Sports Science

Many people are still either unaware or confused what sports science is or about the role of sports science can play within the sport that you are in especially in our university. Many say, sports science is just a fun course, they thought, in sports science, you will just play and play different kinds of sports. People wonder why we took sports science, what we do in sports science. They don’t know that sports science is not just a course. It has a big role in our life especially to high level athletes like varsity players, professional athletes and also to those people who are health conscious. It helps them to analyze human performance. It is not just about playing sports or just having fun in our course but we also study about understanding the theory of exercise physiology, skill acquisition and even psychology about sports interrelate to influence sporting performance.

Sports science has a lot of effects in our everyday life. With sports science you can improve yourself even a simple exercise like jogging, running, etc. Now, what is sports science? Sports science is a multi-disciplinary field in which applies the sub-disciplines of general science like physiology , biomechanics, psychology and sociology to sporting situations, to aid athletes and performers improve their ability during training and competition. This theoretical course has been designed to allow students to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of issues related to high level athletes training and performance. Also, sports science includes other topics such as nutrition and diet and sports technology. Sports science focuses on how our body works and move. Human movement is a related scientific discipline that studies human movement in all contexts including that of sport.

Now, what is a sports scientist? A sport scientist is an individual who has studied the subject. They may have understand a course covering each discipline so that they gain a basic understanding of each or focused on one specific area in greater detail. Sport scientists and performance consultants are growing in demand and employment numbers, with the ever-increasing focus within the sporting world on achieving the best results possible. Through the study of science and sport, researchers have developed a greater understanding on how the human body reacts to exercise, training, different environments and many other stimuli.

A sport scientist can either undertake a practical or theoretical based role. On the practical side of things they could help design and implement program for an individual player, team or club. With the intention to build upon any weaknesses they may be experiencing with their performance. Some examples of the kinds of programs that a qualified individual can apply can vary from training techniques to avoid injury, performing better under pressure, improving team cohesion and improving a player’s anaerobic capacity.

On the theoretical side, research is conducted to help establish answers to unexplained occurrences, such as why playing at home is an advantage (and at times a disadvantage) or social facilitation. It also has the role to question taken-for-granted concepts that are continually employed with no real evidence of effectiveness, for example is static stretching really the best form of preparation for muscles before sporting activity, especially when compared to dynamic stretching. Therefore, the sports scientist will be required to carry out research and collect information to try and arrive at a conclusion that can then be used to reduce or eliminate the impact of such factors on performance

Higher-education degrees in sports science or human physiology are also becoming increasingly popular with many universities now offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the discipline. Opportunities for graduates in these fields employment as a physical education teacher, dietician or nutritionist, performance analyst, sports coach, sports therapist, fitness center manager, sports administrator, strength and conditioning specialist or retail manager of a sports store. Graduates may also be well positioned to undertake further training to become an accredited physiotherapist, exercise physiologist or clinical exercise consultant.

As an athlete and as a student taking Sports science, I realized how sports science important to us especially to me. Sports science helps me to improve more to my game and my attitude in games. It helps me to prevent any injuries, preparation before training and before competitions like proper stretching, proper warming up and proper program in our training. Remember, sports science is not just a course. It has a lot of things to do about us.