A Guide to Sports Science!

Sports science was in the 1980s and 1990s driving so much of the innovation and creativity that we now see as commonplace in coaching and athlete development physiological testing, athlete mental and emotional evaluation, biomechanical analysis, performance analysis, diet and nutrient analysis there is much the sports science researchers and practitioners of the 80s and 90s contributed to the sports industry.
However, because it is altogether industries, over time, barriers and blockages to progress began to emerge. High Performance sports systems, academies and institutes built sports science “departments” each based on a similar University style “faculty” model, i.e. Department of Sports Physiology, Department of Sports Biomechanics etc. which only deepened the divide between the disciplines as one Department fought for political and resource supremacy over the others.
And now, some 30 years after the worldwide popularization and expansion of the sports science industry, the industry has stagnated. It is so bogged down in interdisciplinary rivalries, political conservatism and outdated approaches to education, training, research and practice that for many coaches and athletes, sports science has become a burden rather than a benefit: a hindrances rather than a help. Sports science – once the driving force of innovation and breakthroughs in sport is stagnating. It is hung abreast of old conventions and school based silo models which are hindering and hampering the event of the sports science industry.
In spite of writing and speaking about this for quite 25 years, I still am in disbelief at how little the sports science industry has changed – or is prepared to change. Where is that the University who will actually intensify and combat these issues seriously and revolutionize the industry? Where are the courageous Academics, Researchers and Practitioners who are prepared to take on some political heat and shift the outdated mindsets and conservative beliefs that are retarding the potential for progress in sports science.
By its very nature, sports science is full of brilliant, highly intelligent, well-qualified people who are capable of achieving remarkable things and in delivering innovative and creative solutions to all of sports’ problems. Break free of the old models and anachronistic ways of studying, teaching, researching and practicing sports science. Become a leader in the industry by challenging the way sports science is researched and practiced. Be someone who sets sports science back within the right direction not off course on track to be the drive of innovation in the sports industry. The time is now and therefore the opportunity has never been better. All it takes is for you to mention “Sports science should be better than it's – and that i am the one that will make it better”.

By: Saksham Gupta