Solent test Saints
Friday 7 October 2011
Southampton Football Club is working with Southampton Solent University’s sport science department to help analyse and assess the team’s fitness, a key factor in continuing the club’s success this season.
The club’s medical and sports science staff used this week’s international break, to put the whole squad through their paces at the University’s £1.3 million centre for Health, Exercise and Sport Science.
Under the scrutiny of Southampton Football Club’s Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach, Nick Harvey, a full team of the centre’s staff and students – headed up by Senior Lecturer in Sport Science, Dr Stewart Bruce-Low - carried out a series of physiological tests, to establish individual fitness profiles of the whole squad.
Using the University’s state-of–the art facilities, the players were pushed to the limit on the VO2 max test, which involves players running on a treadmill wearing oxygen masks and having blood samples taken during their run.
This allows the Solent sport scientists to test levels and intensity of oxygen and how it gets to muscles around the body. The Solent scientists then analyse the results and provide data that can directly impact the training the players undertake under the guidance of Nick Harvey at the club’s training ground.
“It’s fantastic, and we’re very grateful to Solent and Dr Stewart Bruce-Low for giving us the opportunity to use the facilities,” says Nick Harvey.
“What we don’t have at the training ground is the ability to analyse the gas that the players are breathing because things like VO2 max are difficult to measure directly unless you’re in a laboratory situation and we’re trying to get as accurate physiological measurements for the players as possible.”
Solent University’s Dr Stewart Bruce-Low has a history of working in football, including stints with Burnley, Crystal Palace, Torquay United and working as a FA tutor on their FA Fitness Trainers course.
He says: "More and more managers and coaches are seeing the benefit of using sport science to enhance the competitive edge to their squad’s performance and in turn obtain the optimal performance gains from their players.
“To perform at their optimum throughout the season, and to ensure injury prevention, it’s important for players to continually work on their fitness and strength.”
He added: “Our sport science students were delighted to see their skills and the laboratory equipment being used to help analyse and assess professional athletes of this calibre.”
The University’s sport science department – which was ranked fifth in the country for the second year running in the National Student Survey – has become a regular fixture for the region’s football clubs. Having worked with them for the last few years, the University has recently become AFC Bournemouth’s official sport science partner.
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