The Physical Determinants of Technical & Tactical Performance in Elite Youth Football

Studentship details

About us

Queens Park Rangers (QPR) Football Academy offers an advanced football development and education programme, supported by expert and dedicated staff. QPR recently unveiled its state-of-the-art TSG Elite Training & Performance Centre, a £20 million facility designed to nurture homegrown talent. The academy is committed to developing young athletes through innovative coaching methods and cutting-edge technology.

This PhD project is a collaboration between the University of Essex’s School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences and QPR Football Academy. The project will be led by Dr Jamie Tallent and Dr Louis Howe at the University of Essex, alongside Professor Glyn Howatson from Northumbria University, with additional support from Ross Bennett and Michael Main at QPR.

Background

Physical preparation plays a crucial role in skill acquisition, especially in elite football academies where players are expected to refine both their technical and physical attributes. While much is known about how physical conditioning enhances overall performance, there is limited understanding of how physical attributes directly support and influence the development of specific technical / tactical skills, especially within the development ages.

This project aims to explore how physical preparation can be optimised to enhance skill acquisition in youth football players at QPR Academy. The objectives include:

• Investigating the relationship between physical attributes and skill acquisition (identified by technical / tactical development).
• Developing evidence-based strategies to optimise physical conditioning programme and how this links into global success as an elite academy player.

Additional Responsibilities

Alongside the research project, the successful candidate will support the QPR Performance team with tasks that include:

• Taking a proactive role in delivering the development of physical performance to QPR Academy players.
• Contributing to the development and progression of the athletic development pathway across the academy.
• Reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) to the Performance Team and feeding back to key stakeholders
• Assisting with programme design, record-keeping, and performance testing.
• To collate GPS data from training and games and report match / session feedback to all MDT members.
• To programme and deliver rehab sessions for schoolboy players
• Collaborating with coaches and staff to balance academic and training commitments while ensuring safeguarding compliance.
• Carrying out other reasonable tasks to support the Performance team at QPR.

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 (£21,237 per annum in 2024/2025). 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:

• Applicants should have a Master’s degree in strength and conditioning, sport sciences, or 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 and 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 (The Physical Determinants of Technical & Tactical Performance in Elite Youth Football)
• For "If you have contacted a potential supervisor..." please put the name of the lead supervisor (Dr Jamie Tallent)

To have an informal discussion about the project, please contact Dr Jamie Tallent (jamie.tallent@essex.ac.uk).

The closing date for this studentship is Wednesday 23 October at 17:00.

Interviews for shortlisted candidates are likely to take place during the week beginning 28th October 2024 at QPR’s training ground.