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SUMMER 2014 EDITION
NEW SPORT AND EXERCISE LABORATORIES FOR 2014 The University is investing half a million pounds this year in updating and refurbishing our sport laboratories. The funding will allow for extensive repurposing of the physiology and qualitative analysis laboratories as well as establishing a new specialist strength and conditioning laboratory to support the new BSc(Hons) Sports Strength and Conditioning (Fast-track) degree that starts in September 2014.
SENSE SPORT AND EXERCISE NEWS, STORIES, AND EVENTS
Academic Group Leader, Trevor Barter comments, “Sport has always had excellent student feedback and NSS results, but this investment will make a massive difference to the student experience and support the great learning and teaching that we do. As well as allowing us to establish purpose built state-of the art physiology, strength and conditioning and blood laboratories, it also allows us to redesign our qualitative analysis laboratory. For coaching students in particular who want to use our Prozone software to analyse work rates and athlete performance in team games, this will be invaluable.”
“TIPPING
Futsal is a very rapid sport that involves lightning fast decision making and the ability to perform under high pressure. In Futsal, there is no offside rule, no limit
BROGAN AIMS FOR ENGLAND A talented netball player from Stoke-on-Trent is set to take on the rest of the world this summer after being selected to represent her country in South Africa.
WITH ENGLAND FUTSAL
Dr. Martin J. Turner, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology started his work with the team in October 2013, where he joined the sport science team at the FA’s St Georges Park for his first four day training camp. Since then Martin has been at two further camps and has travelled with the team for matches in London and Sweden.
Head of School, Dr Peter Jones added, “It will help us further develop our research and commercial offers. The new laboratories will allow us to expand the work we already do in our Sports Therapy (SUST) Clinic and Sport Science Peak Condition Clinics into other areas.”
NETBALL SUCCESS
THE BALANCE”
The England Futsal Team have enlisted the help of a sport psychologist to help with the mental demands of this fast paced and highly physical sport.
The new developments will complement the Sport Psychology, Sports Therapy and £1m Clinical Biomechanics laboratories that were completed last year.
on substitutions, and very rarely will a game go without a goal. So helping the players to deal with these demands is very important. Indeed, at the elite level the ability to deal with the pressure of competition can be the difference between winning and losing. “One of the great benefits of working with athletes at an elite level is that as a lecturer I get to share my experiences with students at all levels. The applied experiences I have gained through my work with England Futsal helps me to bring sport psychology to life for students, making some abstract concepts more understandable and practically applicable.”
Find out more about our Sport and Exercise awards at: www.staffs.ac.uk/pse
Twenty-year-old Brogan Griffiths, who is currently studying BSc(Hons) Sports Therapy , has been drafted into England’s Under-21’s indoor netball team set for the Women’s Indoor Netball Association World Cup in. Brogan said: “It’s hard to believe that I will now be representing my country in South Africa and I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am with my achievement. I have always trained with dedication and determination with the ambition of playing for England. This is a dream come true.”
UNIQUE Sports Therapy Students Support Stafford Half Marathon On Sunday 16 March, Staffordshire University BSc(Hons) Sports Therapy students provided Sports Therapy and Sports Massage support for the runners of the Stafford Half Marathon 2014.
Staffordshire University Sports Therapy (SUST) has developed strong links with the marathon organisers over the last 5 years and continues to provide an invaluable
Around 30 students were based at the finish line in Market Square, Stafford, where they performed over 250 sports massages on tired and aching runners over a period of nearly 3 hours. Their goal was to help aid athletes’ recovery and prevent injury for the runners who had just completed the gruelling 13.1mile course around Staffordshire’s county town.
service to elite and recreational athletes on the day. The free service is highly valued by the runners and feedback has been extremely positive year on year. They have already been asked to support next year’s event and other local events such as the Potters Marathon in 2015. “It’s great to see the students across all levels pulling together as a team in a demanding environment to provide a professional service and demonstrate the practical skills developed on the course so far”. Steve Bateman, Sports Therapy Award Leader
SPORTING STARS LEARN THE APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE SOME of Stoke-on-Trent’s most talented young athletes teamed up with an England footballer for a project linking sport with academic success. A dozen students from Trentham High were involved in the programme, which tapped into their passion for sport to improve their knowledge of science. They were mentored by Sue Smith – who plays for Doncaster Rovers Belles as well as the England women’s squad – and also picked up tips from Staffordshire University lecturers.
physiotherapy labs, studying sport psychology and making videos. Footballer Sue joined the pupils to help them test out the specialist equipment. She has been mentoring them as part of the Sky Sports ‘Living For Sports’ scheme, which places top athletes in schools to raise young people’s aspirations. The project was overseen by Dan Dawson, a Staffordshire University graduate now based at Trentham High as a school games organiser for Stoke South.
The project involved completing a variety of challenges, including using the university’s
SPORT AND EXERCISE CHARITY FOOTBALL MATCH
Staff and students took to the pitch on Wednesday 2nd April, raising funds for Sport Relief. This end of season finale saw a team of lecturers, technicians, PhD students and staff from Student Activities take on a squad of final year Sport & Exercise students. A total of £245 was raised for Sport Relief
which will help changes lives by providing better futures and developing stronger communities in the UK whilst enabling safer lives abroad. As well as raising funds, the match was also a great occasion for students to mark the end of their studies at Staffordshire University.
The game itself was quite a spectacle. The experience of the staff team paid off as they ended a dominant first half with a 4-0 lead. The students came back strong in the second half with midfield dynamo Jamie Skellern, a BSc(Hons) Sport & Exercise Science student and former Port Vale youth player, pulling the strings. However, with some eccentric goalkeeping from academic group leader John Erskine, and a hat-trick from Sport & Exercise Psychology lecturer Matt Slater, the staff sealed a 7-3 victory. A great afternoon all round, but the staff have warned next year’s students to start practicing now to avoid a repeat of the result!
SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY, SPORT AND EXERCISE
SCIENCE CENTRE HOSTS LAUNCH
OF WOMEN’S CYCLE EVENT
INTERNATIONAL SQUASH STUDENT VOLUNTEERS FOR TESTING AS PART OF ONLINE MODULE
Staffordshire University hosted the launch of the women’s Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series. The launch, which took place at the Science Centre in the presence of Lord Mayor Sheila Pitt, also provided the platform for Matrix Fitness to announce their sponsorship of the new Women’s Tour, international stage race. Speaking at the launch, Mark Hattersley, Director of Finance and Infrastructure and Chair of the University’s Sports Board, said: “It is fitting that we launch this
cycle series in our £30 million Science Centre, as elite cycling is in part about understanding science to improve human performance. “Sport, but particularly cycling, is an important part of what we do in our City and our County, so we are delighted to be supporting this. Sport also has a strong legacy at Staffordshire University and continues to play an important role for our students through our Team Staffs brand.”
SPORTS THERAPY STUDENTS HELP CREATE THEIR LEGACY BSc(Hons) Sports Therapy students recently provided advice and motivation to delegates attending the ‘Create Your Legacy’ conference held at Warwick University. Organised by the League Football Association and the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, the Create Your Legacy event exclusively targets elite athletes from all ages to provide them with recruitment opportunities and advice on future career opportunities beyond their competitive careers. Students Rosie Jones, Robyn Farn, Rebecca Warnett, Pete Roberts, Daniel Counter, Sammy Li and Samantha Stonier offered the event attendees advice on what is needed to gain places on and succeed on a Sports Therapy degree programme, sharing their own experiences about their studies and life at Staffordshire University. In addition, the students offered a taste of the skills people could learn on the programme by providing some much
appreciated sports massage. Academy players from Stevenage Borough, Oxford United and Leicester City Football Clubs along with Team GB sprinter Rion Pierre all gratefully took up the services being offered. The students were also treated to some surprise career advice of their own from fellow Staffordshire University student and former Bolton Wanderers and England under 21 footballer Fabrice Muamba. Fabrice was a guest speaker at the event but took time out to speak to the students about his story and the career path he is now embarking upon.
Roxy Keshavarz competes at international standard in Woman’s Squash Association (WSA) tournaments, and is currently ranked 145th in the world. She is an undergraduate student studying a BSc(Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, and volunteered to be tested as part of an assessment in one of our Masters online distance modules. A particular challenge in online learning (especially within the applied sciences) concerns attempts to replicate the real-life, laboratorybased practice that face-to-face students usually experience. Videoconferencing, instant messaging and vodcasts are therefore used in an attempt to bring alive the workings of an exercise physiology laboratory in a meaningful and realistic manner. The online students were required to plan and design a bespoke battery of tests to determine Roxy’s physiological profile, and provide feedback on her results. Students viewed initial vodcasts of Roxy, and then engaged in instant messaging, to gain further information about her specific requirements. The tests were broadcast live via videoconferencing and edited video clips of these tests were also made available for students to view asynchronously. Students felt that being able to see the testing being carried out, having face-to-face contact with Roxy, and watching the video clips aided their understanding, brought the sessions to life and improved their engagement on the module.
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RAPHA CONDOR PRO CYCLIST AT PEAK CONDITION CLINIC Professional cyclists from Rapha Condor-JLT, a British UCI Continental cycling team attended our student-led Peak Condition clinic, accompanied by John Herety, Directeur Sportif, and Ken
Matheson, Coach. The students benefit enormously from their experiences working with these athletes. “Yesterday was absolutely brilliant and such valuable knowledge, enjoyed
getting to know a new piece of kit too. Thanks for letting me get involved.” Shane Hall, BSc(Hons) Sport and Exercise Science
SPORT AND EXERCISE OPEN DAY HOLLAND STUDY VISIT DATES Our Sport and Exercise students took a trip to Holland to discover the Dutch sporting philosophy, training methods and world class facilities. The five day study visit was organised by Sports Coaching lecturer, Martin Dixon, to enable students to experience sporting environments in another country whilst gaining new perspectives from coaches and sports professionals.
The visit started in Amsterdam with a talk from AZ Alkmaar Sport Psychologist, Bart Heuvingh, next up was a talk from Ajax FC coach Bart Logchies and then the students headed to Arnhem to visit Papendal, the Dutch Olympic headquarters where athletes from a wide range of sports live, train and study. The following day the
group observed an international volleyball tournament followed by a Q & A session with top volleyball coaches. The trip was rounded off with a tour of the spectacular Amsterdam Arena, which included playing on a small pitch within the stadium. It wasn’t exactly Total Football but a great experience nonetheless! “Meeting coaches and learning about the different mentalities and cultures in sport was amazing. It helped develop my sporting knowledge a lot and I can definitely use the information gained in future studies and life.” Tom Robinshaw, BA(Hons) Sports Development and Coaching
Open Days are a great way to find out more about the courses you are interested in and to see what university life will be like. Come and see us at our next Open Day. Visit www.staffs.ac.uk/opendays
HAVE A STORY? We are always looking to share news from the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise from students and staff. If you have a story you would like to share please email: psemarketing@staffs.ac.uk Deadline for next edition: Friday 8 August 2014
We have a number of Twitter accounts within Sport and exercise that you can follow to join in the conversation. Sports Science Clinic @peakcondition Sports Therapy @SUSTClinic Sport and Exercise @StaffsUniSport Sport & Exercise Psychology @SEPsychStaffs
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