Martin Bingisser

GAINcast Episode 240: The sports sciences

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When we used to think about sports science we would think about the sports sciences: fields like biomechanics and exercise physiology. Now, more often than note, the term sports science is shorthand for data collection and analysis. On this week’s GAINcast we look at how coaches can go back to the roots and get the most from science in sport.

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Notes and quotes

  • 0:00 – Introduction
  • 2:45 – The tweet that started the conversation.
  • 3:30 – Evolution of the sports sciences.
  • 5:30 – What is sports science? “Something is wrong with the picture when everyone calls themselves a sports scientist. We’ve equated sports technology with sports science.”
  • 9:00 – Involving coaches in sports science research: “The best coaches are years ahead of sports science. Coaches need to work in concert with sports scientists in order to improve both coaching and sports science.”
  • 12:00 – Putting science back in sports science: “When everything is being called science, we start to lose sight of what science really is.” “Much of what we call sports science now is just measurement, but measurement is only part of the scientific approach and process. Science is also about testing a hypothesis and learning from that.”
  • 15:00 – Examples of successful collaboration between coaches and athletes.
  • 20:00 – Defining sports science.
  • 22:45 – Bringing in the coaches perspective.
  • 24:30 – Pioneers of sports science.
  • 27:00 – Finding partners and understanding the basics and asking better questions.

To hear more about these topics you can listen to the full episode above. If you like what you hear on the GAINcast, don’t forget to give us a review and subscribe on iTunes.

Further reading

The following links were referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: