What is Sports Science?
You have probably heard a lot of buzz about sports science. You may be thinking that it is a field of study that you could be interested in, but you still do not have enough knowledge about the subject to push yourself into it. Here is a brief overview of what sport science is and how you can apply it.
Sports Science Defined
Sports science is the study of the workings of a healthy human body during physical activities. It also includes how sports promotes health, from a whole-body perspective, and all the way down to the cellular level. This branch of science usually incorporates some areas of other disciplines. It encompasses bits of physiology, psychology, biokinetics, biochemistry, biomechanics, and human anatomy.
How Sports Science is Used?
Sports scientists can have any one of several roles that fall under the banner of sports science. They can work behind the scenes as a researcher, at the frontlines as a coach, or as a combination of both. The coach and the researcher need to work well together so that they can help the athletes who are under their care and make them perform at their best.
The relationship between the coach and the researcher is cyclic in nature – one feeds into the other and vice-versa. Here is how it usually looks like:
Coaches use varying training methods on their athletes. Most of the time, some of them are ahead of the research to gain an edge over the competition somehow. The researcher then examines these training methods to assess their effectiveness with the goal of providing the coach with evidence for and/or against them. With that, the coach can fine-tune the training program to provide more effective methods.
Researchers can also study new concepts on how the human body can react and adapt to training. In the process, they can develop a knowledge base about particular concepts of training. This new knowledge might influence the coaches to think of and implement new methods that are yet to have research backing. The researcher will then examine these new training methods, and the process will start again from the beginning.
Other Roles in Sport Science
Aside from the different roles existing within the umbrella of sports science, there are other disciplines where the coaches and researchers can work within. Many disciplines that fall under sports science, including biomechanics, skills acquisition, strength and conditioning training, and performance analysis.
If you are thinking of getting into a career in sports science, then be aware that there are many different paths that you can take. Each one is as exciting and interesting as the other, making this industry flourishing.
