Strength and Conditioning for Scholar-Athletes

About us

Culford School delivers strength and conditioning (S&C) to a wide range of athletes with varying abilities from physical literacy to national level. The strength and conditioning team support pupils in the key performance sports of tennis and golf, and major games in hockey, rugby, cricket, football and netball, and in addition swimming.

This project will be led by Dr Louis Howe and Dr Jamie Tallent from the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences at the University of Essex. Support will also be provided by James Earle, the Head of Strength and Conditioning at Culford School.

Background

Scholar-athletes face distinctive challenges that set them apart from other groups due to the dual demands of academic responsibilities and the pursuit of athletic excellence.

Currently, there is limited research on how the academic experiences of scholar-athletes may influence their athletic performance. Furthermore, evidence is needed to understand how to optimise strength and conditioning programmes to better support these individuals. Therefore, the aims of the project include:

• Identify a physical profile for Scholar-Athletes across sports and school year cohorts.
• Establish fluctuations in physical performance across the academic year. 
• Identify opportunities to optimise strength and conditioning practices within the school to better support pupils.

Additional Responsibilities

Alongside their research project the successful candidate will support the Culford School Strength and Conditioning team in the areas outlined below. This work will largely be based at the Culford School but may also at times require some travel to other venues. 

• Have a proactive role in the delivery of strength and conditioning to pupils participating in Culford’s strength and conditioning programme.
• Contribute to the development and progress of the athletic development pathway throughout the school.
• Report on agreed KPIs to the Head of Strength and Conditioning and attend team and operational meetings.
• Undertake administrative duties, such as programme writing, record keeping and performance testing.
• Coordinate with staff and coaches for academic/training balance, ensure safeguarding compliance, and maintain accurate registers.
• Any other reasonable tasks required to support the S&C team at the school.

Please note that this studentship is for a three-year full-time PhD.

Funding

The award consists of full Home tuition fees  (further fee details), and a tax-free, UKRI-level stipend (£19,237 per annum in 2024/2025), for a maximum of 36 months. Funding is only available for home (UK) applicants.

PhD students also receive a £2,500 training bursary via Proficio funding, which may be used to cover the cost of advanced skills training including conference attendance and travel.

Criteria

Applicants should have:

• A minimum 2:1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in strength and conditioning or sport sciences related subjects.
• Experience handling large data sets.
• Experience working within a team to deliver athletic coaching, preferably with youth athletes.
• UKSCA Accreditation (or working towards). 
• Funding for UK students only.

How to apply

You can apply for this postgraduate research opportunity online.

Applications MUST include the following documents to be uploaded:

• Research proposal of no more than 600 words, outlining suggested research focus(es), approach(es) and/or studies that applicants would be interested to include within the PhD.
• CV
• Covering letter
• Transcripts of any undergraduate or Master’s qualifications.

Instruction to applicants

When you apply online you will be prompted to fill out several boxes in the form:

• For "Course title" please put "PhD Sport and Exercise Science"
• For "Proposed research topic or area of research" please put the title of this studentship (Strength and Conditioning for Scholar-Athletes)
• For "If you have contacted a potential supervisor..." please put the name of the lead supervisor (Dr Louis Howe)

To have an informal discussion about the project, please contact Dr Louis Howe (louis.howe@essex.ac.uk).

The closing date for this studentship is Monday 22nd July 2024.

Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place on Tuesday 30th July 2024 at Culford School.