St Mary’s Alumnus Uses Degree Knowledge to Write New Book

A graduate from St Mary’s University, Twickenham has used the knowledge he acquired from his Sport Science degree to write his latest novel, Penalties. Writing under the pseudonym Luis Adriano, the former student has incorporated his studies into the football based psychological thriller. The story focuses on first-person accounts from the players of a football team as they take part in a high profile match, and the dead body that is discovered the morning after. When asked what aspects of his degree helped in the development of the novel, Luis said, “The areas that helped me most were the sociological and psychological aspects of sports performance. In terms of sociology, I’ll always remember the point of how sport often mirrors wider society. I honestly think professional football currently remains behind general society in certain elements and I wanted to convey this. “Through certain sub-plots I’ve included themes such as racism and mental health. More than one character suffers from mental illness and I wanted to focus on how the condition worsens when it goes unrecognised. There are many real life tales of depression amongst professional footballers, with the suicides of Gary Speed and Robert Enke being the most tragic. “In addition, I find it sad that there are no openly gay players in any of the top four leagues and therefore chose to include one player who is in a gay relationship. I remember one of my lecturers being particularly passionate about similar sociological issues.” Social issues in sport are of deep interest to Luis, who based his dissertation on the education young professional footballers receive. He advises students to focus on an area of the programme that they are particularly passionate about and become an expert in it, using it to your advantage when you graduate. Although there are no immediate plans to write another sports-related book, Luis does want to incorporate the other half of his degree in his writing. “My degree was also in Primary Education and I’m keen to develop a story showing the cultural diversity of a small group of trainee teachers deciding whether or not they want to stay in the classroom.” The diversity of St Mary’s was part of the reason why Luis enjoyed his time at the University, citing that it allowed him to gain a good understanding of how people are motivated. He commented, “It was great making new friends from all over the world, not just the UK and Ireland. It’s a time I look back on with real fondness and hope my daughter goes on to have an equally great time if she wishes to study at St Mary’s.”