PE and sport graduate Graham Stark has already begun a dream career working with Norwich City Football Club to help boost the team's performance on the pitch.

Graham, 26, from Norwich, has just started working for the club's sport science department to make sure the players are in peak physical condition.

He started on his career ladder by doing volunteer work for NCFC.

He said: 'I got in touch with the club, asking if there were any opportunities to gain some experience. I was incredibly lucky that there was an opening at the time.'

The club offered him the opportunity to work with the NCFC Academy and ladies teams as a performance analyst.

The role involved identifying trends, strengths and weaknesses within the team to improve their performance. He also analysed opposition teams to ensure the best possible preparation for a match.

Graham went on to receive National Volunteering Awards for his hard work from the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) in 2010 and 2011.

'The awards were set up as part of the FA's programme to get young people volunteering in the game. I was really honoured as they recognised all the work I'd done with the ladies team at Norwich.

'I was offered my new full-time role at NCFC following their promotion to the Premier League. I had also spent the last two seasons working with the u18 team, and they were aware of what I did with the ladies, so I think it was a combination of the two that got me the job.

'Unfortunately my new role means I will be away in Germany for the pre-season training camp during graduation week, but it's a small price to pay for landing such a great job.'

As well as working full-time with the Canaries, Graham also plans to continue his studies part-time, and has secured a place at Bedford University to study an MSc in Sports Performance next year.

More than 4,100 people are being honoured for academic achievement in the UEA Graduations 2011 this week.