaches. She shares that it’s all about working together with multidisciplinary staff to ensure that the players in the Academy are developing.
“All the modules that we covered were very applicable to the real-world, and what I do now in my day-to-day role working as an Analyst.”
Reflecting on how St Mary’s helped her to get where she is now, Gabby says that she learnt all the practical skills that she needs for her job while at the University. Everything that she did as part of her degree has played an instrumental role in her journey.
Going on placement allowed her to apply the knowledge that she was learning on the course to a real role, and in-turn figure out what path she actually wanted to take.
Other personal skills that Gabby developed at St Mary’s, such as confidence, have been just as important in her day-to-day life. She shares that being a woman in what has historically been a male-dominated industry means that you have to not be afraid and know that your opinion is valid.
“We're all one family and one team. We’re all here to do the same thing, which is to develop our players in the best way that we can.”
