The University of Ballarat (UB) and Essendon Football Club (EFC) have announced a major alliance to develop an applied sport science research program.

As part of the agreement, PhD and Honours students, as well as staff from the University’s School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences (HMSS), will conduct research at the football club.

“The alignment will allow University students and staff to conduct research at Essendon Football Club and to share the results with their players and staff,” Professor Warren Payne, Acting Head of the School of HMSS, said.

“The partnership will last three years and will seek to create a centre of excellence for sports science research and high performance sport development.

“The focus of the alignment will be on the conduct of high quality research in sports science through the creation of this research partnership between EFC staff and players, and UB staff and students.”

The alignment's Sport Science Manager, Dr. Jason Berry, will oversee the implementation of the program from applied research to on-field performance.

Jason, who works for Essendon, is a Human Movement graduate of the University and a Premiership coach and former player with the North Ballarat Football Club.

An immediate focus of the research will be on skill acquisition, an emerging field within the sport sciences, which Jason believes will make a significant impact on the development of AFL players’ tactical and technical skill.

“What separates the very best players from the rest is their ability to consistently find the right option under extreme pressure,” Jason said.

A PhD study set to begin in 2008 will address this important component of game performance. It will be titled ‘Assessment and training of tactical decision-making skill using video-based simulation’.

A priority for Jason is to place a high quality PhD candidate within the program to commence research activity as early as preseason training in November.

“If all goes to plan, the application of this research has the potential to fast track the Essendon players’ tactical decision-making skill development,” he said.

“With the speed and intensity of the modern game, the video-based format will become increasingly important as the physical recovery of the players between matches will remain paramount.