Defining the Sport

Scientist
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Benjamin H. Gleason,1 Timothy J. Suchomel,2 Clive Brewer,3 Eric L. McMahon,4 Ryan P. Lis,1 and Michael H. Stone1
1
Department of Sport, Exercise, Recreation, and Kinesiology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City,
Tennessee; 2Department of Human Movement Sciences, Carroll University, Waukesha, Wisconsin; 3OrthoArizona,
Phoenix, Arizona; and 4National Strength and Conditioning Association Headquarters, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided
in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal’s Web site (http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj).

ABSTRACT
In the last several decades in the United
States, university athletic departments and
professional sport teams began hiring
sport scientists to support team opera-
tions. Many variations in sport science–
related job titles and a variety of duties are
apparent across the industry internation-
ally. Therefore, the aims of this article were
to (a) define sport scientist roles because
they may be positioned in U.S. sport
organizations, (b) demonstrate potential
levels of application, (c) demonstrate how
a sport science program helps establish a
standard of care for the athlete, and (d)
highlight overseas practices that establish
professional competency for those in
sport scientist roles. This discussion may
be used to optimize organizational struc-
tures, enhance organizational dynamics
within sport organizations, leagues, and
systems, and used to develop, refine, or
support certification and training pro-
grams in the United States. In addition to
the discussion in this article, several job
descriptions are provided as Supple-
mental Digital Content, http://links.lww.
com/SCJ/A347. These resources may
help decision makers construct job
descriptions for their organizations.
INTRODUCTION
port scientist (SS) roles are
United States. Despite growing popu-
larity over the last several decades
(33,44,45,59,61,62,64,65,106), in most
markets, the exact role and scope of
practice of a SS have not been well
defined (3,13,19,29,34,46), particularly
in the United States. Adding to the con-
fusion, a wide variety of job titles appear
across the industry internationally (13).
Different specialties are recognized by
accrediting organizations, such as the
British Association of Sport and Exer-
cise Sciences (BASES) and Exercise &
Sports Science Australia (ESSA) (5,23).
Because the National Strength and
Conditioning Association (NSCA) has
developed a professional certification in
sport science (Certified Performance
and Sport Scientist [CPSS]) (67), discus-
sion within the organization and broad-
er sports industry is necessary to
provide further clarity on exactly what
sport science is from a global perspec-
tive and apply this knowledge to the
U.S. sports industry. In addition, exactly
what makes someone a SS is critical to
formalize—including required education,
experience, and specific job tasks per-
formed. Accordingly, the purposes of
this article were to define what a SS is
and identify common SS job tasks, dis-
cuss potential levels of application, dis-
cuss the ability of SS roles to contribute
to the athlete’s standard of care, and
highlight overseas efforts to establish
professional competency for SS.
Several organizations and individuals
have defined sport science, and some
nuance has been introduced over time
as the field and professional roles have
evolved. BASES defined sport science
as “.the application of sport and exer-
cise science principles within high per-
formance sport, where the application
of science is concerned with maximiz-
ing the performance of an athlete or
team” (5). Sport science was somewhat
similarly defined by Bishop (8) as “.a
multi-disciplinary field concerned with
the understanding and enhancement of
human sporting performance.” French
and Torres-Ronda (28) added, “.the
study of sport through the application
of scientific methods to the fields of
human performance, athletic endeavor,
and sporting competition..” Stone
et al. (90) further characterized sport
science as a “tight interaction” by SSs
with long-term athlete training pro-
cesses and athlete development at all
levels of competitive (non-recreational)
sport to improve all aspects of sport
participation.
Similarly, Foster et al. (26) suggested
that sports science informs and sup-
ports the coach-athlete relationship.
Further discussion elucidated sports
science’s impact on the coach-athlete
relationship; Brewer (10) explained
that “.modern athlete development
requires a multifaceted and modular

S increasing in prevalence in college

and professional sport in the
Address correspondence to Ben Gleason,
bgleason67@hotmail.com.
WHAT IS SPORT SCIENCE?
Before defining what a SS is, we must
KEY WORDS:
sport science; human performance;
sport management; quality assurance
clarify the discipline of sport science.

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 Defining the Sport Scientist

approach with all practitioners
[involved] working in synergy toward
a commonly identified, monitored, and
quantifiable goal that has the athlete as
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be challenging and complex (69,75), and recovery processes, optimization of
the goal of many high-level sport orga- equipment, and detailed analysis of tech-
nizations is to have (at a minimum) an nique and tactics; this is optimally
interdisciplinary sport support team accomplished through a focus on the

the central focus of the delivery pro- (referred to as an integrated support athlete, careful coordination with sport
cess.” As a result of this feature, prob- team, or IST hereafter) implementing and strength and conditioning coaches,
lems may be addressed in an agile a finely tuned, aware, and responsive and the overt support of coaches and
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manner, and the human interaction process in support of—and centered administrators. Because of the myriad
necessary to foster athlete trust in the upon—the athlete (Figure 1). In princi- of influences upon any element of sport
process is enabled. ple, collaborative work amplifies the performance, a wide array of scientific
quality and volume of sport science pro- disciplines can be used to solve problems
Bishop’s observation (8) that the field is
cesses, enables successful problem- encountered in the field—doing so effec-
multidisciplinary is important because
solving within the organization, drives tively requires knowledge and experi-
sport science mechanisms can investi-
advancement in the field, further ence, and a certain amount of humility
gate and support the effectiveness of
develops each scientist’s knowledge, applied by the practitioner while taking a
training practices using a wide array
and improves athlete performance via long-term perspective (27).
of research programs. Multidisciplinar- enhanced decision making (11,60,77).
ity may be best explained from the Because the fields of sport science and
medical context when several physi- Synthesizing the available descriptions, exercise science have several common
cians from different specialty areas pro- sport science is best described as a field roots, both are often paired together in
vide their independent perspectives in which multiple scientific disciplines academic settings and professional
(often in sequence) on a particular are studied and applied concurrently to associations; however, these specialty
patient’s care (16). understand and improve sport perfor- areas are distinctly different. The major
mance in an interdisciplinary or transdis- focus of exercise science is the acquisi-
As opposed to the term “multidisciplin- ciplinary manner through observation, tion and maintenance of better health,
ary,” many practitioners and researchers management, and modification of ath- whereas the major focus of sport sci-
have described sport science work as lete selection, development, training, ence is improving all aspects of sport
“interdisciplinary” (3,14). In medicine,
this approach involves various specialists
(i.e., endocrinologist, oncologist) work-
ing collaboratively—together or in
sequence—within the boundaries of their
fields to construct a consensus treatment
plan for a patient (16). The application of
this concept in sport science suggests
that perspectives of specialists are inte-
grated within various processes the sport
organization embarks upon (48).
More recently, some have projected
sport science as a “transdisciplinary”
field, where specialists from a wide array
of disciplines work together to further
the understanding of elements of perfor-
mance, with the intent to go beyond
discipline-specific boundaries to solve
problems within a unified conceptual
framework (16,77). In application, and
depending on the process, this may
involve multiple SSs from different sub-
specialties collaboratively performing
problem-solving services within the
organization (or across organizations)
to synergistically amplify their impact
and optimize athlete development, Figure 1. Integrated support team (IST). Note: the sport coach is part of the IST.
availability, and, ultimately, perfor- Adapted from Smith and Smolianov (107), with permission from The Sport
mance (11,29,74). Although this may Journal, published by the United States Sports Academy.

2 VOLUME 00 | NUMBER 00 | MONTH 2023

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 performance (90). Because of current
norms among higher education pro-
grams in the United States—specifically
common educational requirements for
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undergraduate students and available
grant funding for research programs—
sport science has been very slow to
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grow in U.S. academia. Exercise science
programs are more prevalent than ded-
icated academic sport science pro-
grams; therefore, despite advances in
the opportunities for sports science
within U.S. sports, sport-specialized fac-
ulty are far less common (90), and the
situation has not improved much over
the last few decades. This may help
explain the large percentage of
foreign-trained (and experienced) SSs
and interdisciplinary program directors
currently employed within the U.S. pro-
fessional sport industry. Many of these
individuals were groomed in countries
with national sport models, which can
provide greater and better integrated
infrastructure than what is commonly
seen in the U.S. model of sport (89);
these systems often feature multiple
training sites that combine an educa-
tional mission—including coach and
support staff development—with the
performance enhancement of athletes
(38,79). Although a detailed compari-
son of educational program emphasis
and structure is beyond the scope of this
article, it is appropriate to investigate
the type of professional who would be
capable of influencing the development
of the athlete in the most impactful way,
working in collaboration with coaches
and support staff within and alongside
sport organizations.
WHAT IS A SPORT SCIENTIST?
ESSA defines a SS (in this case, an
accredited SS) as someone who
“.provides expert advice and support
to athletes and coaches to help them
understand and enhance sport perfor-
mance; adopting evidence-based, qual-
ity-assured practice to evaluate and
develop effective strategies or interven-
tions in training and/or competition”
(23). Bartlett and Drust (4) noted that a
major role of the SS is to “.translate
complex information into usable and
contextual performance solutions for
Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
a range of different stakeholders.” Rel-
evant information may be internal
and/or external to the organization
and must be tailored to those working
in various areas (4). French and Torres-
Ronda (28) described a SS as “.a pro-
fessional whose job is largely con-
cerned with maximizing performance
potential through the application of
. scientific methods.” An excellent
analogy of the knowledge structure of
a SS is that it is “T-shaped”; represent-
ing the top of the T is a broad educa-
tion in many areas is required to
understand the multifactorial training
process from a “40,000-foot” view
(highlighting the importance of study
emphasis on sport versus study of exer-
cise). Representing the stem of the T is
a substantial depth of knowledge
required in at least one specialty area.
As a result of their knowledge struc-
ture, many SSs consider themselves
“generalists,” but most possess expert-
level depth in one or more areas.
Some research has identified skills of
SSs working with teams and in aca-
demic roles and suggests the impor-
tance of each skill varies according to
job role. Recently, Bruce et al. (12)
asked a sample of Australian SSs (n
5 117; estimated by the authors to be
18% of Australian SSs) to rate the
importance of various technical and
transferable skills. Technical skills were
defined as “.the abilities and knowl-
edge needed to perform specific tasks”,
whereas transferable skills are “.skills
and knowledge that individuals possess
which can be useful to employers
across various jobs and industries”
(12). In brief, although many areas
were found equally important (e.g.,
ability to assess collected data critically
to determine its validity and reliability),
applied technical skills (e.g., able to
analyze the demands of the sport and
capabilities of the athlete) were rated as
slightly more important by practi-
tioners working with teams. In con-
trast, academic, technical skills (e.g.,
interpretation and evaluation of scien-
tific research) were rated slightly more
important by those in academic roles.
Practitioners and academics gave
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similar priority to certain transferrable
skills (e.g., communication skills in
both written and oral form, interdisci-
plinary collaboration, and decision
making), whereas practitioners rated
skills dealing with conflict manage-
ment, relationship-building with users,
adaptiveness, and management of ath-
letes and support staff higher than
those in academic roles. Bruce et al.
(12) noted that the complexity of roles
presents difficulty defining the knowl-
edge, skills, and competencies required
to work in sport science. Certainly, fur-
ther work is necessary in this area, par-
ticularly regarding identifying what
makes a specialist effective in their
setting.
Obtaining expert-level specialization is
not a rapid process. Accordingly, a SS
may provide a certain range of services
for athletes and coaches, shaped by
their capacity to learn, access to quality
education and mentorship, and experi-
ential scope of practice. Developing
skills and expertise requires substantial
resources and years of training, along-
side regular use of selected equipment
and processes to develop and maintain
skill proficiency. ESSA contends that
required skills are “.acquired through
tertiary-level qualifications which
include foundational knowledge across
the primary disciplines of anthropome-
try, biomechanics, motor control, and
learning, physiology, psychology, and
training methodology”; in addition,
“.advanced, integrated, or applied
studies” are accomplished in those areas
(23). To develop the ability to success-
fully apply and communicate the infor-
mation gained by service provision in an
integrative manner, a broad understand-
ing of how multiple functionally inter-
connected areas may be applied
effectively is also critical; furthermore,
applying logical concepts from
difficult-to-research and underre-
searched areas to the performance set-
ting is also necessary for the practitioner
(5) because a deep research resource is
not often available from studies with
high-level athletes. Without this knowl-
edge structure and problem-solving
approach, a negative impact on the
 Defining the Sport Scientist
organization is possible. On the minor
end of the spectrum, the impact of the
individual specialist upon the sport
organization will be minimal (wasted
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resources); as a worst-case scenario,
the professional may lead the organiza-
tion astray or disrupt the coaching pro-
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cess. Several abilities are essential for the
SS: maintaining awareness of a rapidly
developing body of literature, perform-
ing critical evaluation of research meth-
ods, and developing and maintaining
rapport with stakeholders within the
organization. Knowledge of each area
of IST specialties and coaching may also
be required to enable communication
relevant to the discipline (4). Because
awareness of knowledge boundaries
and limitations of each discipline are
essential in any well-informed system
of checks and balances, this capability
is essential within the IST. To move for-
ward as a functional (versus dysfunc-
tional) high-performance organization,
the ability to challenge IST peers at
times and discuss methods used is nec-
essary. A certain level of understanding
of the sport(s)—or at least a passion for
learning context-specific knowledge of
the sport—may be required so the SS
can effectively integrate into the organi-
zation. On a practical level, integration
will be challenging without cultural
expectations of an integrated frame-
work within the organization.
In summary of the above ideas, a SS
applies expert-level knowledge and
skills to the training process, obtains
and analyzes information, and evalu-
ates processes, to solve problems and
improve performance outcomes for
the organization (or sport) and the
athletes working within it while
enhancing the coach-athlete relation-
ship. In addition, the SS skillfully
relates the findings of investigations,
provides relevant and timely informa-
tion to stakeholders, and may also
share ideas in public forums and
through research projects, depending
on job requirements. Evidence sug-
gests this is certainly not an entry-
level role within any organization.
For example, in Australia, at least 5
years of experience may be necessary
4 VOLUME 00 | NUMBER 00 | MONTH 2023
Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
to obtain full-time employment as a
SS (29).
Several professional organizations and
authors recently identified specific job
tasks of the SS through discussion and
official guidance. An overview of SS job
tasks collected from the sport industry
overseas has been provided in Table 1.
As discussed later in this article, some
differences exist in the U.S. sport indus-
try; thus, as sport science roles evolve in
the U.S., further discussion and variation
from overseas sport markets may be
appropriate.
Although it is not discussed much in the
literature, workforce development
opportunities for professionals in this
field must be available in the U.S. As a
result of this critical reality, qualified edu-
cators must be prepared and employed
to train (and function as) SSs through
dedicated programs that provide rele-
vant and sufficient theoretical and expe-
riential exposure to prepare students for
work in the industry, offer meaningful
continuing education for experienced
professionals, and perform sport-
specific knowledge creation and man-
agement activities. For these educators
to thrive in higher education roles, fund-
ing opportunities must be available to
support knowledge creation and man-
agement programs focused on sport per-
formance enhancement. Educators must
have experience in the industry and
clearly defined, long-term relationships
with sport organizations. Based on his-
torical precedent overseas and industry
need, a SS may work in the university
setting or other roles not embedded
directly with teams (Table 2).
LEVELS OF APPLICATION
It is important to consider that sport
science may be applied at 3 levels: the
micro-level (athlete/team/club), the
meso-level (across multiple sports
within a collegiate athletic depart-
ment/conference/league), and macro-
level (sport systems). Some roles may
indeed provide impact at a blend of
levels. Impact may be achieved in
numerous ways at the micro-level; the
SS commonly performs tasks involving
daily or regular interaction with the
athletes, sport medicine staff, and
coaches (29). Extending this to the
U.S. collegiate setting for primarily
administrative roles, it is critical for
those in senior (performance support)
managerial roles to have regular inter-
action with senior administrative staff
members, including the athletic direc-
tor, to enable the delivery of the sport
science program within the coaching
and performance process.
Although the micro-level impact of the
SS can be substantial because of the
provision of services, it is still important
to consider the impact of sport science
at the meso-level (across sports within
a college athletic department or across
multiple teams in a professional league)
and macro-level (sport systems). These
areas represent fertile ground for
growth in the field, and some prece-
dents are evident from successful his-
torical models of other countries (89).
Provided sufficient quality and stan-
dardization have been achieved by col-
laboration between well-qualified staff,
micro-level findings (athlete/team)
may be collected, analyzed, and
applied at the meso-level (league) and
macro-level (sport systems) (e.g., long-
term athlete identification and devel-
opment, injury research in collabora-
tion with sport medicine researchers).
A critical point for such knowledge
development processes to occur within
any sport context, the leadership of the
league must centrally fund and prop-
erly design league-wide research ven-
tures. Because each organization seeks
competitive advantage, few team per-
sonnel may be interested or indepen-
dently able to achieve results from
meso-level or macro-level projects.
ESTABLISHING A STANDARD OF
CARE AND PROFESSIONAL
COMPETENCY
In a notable effort to establish a stan-
dard of care in professional soccer for
developing athletes, the Premier
League (United Kingdom) has
established minimum infrastructure
requirements for soccer clubs that host
academy teams (featuring athletes up
to 20 years old), including formal
coaching standards and performance
 Table 1
Synthesis of sport scientist job tasks

Tasks Source
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Apply evidence-based judgement and quality-assured practice to individuals, Accredited sport scientist tasks (23)
teams, and the broader community to:
Optimize athlete health and well-being
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Design, modify, and apply assessment protocols and methods to analyze the
demands of the sport and the capabilities of the athlete
Design, deliver, and interpret safe, effective, and evidence-based sport science
interventions and strategies in training and competition to:
Optimize sport performance
Prevent injury and manage risks
Return to play postinjury
Analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative data and translate results
into practical applications
Educate and advise on health and well-being in the context of sport
performance
Support and motivate athletes and coaches to achieve performance goals
Research and knowledge translation to improve evidence-based practice 4,22,30,76,80,88,93
Integration of complex data, intervention development, testing/training
prescription
Optimizing training and learning design and individualizing training and
learning programs
Technique enhancement and injury prevention
Critical evaluation of technology
Adapted from Ref. (23), with permission from Exercise & Sports Science Australia.

and medical staff including the posi-
tions listed in Table 3 (71). Of note, this
includes a mandate for BASES-
accredited SSs to be employed by
clubs. Although growth has occurred
in U.S. sporting organizations, particu-
larly for medical oversight, professional
and collegiate leagues are yet to estab-
lish a standard of care for athletes that
clearly outlines support services
(including SS roles) considered essen-
tial for athletes to optimize perfor-
mance and health. It is necessary to
employ research in this solution to cre-
ate new knowledge and refine the ex-
isting knowledge base.
Overseas examples exist of sport orga-
nizations funding research programs
that refine the game, such as the Aus-
tralian Football League Research Pro-
gram, which is managed by the league
with input from a wide spectrum of
stakeholders—from executives to club
personnel to the players association
(54,86). In reality, critical discussion is
warranted to address shortcomings of
policy in U.S. sport; some ill-founded
policies are in existence at the U.S. col-
legiate level in other support specialties
that literally (and arbitrarily) reduce cer-
tain sport support staff (e.g., only 5
strength and conditioning coaches
may work with American football
teams) (66). Furthermore, no long-
standing broadly-focused research pro-
grams are evident in high-level or
advanced sport. For sport administra-
tors seeking to optimize internal struc-
ture, workflow, and productivity, the
above points should be of great concern
and warrant addressing immediately.
Instead of a limiting approach to staff
and negligible research funding, devel-
oping an association/league philosophy
that establishes a minimum mandatory
standard of care that an individual team
can build upon if desired is a superior
strategy to enable an athletic depart-
ment to pursue agile, quality athlete sup-
port infrastructure. Future research is
necessary to identify staffing necessary
to attain an acceptable standard of care
for sport science support operations, as
is discussion of optimal research inte-
gration by sport leagues.
Interesting developments from over-
seas are the concepts of registered
and chartered scientists, which exist
across scientific disciplines in the
United Kingdom, overseen by the Sci-
ence Council. A charter is a legal
instrument of incorporation granted
by a monarch for organizations that
operate in the public interest; the char-
ter provides legitimacy and stability in
a field (73). Organizations granted
charters can self-regulate, oversee pro-
fessional certification, and establish
industry-specific norms, such
as minimum education and continuing
education requirements for practicing
professionals. In essence, registering
and chartering play a role in establish-
ing quality assurance systems within
professions. Because the United States
has no equivalent chartering organiza-
tion, ensuring professional standards
can be challenging in the United States
and typically requires the formation of

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 Defining the Sport Scientist

Table 2 chartered chemist would have specialty-

ESSA sport scientist roles and settings specific but equivalent requirements to a
chartered SS. In summary, these systems
Sporting organizations (national and state) demonstrate an individual’s competence,
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Sport institutes and academies (national and state) conduct, and commitment to profes-
sional development.
Teams (elite and recreational)
In the United Kingdom, registering
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Community organizations and chartering have distinctive levels

Corporate sector of proficiency. A registered scientist
can work autonomously and apply
Education skills and knowledge to problem-
Research solve and “.identify, review, and
select appropriate techniques, proce-
Private practice dures, and methods” (85). Requiring
Schools further experience, a chartered scientist
serves in a leadership role, improving
Note: ESSA recognizes 6 areas of sport science: performance analysis, skill acquisition, sport
biomechanics, sport physiology, strength science, and data science. Adapted from Ref. (23), application by investigating the scope
with permission from Exercise & Sports Science Australia of projects and planning and managing
them (84).
Because they are authorized by the
state laws to establish legitimacy and human performance–focused organiza- Science Council (and monarchy) to
standards within professions. For tions have made strides to establish do so independently, licensed organi-
example, this is seen in state licensure professional legitimacy of their members. zations (e.g., BASES) register and
(loosely equivalent to chartering) of For example, the NSCA offers the reg- charter scientists and technicians
sport medicine professionals, which is istered strength and conditioning coach within the accreditation program.
available in most states (63). (RSCC) program for strength and con- Because the United Kingdom has the
Similarly, registering is validating qualifi- ditioning coaches who possess
Science Council infrastructure to
cations and establishes the professional’s the minimum qualifying experience (68).
establish professional standards in sci-
legitimacy by listing their name in a Importantly, registering and chartering
entific disciplines, BASES laid the
directory (57). Despite lack of centralized systems set professional postcertification
groundwork to offer 2 levels of accred-
management in the United States, some standards for people across disciplines. A
itation for SSs (6). Similar to parallel
processes in different science disci-
plines, the BASES process requires
Table 3 recurring professional education
Premier League category 1 or 2 academy staff requirements through the organization to ensure skill
Head of academy sports science and medicine and knowledge currency. In light of the
above points, further discussion is war-
[Sport] Nutritionist ranted in the United States regarding
Lead sport scientist the skill level and educational require-
ments, amount and type of experience
Lead strength & conditioning coach
under accredited mentorship or expe-
Senior physiotherapist riential learning programs, and tar-
geted professional development
Physiotherapist(s)
necessary to deliver minimum accept-
Physician able standards of service in sport sci-
Performance analyst ence roles within high-level sport. Such
discussions and associated explorations
Head of education are critical to shape the standard of
Head of recruitment care for athletes, adjusting sport orga-
nization hiring and staffing norms, and
Director of player care
developing and refining professional
[Sport] Psychologist development pathways. Figure 2 pro-
vides a sample SS qualification progres-
Based on data from Ref. (71).
sion using current international terms.

6 VOLUME 00 | NUMBER 00 | MONTH 2023

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Figure 2. Sample multi-level qualification process. A specialty can involve levels of
professional qualification. For further discussion of how chartering is
applied to sport science in the U.K., see BASES. Chartered scientist (6).
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SPORT SCIENCE JOB TASKS
SSs may produce an impact on an orga-
nization in a variety of ways (Table 4).
For simplicity, broad areas of potential
impact have been separated based on
common job tasks across the continuum
of sport scientists. These are education
and knowledge-related tasks; optimizing
performance enhancement program-
ming; testing and profiling; problem-
solving, process evaluation, and analysis;
monitoring training load (and injury
trends); research methods, statistics,
and visualization of results; technique
evaluation; management; and training
services. Many of these roles are inte-
grated components of particular posi-
tions. It is appropriate to note that SSs
have different strengths based on inter-
ests, talents, and training. Therefore,
potential employers are advised to seek
certain skills specifically for a well-
designed role to meet the organization’s
actual needs (39).
EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE-
RELATED TASKS
Before discussing the education and
knowledge-based responsibilities of
SSs, it is necessary to define several
related terms. Education is defined as:
“(a) the act or process of imparting or
acquiring general knowledge, develop-
ing the powers of reasoning or judg-
ment, and generally of preparing
oneself or others intellectually for
mature life” and “(b) the act or process
of imparting or acquiring particular
knowledge or skills, as for a profession”
(17). Within the sport organization, edu-
cation processes and the use of informa-
tion to inform decision-making
processes deal with knowledge man-
agement methods and knowledge trans-
fer (20). Girard and Girard (31) defined
knowledge management as “.the
Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
process of creating, sharing, using, and
managing the knowledge and informa-
tion of an organization.” Knowledge
transfer was defined by Argote and In-
gram (1) as “.the process through
which one unit [of an organization] is
affected by the experience of another.”
Knowledge translation, another relevant
term, is composed of methods for clos-
ing the gaps between knowledge and
practice (91). We must consider that
knowledge may reside in 3 primary “res-
ervoirs” within the organization, which
consist of people (such as coaches or
specialists), tools (such as a database
with athlete monitoring and testing
information), and tasks (shaped by goals
and purposes); there is complexity in
the various relationships among these
“reservoirs” that may aid or impede
knowledge transfer (1). In simplicity,
creating knowledge, synthesizing it,
storing it, and sharing it within the orga-
nization (with the right person at the
right time) in an agile manner and
ensuring knowledge is applied in a valu-
able manner (including recurring evalu-
ation of the effectiveness of relevant
knowledge integration to processes)
may lead to competitive advantage
because the organization may optimize
its operations beyond the capacity of
competitors (1,20,30,53).
In the sport context, knowledge manage-
ment, knowledge transfer, and knowl-
edge translation must be agile because
endless cause-and-effect relationships
exist within the team environment. To
use a simple example of short-term
knowledge relevance, one coach pushing
players to exhaustion in an early drill
during a training session may affect their
performance in the next drill, which may
even affect their performance in a later
training session and undermine the
7 Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
responses expected by another coach
with different priorities. If the organiza-
tion is capable and willing to share
knowledge of what is to occur optimally
(e.g., detailed practice plan with quantifi-
able goals), ensure an acceptable range of
goals are met (e.g., employ a monitoring
program and attend to details that
emerge from it), and apply the knowl-
edge gained from this process (i.e., trans-
lation of knowledge to influence present
and future processes) within a frame-
work, an optimized process has been
created by the people working within
the organization.
Providing education services is a well-
established job role of the SS, in part
because of advanced education and
knowledge-related skills and also
because of the SS’s unique perspective
on the sport context and familiarity
with the available literature, all of
which position the SS as an important
reservoir for knowledge-related activi-
ties within the organization (20). At the
micro-level, the SS’s experience of pro-
viding recurring testing or monitoring
services allows the SS to share results
strategically with individual athletes,
the team, and the coaching staff
because they navigate through
problem-solving processes and refine
programming to achieve goals. Educa-
tional offerings—informal or formal—are
excellent opportunities for the sport
science program and staff members
to connect with the athletes and
coaches and enhance buy-in for ser-
vices provided—particularly the moni-
toring and testing program. These
opportunities may allow the SS to
explain or demonstrate to athletes,
sport coaches, and other IST members
what is being done in the training pro-
cess and why at appropriate levels of
engagement to stimulate athletes’
interest and provide knowledge trans-
lation for other practitioners within the
IST. Although informing seasoned
sport coaches of recent findings within
the sport organization is necessary, the
best mechanism to do so (i.e., informal
meeting using graphical illustrations)
may be governed by organizational
culture.
 Defining the Sport Scientist

Table 4
Sport science roles at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels

Role Micro Meso Macro

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Education and Perform consultations with Share knowledge gained from Perform research projects
knowledge-related individual athletes to enhance individual/team settings to aid investigating performance
tasks athlete development and development of athletes and concepts. Provide
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performance over time. sport coaches within translational reports offering

Provide team-level education competitive league in guidance for optimal
seminars. Perform regular professional forums. Provide development of the athlete
informational briefings. guidance to league and resolving larger problems
Informally share information administrators of team needs of the sport. Share findings
with athletes, members of and necessary policy changes. from league-level studies for
coaching staff, and IST application across sport
members. leagues. Provide formal coach
education services.
Optimizing performance Apply evidence-based Share performance optimization Produce academic projects
enhancement information to optimize information in conferences, outlining contemporary
programming athlete training processes and clinics, and workshops, as trends for performance
structure. Assist sport coaches appropriate. enhancement in context and
to develop and refine athlete identify areas for exploration
technique. in research projects.
Testing and profiling Conduct performance testing Compare athlete data from Provide performance testing
and provide rapid reports to combine performances to norms across all levels of sport
stakeholders. Assist or available norms. for collaboration and
coordinate combine testing publication.
services.
Problem solving, process Application, evaluation, and Support combine testing Critical evaluation of long-term
evaluation, and analysis development of practices services. Critical application processes used to identify and
used to identify and prepare and evaluation of practices prepare athletes for
athletes for competition (e.g., used to identify and prepare competition across entire
training, practice) and athletes for competition (e.g. sport system. Identifies areas
optimize coach-athlete and training and practice). Critical in need of investigation and
coach-support staff evaluation of processes used sources funding for research
communication processes. between athletes, between programs. Performs analysis of
coaches and athletes, and league-wide or system-wide
between coaches and support data.
staff within competitive
leagues.
Monitoring Regular assessment of athlete/ Assess athlete performance Assess athlete performance
team fitness/performance across multiple teams to across multiple years of
capacity, recovery status and determine the fitness, fatigue, competition to provide a
fatigue, effectiveness of and injury characteristics that greater understanding of
nutritional interventions, impact preparedness and the what physical and tactical
psychological well-being, and ability to perform well in components may change to
the development and tracking competition. Recommend produce improved
of athlete profiles as they league-sponsored studies to performance and availability.
relate to key performance investigate areas of interest to
characteristics. the sport.
Research methods, Collaboratively identify relevant Participate in working groups Manage performance testing
statistics, and performance indicators with across competitive leagues to and monitoring database and
visualization of results sport coaches. Use a variety of problem solve agreed-upon identify areas in need of
tools and software to measure issues. Share knowledge resources and expertise. Use
and analyze athlete across league as appropriate. traditional and nontraditional
performance according to Sponsor studies investigating statistics to analyze
scientific principles. Use information. Visualize athlete

8 VOLUME 00 | NUMBER 00 | MONTH 2023

Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
 Table 4
(continued )
nontraditional statistics to evaluation and development development, selection, and
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analyze data. Interpret data
after analysis. Use
visualization tools to
efficiently share results of
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processes. injury data for executives and
other stakeholders across the
sport. Sponsor, design, and
implement studies across

athlete monitoring data and various levels to enhance

other knowledge with
stakeholders.
Technique evaluation Work with coaches, athletes, and At professional conferences,
sport medicine to optimize
technical performance of
sport-specific tasks and
strategies across the career.
Movement evaluation may be
of great value after surgical
interventions, particularly in
collaboration with sport
medicine.
Management Oversee the IST staff and related Maintain awareness of team-
operations; provide
leadership influence upon
team performance process.
Report to executive level.
Interact regularly with league-
wide SS resource to vet new
technology on a coordinated
front. Share policy issues with
league SS resource to refine
policy in the interest of the
athlete.
Study effectiveness of athlete
Training services Plan and implement physical or N/A
mental training to enhance
athlete performance; may
serve as a coach or regular
consultant.
sport system.
Provide observation of optimal
clinics, and workshops. movement parameters (or
Conceptualize and discuss key theoretical standard) for
performance indicators for specific tasks in a range of
analyzing movements and athletes and applications for
enhancing coaching. coaches to teach technical
excellence.
Study effectiveness of athlete
specific monitoring processes identification and
(without revealing development processes,
competitive advantages). making system-wide
Manage data collection and recommendations for
analysis across competitive improvement. Work with
league. Share process best- governmental and sport
practices among peers at entities to advance the sport.
conferences, clinics, and Interact with league SS to
workshops. Sponsor disseminate information and
equipment development refine policy.
efforts (e.g., playing surface
R&D) and evaluate application
of technology to sport.
Provide expert guidance to
league officials on all matters
related to performance
science.
identification and
development processes,
making league-wide
recommendations for
improvement.
N/A

Further micro-level influence may be
demonstrated by performing formal
or informal consultations with athletes
intended to enhance training, nutri-
tion, or sleep knowledge, for example.
These key interventions may help
athletes develop over time. Interest-
ingly, some authors have suggested
that a responsibility of the SS
(researcher) is to keep coaches up-to-
date with the scientific literature, based
on interviews of Australian coaches
and SS (103). Since SS roles developed,
Australian SSs have had a presence in
Australian coach education (88).
Applied to the U.S. market, this
responsibility presents great opportu-
nity to impact contemporary practice.

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Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
 Defining the Sport Scientist
It demonstrates strong value for the SS
because few formal (or specific) educa-
tion requirements are present in sport
coach development pathways.
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Considering the above points, “slow-
science” research projects may allow
the SS to participate in knowledge
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development within the sport or influ-
ence sport policy by sharing informa-
tion among peers—meso-level or
macro-level influences. Importantly,
league incentives may be required to
elicit participation by teams; incentives
can overshadow risk or perception of
relinquishing competitive advantage.
Further meso-level influence may be
achieved by teaching classes in an aca-
demic program, which enables the SS
to share cutting-edge knowledge with
students and refine their skills by help-
ing graduate students with research
projects. Several models have been
developed to structure research pro-
grams in sport science. Bishop (8) pro-
posed an applied research model for
the sport sciences, a process that begins
with defining the problem and con-
cludes with implementation of effec-
tiveness trials in the sport setting.
Recently Eisenmann (20) adapted the
model of Verhagen et al. (99) to pro-
vide a “laboratory to playing field”
model for sport sciences to guide fur-
ther implementation. This model
includes a knowledge transfer group
of key stakeholders (researchers, prac-
titioners, coaches, and athletes) who
steer the knowledge-related activities
for the organization or league. The
knowledge transfer group is also
charged with smoothing uptake of
knowledge and the best delivery mech-
anisms for the setting.
In their applied research model, Jones
et al. (43) overviewed the Carnegie
Adolescent Rugby Research project,
highlighting the importance of clearly
identifying research questions and
developing knowledge with practi-
tioners before attempting to apply
any findings within the sport organiza-
tion. The authors recommended for-
malizing research and performance
management roles, practitioner, and
blended research-practitioner positions
10 VOLUME 00 | NUMBER 00 | MONTH 2023
Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
(including the use of dual-
appointments) within the organization
(or across the league) to improve effec-
tiveness. Education and knowledge-
based responsibilities of the SS must
be clarified and collaborative, so that
cultural integration is enabled.
OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE
ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMMING
Because of expert knowledge of train-
ing theory and extant literature from
advanced formal study in sport sci-
ence, SSs may be influential in helping
coaches to design, critique, evaluate,
and refine training programs. A SS
may be invaluable helping sport
coaches design practices in line with
modern skill acquisition concepts (87)
and provide targeted guidance on skill
development in areas certain athletes
lack. Vast frontiers exist in this area in
many sports (105). In addition, because
the monitoring program is typically
under the purview of the SS, insights
gained from the monitoring program
may be used to adjust the training plan
according to psycho-physiological evi-
dence obtained from athletes (via well-
ness questionnaires, session rate of
perceived exertion, GPS data, etc).
Analysis of this information may be
particularly valuable in optimizing
training, for example, as observed evi-
dence of acute fatigue is balanced
against insight of fatigue in the bigger
picture of the training process, in con-
text of identified goals and the available
timeline for training.
TESTING AND PROFILING
A primary SS role is their ability to
provide testing services, ensure accept-
able quality is achieved by testing and
monitoring programs, and integrate
testing information into an athletic
profile. Testing skills are typically
developed in the laboratories of grad-
uate programs because of opportuni-
ties for equipment access. Using
certain testing methods within a sport
organization may be of great value to
coaches to evaluate an athlete’s physi-
cal profile, physical capacity, and con-
struct a psychological profile of the
athlete. Over a long-term period, this
allows the practitioners and
researchers to provide context to data
obtained in the short term.
Both experience with laboratory
equipment and less-invasive field test-
ing tools are critical for the SS to serve
sport organizations well. The SS must
understand proper application, advan-
tages, and limitations (including cost)
of each available tool and respect time
limitations of athletes. It is important
to note that certain sophisticated test-
ing methods may uncover more pro-
found information than field tests,
supporting their importance and inclu-
sion for use, as appropriate. For exam-
ple, countermovement jumps are
simple and commonly applied as a
field test, using jump height as a sole
variable; however, linking force data
with phases of the jump may uncover
more depth of understanding of an
athlete’s progress or status (56,58), in
comparison with historical data (32).
To offer another example, although
advances have been made with wear-
able technology, such as [field testing]
baseball pitching using a wearable
device (49), many “gold-standard” test-
ing methods are impossible to bring to
the sport field (e.g., biomechanical
throwing analysis using infrared
marker-based motion capture); as a
result, for some tasks, depending on
time available and situation-specific
goals, testing may best occur in a lab-
oratory setting versus the field. In other
situations, field testing may be most
appropriate—particularly if access to
laboratory equipment is limited
because of time, coach interest, or
equipment availability—or the most
important performance questions iden-
tified in that setting may be answered
by field testing. Because few U.S. sport
coaches are educated in sport science
or related areas, proficiency with
equipment, detailed understanding of
sophisticated testing and analysis prac-
tices, and knowledge of processes of
integration into programming are rare
within the sport coach population. As
such, the SS is commonly required to
select testing methods, operate the
equipment (or oversee operation),
 translate the testing results, and com-
municate practical application of find-
ings (94). Because a properly trained SS
is skilled in this area, translation of find-
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ings is a responsibility shouldered by
the SS. Thus, they must be skilled at
communicating in a variety of ways
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with coaches and other stakeholders
about meaningful testing results.
In addition to selecting and operating
testing equipment, a SS can be valu-
able in constructing multidimensional
profiles of athletes ((42,51,52,55) p. 39,
104). Such a tool may be used in con-
text of norms to identify short-term
and long-term training priorities, for
squad selection, and in talent identifi-
cation processes. These processes may
include physiological, skill-based, and
psychological profiling (72,104).
To add another dimension of profiling
often seen in team sports overseas,
data from monitoring programs (dis-
cussed below) may be used in con-
structing position profiles. These may
be synthesized from competition
movement and physiological data
(98) and allow the coaching staff to
construct more precise training pro-
grams by understanding sport
demands; drills may be classified and
used to provide targeted stimuli to ath-
letes in a more deliberately structured
training program (50). Because detailed
and comprehensive athlete profiling
and position profiling are uncommon
practices in the United States, profiling
is an area of fertile ground for growth.
PROBLEM SOLVING, PROCESS
EVALUATION, AND ANALYSIS
A SS should possess knowledge, skills,
and abilities that are influential in opti-
mizing the processes that athletes,
sport coaches, IST members, and sport
systems follow. This implies that the
SS can critically evaluate and validate
the approaches used in the training
and performance processes. Because
of their training, a SS can take on
problem-solving projects or consulting
services with a coaching staff to help
the organization improve perfor-
mance, communication, and many
other areas. Knowledge of the sport
Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
has been reported to be an important
element of integration (103) because it
may help SSs to identify critical pro-
jects within the setting. Aside from
micro-level servicing, some projects
may result in the publication of find-
ings in journals, producing white
papers or informative summaries for
sport leagues, or other methods of re-
porting results of deep-dive investiga-
tions. The SS may also provide
feedback to software developers on
how to enhance technological tools.
MONITORING TRAINING LOAD
(AND INJURY TRENDS)
Ensuring quality is not a new concept
in sport; authors have proposed iden-
tifying quality targets, establishing
appropriate standards, and evaluating
quality as critical management con-
cepts (15). Another common task for
SSs is managing athlete monitoring
programs, where data are collected
over a long-term period. Monitoring
is of 2 overlapping types: fatigue man-
agement and program efficacy. For
brevity, the reader is referred elsewhere
for detailed discussion of monitoring
programs (9,36,47,55,100). Typically,
under the purview of the SS (sport
physiology specialist), a monitoring
program allows a SS to collect and
analyze data, and evaluate the process
used by the team. In this way, SSs act as
quality assurance managers and may
help coaches and organizations
become more effective as they seek
to optimize performance
and minimize injury risk to maximize
player availability (9). Of key impor-
tance to those in embedded SS roles,
monitoring data must be rapidly ana-
lyzed to influence day-to-day training
prescription to maximize variables of
athlete preparedness in the short term.
In contrast, some research projects
may not specifically require immediate
reporting of monitoring findings. How-
ever, SSs in research roles must still be
cautious in managing timeline expecta-
tions of the sport organization and
clearly define project duration.
To understand athlete preparedness,
training load information must be
applied with short-term through
11 Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
long-term perspectives to evaluate
training methodologies and craft
evidence-based methods designed to
advance athlete development. As
appropriate, knowledge must be
shared with a wide array of sport
stakeholders, including athletes at
times (4,34,81,82,97). Substantial long-
term study of training methodologies is
necessary to understand the athlete’s
status and provide context for testing
and monitoring results or observations
of injury, which are not typically skills
developed by sport medicine education
pathways. In truth, there seems to be
some overlap and collaborative poten-
tial with sport medicine practitioners.
Because of the specialized medical
training of medical practitioners, col-
laborative efforts must be made
between SS and sport medicine to
undertake such study; medical knowl-
edge of the sport medicine practitioner
is merged with the training knowledge
of the SS to enable conclusions dealing
with sources of injuries and resulting
evidence-based process modifications
that are influenced by both domains.
It is important to note that after the
application of GPS technology to
sport, a large volume of research has
been conducted investigating the rela-
tionship between quantified training
loads and injury rates; however, sub-
stantial debate remains over the appro-
priateness of common methods such as
acute-to-chronic workload ratio, with
at least one research group condemn-
ing the practice (40,41). This area is in
its infancy.
Although most monitoring work is
accomplished at the micro-level, an
additional dimension from the meso-
level and macro-level that is worthy
of mention is that by using monitoring
information from various teams, SSs
may provide a substantial impact on
informing the rules and regulations
that sports administrators establish.
Over time, findings may become gen-
eralizable to the sporting population,
but such work should be undertaken
with great care and patience. To pre-
vent errors, a volume of evidence (not
just 1 or 2 studies) is often required to
 Defining the Sport Scientist
suggest and support a policy change,
as is healthy practitioner debate.
A final consideration of monitoring
involves ethical implications of collect-
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ing information from athletes. Some
information may be benign if used for
sharing among staff members or pub-
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lication, whereas other information
may invade athletes’ privacy or even
influence roster management strategies
of the organization. The SS should take
caution to work in the athlete’s interest,
with clear instruction on how the infor-
mation is to be used, strong data secu-
rity practices followed, and clear
guidance on data management formed
by sport leagues.
RESEARCH METHODS,
STATISTICS, AND VISUALIZATION
OF RESULTS
In advanced education programs,
research methods coursework is foun-
dational. This is important to ensure
the SS has a reasonable ability to crit-
ically evaluate literature, which guides
their learning over time and helps
shape application of knowledge to
the organization or sport. Also devel-
oped in advanced education programs,
statistical and data visualization skills
are common among SSs because of
the necessity of applying reasonable
project design and analysis methods
to data sets that would be inappropri-
ate for traditional parametric statistics
(e.g., small sample size, little possibility
of a control group) and at times are
made more meaningful by visual anal-
ysis using computer programs
(2,7,8,78,82,83). In addition to covering
traditional parametric statistics, sport
science–focused educational programs
teach their students to use appropriate
statistical methods applied to the
sporting context (e.g., trend analysis,
statistical process control, individual-
ized smallest worthwhile change),
which may not be a feature of exercise
science educational programs. The
above statistical tools may be used to
validate processes and guide decisions.
Many involve visual interpretation of
data accompanied by verbal commu-
nication, which can be very helpful for
coaches.
12 VOLUME 00 | NUMBER 00 | MONTH 2023
Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
It should be noted that the variety of
coaching personalities, preferences,
and settings where communication is
required may require the SS to be ver-
satile in their approach to data visual-
ization and knowledge translation (30).
For example, a coach may prefer that
data be shown in graph form com-
pared with numerical values. More-
over, the SS needs to provide the
data that provides the most practical
information regarding an athlete’s per-
formance, fatigue, and relative pre-
paredness, and also possess the ability
to provide appropriate context to the
information.
TECHNIQUE EVALUATION
Evaluating individual athletes’ tech-
nique may be of substantial value dur-
ing the training process because a SS
may help the athlete optimize techni-
cal execution of critical sport tasks
(21,22). For example, in professional
baseball, practitioners skilled in biome-
chanics evaluate pitching technique to
optimize performance and reduce
injury incidence. Indeed, a substantial
volume of research has also been
applied to pitching because of its crit-
ical importance in the game (25) and
batting (92,102). For other tasks, a vol-
uminous research foundation is avail-
able in sprinting (101), change of
direction (18), and many other athletic
events. Little application of biome-
chanics has occurred in various team
sports because of limited researcher
access and many frontiers remain.
MANAGEMENT
Many SSs have been hired to lead per-
formance departments and oversee all
support services (59,96). This speaks to
the value of tasking a leader with the
aforementioned “T-shaped” knowl-
edge, paired with experience applying
their skills in high-performance set-
tings, in a senior supervisory role over-
seeing sport performance and medicine
departments (10,11). SSs have also cre-
ated administrative and training-
related processes such as systems of
development and talent identification
across multiple disciplines (37,42,95)
at meso-level and macro-level. Indeed,
talent identification programs intended
to place athletes in a training pipeline
may be best overseen and informed by
a SS who may have an optimal skill set
for related tasks.
As a result of poor clarity in the Aus-
tralian sport industry, ESSA developed
an accreditation scheme and scope of
work for those in management roles.
The Accredited High Performance
Manager (AHPM) role is defined as
“.university-qualified sports science
and sports medicine . professionals”
who “.lead and manage teams of per-
formance support staff [defined as
sport science and sport medicine pro-
fessionals] in high-performance, elite,
and professional sport settings” (24).
These leaders work in national and
state sport institutes and academies,
national and state sporting organiza-
tions, and professional teams and use
a people-centered approach to
“.support the well-being of the ath-
lete, team, staff, and other service users
by providing diligent duty of care, tak-
ing appropriate steps to minimize
harm, and creating an environment
free from substances prohibited by
the World Anti-Doping Agency.” In
execution of this role, the AHPMs
“.apply evidence-based judgment to
coaches, sports professionals, athletes,
teams, and other performance support
professionals” (24). ESSA suggests that
AHPMs perform the list of tasks pro-
vided in Table 5. AHPMs are subject to
a code of conduct and continuing edu-
cation requirements to maintain
accreditation.
TRAINING SERVICES
Kawamori noted that the SS often pro-
vides a broad range of services (e.g.,
strength and conditioning program-
ming, physiological or fitness testing,
motion analysis, psychological counsel-
ing, and nutrition advice) (34) now con-
sidered common job task sets for IST
members working in high-performance
sport organizations (35). It is important
to understand that the role of SS does
not always involve provision of training
services; the role developed over time
from early advancements made by
 researchers and professionals interested
in training processes. As a result,
employers often desire a background
in strength and conditioning (see Sup-
Downloaded from http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj by BhDMf5ePHKav1zEoum1tQfN4a+kJLhEZgbsIHo4XMi0hCywC
sport industry. Advances in sport within the IST (e.g., sport medicine).
technology may increase coach Therefore, employing multiple spe-
awareness of athlete status, paired cialists from different areas may syn-
with strategic application of estab- ergistically advance the processes of a

plemental Digital Content, http://links. lished scientific concepts in the train- well-funded sport organization; how-
lww.com/SCJ/A347), which may be a ing environment. Although ever, the IST needs to demonstrate a
practical element allowing for successful opportunity growth is encouraging, return on investment. Major themes
X1AWnYQp/IlQrHD3i3D0OdRyi7TvSFl4Cf3VC1y0abggQZXdtwnfKZBYtws= on 04/23/2023

integration within the IST because of to preserve the reputation of the field in development for a SS seem to be:
the ability to demonstrate detailed and continue the momentum, careful (a) advanced degree (typically doc-
knowledge of the training process. consideration must be made of the torate) in a sport performance-
International differences exist regarding appropriate qualifications, skills, and related field, (b) advanced knowledge
classification of strength and condition- knowledge an individual possesses of training theory and training pro-
ing practitioners as SSs; ESSA classifies for them to carry the title “sport sci- cesses, and (c) a minimum of around
“strength science” as a sport science entist.” A SS has been defined as a 5 years of practical work experience
specialty, whereas BASES does not. In professional who applies expert- in sport performance. When consid-
the U.S., many strength and condition- level knowledge and skills to the ering the worth of a SS, we must be
ing practitioners have been involved in training process, obtains and analyzes careful to understand that hiring a SS
sport science projects or job tasks. Fur- information, and evaluates processes does not necessarily translate to a
ther evidence suggests a connection of to solve problems and improve per- higher winning percentage; instead,
strength and conditioning and sport sci- formance outcomes for the organiza- a SS can certainly help refine organi-
ence by the NSCA offering the CPSS tion (or sport) and the athletes zational processes that can lead to
certification. Future exploration of these working within it while enhancing achievement of targeted objectives
roles in the U.S. sport industry is neces- the coach-athlete relationship. A SS (e.g., increased player capacities,
sary to clarify responsibilities and devel- applies scientific methods to sport increased player readiness, increased
opmental requirements. settings to improve performance in player availability, enhanced learning
numerous ways according to their in practice environments). By way of
broad preparation and specialty, in achieving success in measurable
CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL line with opportunities available
APPLICATIONS objectives (often termed key perfor-
within their employment setting. SS mance indicators), a return on invest-
As the field of sport science has
with different specialty areas may be ment may be observed by
emerged and evolved, opportunity
growth in specialist roles has able to support a sport organization management. Because of the time
occurred in the United States and in different ways or in collaboration required to develop sport-specific
beyond to meet the needs of the with other SS and allied specialists knowledge in certain sports, some
personal experience in the particular
sport (athlete, coach, etc.) may
Table 5 greatly aid the SS’s ability to apply
Job tasks of ESSA’s accredited high-performance manager scientific principles to the particular
sporting context and enhance athlete
Optimize sport performance in an ethical manner
buy-in for team processes.
Design, plan, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based and Organizations seeking to hire a SS to
quality-assured performance support programs
work in an embedded capacity or par-
Develop, implement, and evaluate performance support strategic plans, policies, and allel to team operations should carefully
procedures including health and safety, ethical practice, and confidentiality consider organizational needs and
Manage relationships with coaches, staff, and key partners including National attempt to find a match in the future
Sporting Organizations., National Institute Network., Australian Institute of employee’s knowledge, skills, abilities,
Sport, government, academia, owners, and sponsors and experience because all these factors
affect their ability to influence the sport
Codevelop and implement budgets, financial controls, resource allocation, and organization or system. Indeed, the day-
workforce structure
to-day responsibilities and desired out-
Oversee and support the recruitment, development, and retention of staff comes should be carefully decided
before hiring personnel. As the field
Apply legislative compliance requirements to support safety and well-being
evolves further, research is necessary
Provide strategic advice to executive teams on planning and governance of sport to discover the optimal mechanisms
to train SS to maximize their impact
Adapted from ESSA (24), with permission from Exercise & Sports Science Australia.
on the athletes, coaches, sport

13 Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com

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 Defining the Sport Scientist

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