Project Overview

The concept of individualisation of training to maximise the adaptive response is as important for team sport athletes as it is for individual sporting pursuits. However, due to the complexity inherent in competition (e.g. application of playing style, tactics and responding to an opponent’s movements) the effectiveness of individual athlete programming needs to also account for player position and playing style differences. Through application of a representative learning design framework this project will explore how representative are the training activities undertaken in different in game phase (set play / offensive / defensive) or different game context scenarios (inside-25 m entries / defensive-25 m exits / stoppage / etc) to the game. Current training session drill design lacks individualisation and has the potential to lack the level of complexity of competition. The derived information will be positioned and interpreted in the context of player position demands and qualitatively against coach perceptions of playing style requirements with the intent to further enhance the learning environments and strategies players use to learn off the field of play.

Aims

1. To assess how representative the training activities undertaken during phases of play or specific contextual scenarios are to actual match play. 
2. To establish a representative learning design framework for elite Australian Hockey that accounts for playing position and style of play.

Objectives

The objective of this study is to evaluate the level of representativeness of training activities conducted during different phases of play or specific contextual scenarios in comparison to actual match play in Australian Hockey match play. Additionally, the aim is to develop a comprehensive learning design framework tailored for elite Australian hockey, taking into consideration the playing position and style of play. By accomplishing these objectives, this research intends to enhance the effectiveness of training programs and optimize player development, ultimately contributing to the advancement of Australian hockey at the elite level.

Significance 

The project has been directly proposed by Hockey Australia and as such is extremely relevant to their requirements and will assist in solving a real-world problem that is limiting the optimisation of their player preparation practices. This research will also address a significant gap in the current understanding of how representative learning design can facilitate and improve the development of on-field training practice. By better understanding the approach and aligning to the specific positional demands, this project could redefine the approach to training design, leading to improved team performance outcomes, and sustained success of the club. 
Furthermore, this project is an extension of a successful 2019 project with Hockey Australia (BSc Data Science [Honours] Classifying Successful Patterns of Play in Field Hockey) and a Data Science PhD with the Fremantle Football Club (Sam Moffatt: Understanding Complexity: A machine learning approach to exploring playing styles in Australian football).

This project has all the required equipment available from the School of Allied Health or the Hockey Australia NTC. The project is highly feasible with all infrastructure and resources in place to support the project. Through the project the student will gain a strong understanding of how to use sports code and the GPS analytical tools to record and derive important contextual information. The student will also learn relevant statistical techniques such as Linear Mixed Modelling to compare between drills and competition information. Hockey Australia NTC will provide further logistical support in the form of office research space and access to coaching and playing staff to facilitate the implementation of the project. The project will build upon an ongoing research strength of the school in sport performance and optimisation in athletes. The significance of the project outcomes is the potential to shape the best practice guidelines for training skill practice sessions on and off the field of play.

An internship may be available for this project. The successful candidate will be embedded full-time at the Hockey Australia national training centre (NTC), to be immersed in their daily high performance training environment working alongside and being mentored by professionals across the fields of sport science and sport medicine.

• Future Students

• Faculty of Health Sciences

• Higher Degree by Research

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• New Zealand Citizen
• Permanent Humanitarian Visa

• Merit Based

The annual scholarship package, covering both stipend and tuition fees, amounts to approximately $70,000 per year.

In 2024, the RTP stipend scholarship offers $35,000 per annum for a duration of up to three years. Exceptional progress and adherence to timelines may qualify students for a six-month completion scholarship.

Selection for these scholarships involves a competitive process, with shortlisted applicants notified of outcomes by November 2024.

1

All applicable HDR courses.

We are seeking self-motivated PhD applicants with a passion for sport science generally and strength and conditioning specifically. This scholarship is perfect for a student with a love for the game of soccer, and a desire to pursue advanced learning.  Prior experience working with elite athletes would be beneficial. This scholarship will make the student very competitive for employment in professional sport as a coach and/or sport scientist or in the sport technology environment in various capacities. An applicant with an understanding and interest in strength and conditioning is desirable but not essential. Excellent organisation and problem solving skills are expected and experience in data wrangling, processing and visualisation using R or Python would be advantageous but not essential. The successful applicant will need to be either an accredited Exercise Scientist (AES) with ESSA or hold a CSCS certification from the NSCA or UKSCA equivalent, while accreditation as an ESSA ASpS (Accredited Sport Scientist) or as an NSCA CPSS is desirable. Applicants must be eligible to enrol in PhD programs at Curtin University.

 

Please send your CV, academic transcripts and brief rationale why you want to join this research project via the HDR Expression of Interest form to the project lead researcher, listed below. 

You must be enrolled in a Higher Degree by Research Course at Curtin University by March 2025.

Project Lead: Professor Dale Chapman