Journal article
Perceptions of the role, value and barriers of sports scientists in Australia among practitioners, employers and coaches
Journal of sport and exercise science (Lincoln, New Zealand) (The ), Vol.5(4), pp.285-301
30/08/2021
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Abstract
Sports scientists in Australia are experiencing unpaid internships, long work hours and job insecurity, and previous research has indicated that coaches have ranked sports scientists
as an unlikely source for them to seek new information. These factors suggest some employers and coaches do not value sports scientists. The current preliminary study compared the perceptions of sports scientists in Australian sport between those working as sports science practitioners, their employers and coaches. Australian sports science practitioners (n = 36), current/potential employers for sports scientists (n = 20) and sports coaches (n = 10) completed an online questionnaire. The questionnaire contained items that identified perceptions of the primary role, tasks, value, effectiveness and barriers of sports science practitioners. The most commonly reported tasks of a sports scientist were ‘assessments of fitness/performance’, ‘performance analysis’ and ‘training monitoring’ for practitioners, employers and coaches, respectively. Coaches ranked sports scientists as the practitioner role offering the least value to an athlete (rank = 8/8), while the practitioners (rank = 3/8) and employers (rank = 2/8) ranked sports scientists as one of the most valuable. All groups ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that sports scientists have a necessary role in sport and are effective in improving an athlete’s performance. For those in the sports team setting, employers ‘somewhat agreed’ that sports scientists receive fair working conditions while the practitioners ‘somewhat disagreed’ (p = 0.040). There are discrepancies in the perceptions of sports scientists between practitioners, employers and coaches in Australia. By addressing these discrepancies, it may be possible to improve the perceived and actual value of sports science practitioners and their working conditions.
Details
- Title
- Perceptions of the role, value and barriers of sports scientists in Australia among practitioners, employers and coaches
- Creators
- Christopher J Stevens - Southern Cross UniversityJade McConnell - Southern Cross UniversityAlex Lawrence - Southern Cross UniversityKyle Bennett - Southern Cross UniversityChristian Swann - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Journal of sport and exercise science (Lincoln, New Zealand) (The ), Vol.5(4), pp.285-301
- Publisher
- Sport and Exercise Science New Zealand
- Identifiers
- 991013104213802368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health; Human Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Local Fields
- Original Research - SoLT