Meet the #ESP2021 speakers: Prof. Laura Capranica

Laura Capranica is a full-time Professor of Sport Sciences at the University of Rome Foro Italico, acting as President of the Master’s Degree on Sport Coaching, and a board member of the Presidents of Italian Degrees in Sport Sciences. She is the President of the “European Student as Athlete” (EAS) Network, a member of the Consultative Committee Bureau of EPAS Council of Europe, and Vice Chair of the European COST action DE-PASS. Prof. Capranica participated in several European projects and studies, authored more than 150 scientific papers and has given over 200 lectures and presentations in national and international conferences and meetings on the identification of determinants (e.g., social, psychological, biological, organizational, and technical) for sport practice and performance in the lifespan; the development of the knowledge-based, tools and resources needed to understand the effects of sport and exercise on human development and health; and the enhancement of bilateral translational links between laboratory and field evaluations of sports performance.

Why is it important for professional athletes to have a dual career; professional sport + education or vocational training? How is EAS contributing to this?

Athletes’ right to education must be a priority and ad hoc programmes should be tailored to guarantee the combination of sports and education (e.g., dual career) to avoid sports or academics drop-outs. The efforts of the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the European Athlete as Student (EAS) network contributed to raising awareness of dual career arrangements in the Member States, nurtured a worldwide interest in this issue, and settled a widely use of the dual career term.

In considering that Member States adopt different dual career policies and provisions, Europe is a valuable laboratory also for non-European countries, placing Europe in a central position as a global leader in the protection and social development of the sportspersons. In fact, dual career should be extended to coaches and referees, who might encounter problems in combining their sporting and education commitments.