This page contains a selection of well-respected resources for sport science students and applied practitioners in the following areas:
- General Sport Science
- Professional Development
- Strength & Conditioning
- Biomechanics
- Psychology
- Physiology
- Statistics and Data Analysis
- Where to Look for Jobs in Sport Science
The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES)
The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) is the professional body for sport and exercise sciences in the UK.
They drive excellence in sport and exercise sciences through the promotion of evidence-based practice and professional standards in physiology, biomechanics and psychology disciplines. They offer BASES membership, online resources, publications, accreditations, certifications, conferences, workshops and webinars.
European College of Sport Science (ECSS)
The European College of Sport Science (ECSS) is an international organisation with the purpose of promoting science in research, with special attention to the interdisciplinary fields of sport science and sports medicine.
The UK’s Sport Councils
There are five Sport Councils that are responsible for investing in and growing sport across the UK. These are UK Sport, Sport England, Sport Scotland, Sport Wales and Sport Northern Island.
UK Sport is responsible for the “top end” of Britain’s sporting pathway (i.e., Olympic and Paralympic sport) whereas the Home Country Sport Councils (Sport England, Sport Scotland, Sport Wales and Sport Northern Ireland) are responsible for grassroots sport and getting more people physically active.
The English Institute of Sport (EIS)
The English Institute of Sport (EIS) provides support services to British Olympic and Paralympic Sports, enabling sports and athletes to realise their potential and to achieve excellence.
Support services include biomechanics, nutrition, performance analysis, performance lifestyle, physiology, physiotherapy, sport tissue therapy, psychology, sports medicine, strength & conditioning, athlete health, performance data and performance innovation.
Sport Ireland Institute
The Sport Ireland Institute provides support to talented Irish athletes. They do this by ensuring athletes have access to sports science and sports medicine support. This support includes nutrition, physiology, strength and conditioning, performance analysis, sports medicine and life skills.
American College of Sports medicine (ACSM)
The American College of Sports medicine (ACSM) promotes and integrates scientific research, education and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine. They offer ACSM membership, certifications, education and resources through peer-reviewed journals and books as well as putting together meetings and events.
UK Coaching
UK Coaching supports the nation’s 3 million coaches by delivering best practice, courses, training, research and industry standards across sports, communities and national governing bodies of sport.
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD)
The UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) is an active participant in the global fight against doping in sport and is the national body responsible for creating a UK-wide environment of confidence in clean sport.
UKAD encourages athletes and athlete support personnel to download the 100% Me Clean Sport App so that they have everything they need to know about clean sport in one place. UKAD also delivers the Clean Sport Advisor course, to support the education of those who work with athletes.
Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI)
Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) researches the effects of nutrition before, during and after exercise on amateur, elite and professional athletes. Their aim is to provide athletes with advice and products that help their performance and achieve their goals.
The Open University: Sport & Fitness
The Open University provides free articles and courses on sports and fitness topics. Courses include Developing Resilience in Sport, Supporting Female Performance in Sport and Fitness, Exploring the Psychological Aspects of Sports Injury and Coaching Others to Coach to name a few.
Pacey Performance Podcast
Rob Pacey and his guests share the philosophies, ideas and insights in conversations that are the signal in the noise of the sport performance space.
Supporting Champions Podcast
Dr. Steve Ingham, performance scientist, leader and author, explores the science, art, purpose and origins of high-performance.
Steve interviews and discusses these concepts with the people who have been there and done it, whether it’s achieving at the highest level, being the driving force in making remarkable performance happen or those who have explored and researched aspects of human performance in real depth.
Supporting Champions: A Letter to the 15,000
Dr. Steve Ingham writes to the 15,000 UK students who will exit sport science undergraduate courses each year. He provides advice on how you can prepare for the demands of working in sport and how to set yourself apart from all of the other sport science graduates.
Supporting Champions: Online Courses
Dr. Steve Ingham has designed a number of online courses specifically for students and graduates wanting to develop the skills necessary to succeed in applied performance sport. Courses include Kickstart Performance Skills, Graduate to Performance, Skills for Success in Work, Applied Performance which is Discipline Specific and Setting Up Your Own Consultancy.
Science for Sport: What do S&C Coaches Do and How Can You Get a Job in the S&C Industry?
Dr. Tom Brownlee from Science for Sport delves into the specifics around the role of an S&C coach and how to land a job in the S&C industry.
Sports Smith Career Development
Sports Smith, has written a number of articles for students and practitioners personal development in sport. In one article titled “career development and employment,” three coaches (Chris Bishop, David Slemen and Des Ryan), discuss topics including how people get a job, networking, education, accreditation and internships.
Sports Smith has also conducted surveys of strength and conditioning coaches and sport scientists working in Major League Soccer (MLS), Rugby League, Rugby Union and British Football to better understand the demographics and salaries of these practitioners. The purpose of these surveys was to put some objectivity to the often held conversations around salaries and working conditions for those working in sports performance.
UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA)
The UK Strength and Conditioning Association is the professional body for strength and conditioning in the UK. It was established to set professional standards for S&C coaches in the UK and holds the gold standard UKSCA Accreditation Strength and Conditioning Coach (ASCC) qualification, which some employers stipulate as a job requirement.
It also provides premium educational content with a library of over 750 sports and sports medicine journals and videos through its UKSCA-IQ platform which is produced by the world’s best S&C coaches and researchers. They also deliver two day workshops on planning and programming, Olympic weightlifting and speed, plyometrics and agility.
National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
The National Strength and Conditioning Association is the professional body for strength and conditioning in the USA. It holds the industry-leading certifications for professionals in the USA who apply scientific knowledge to train athletes and teams to top levels of performance.
They also support and disseminate research-based knowledge and its practical application to improve athletic performance and fitness through articles, journals, courses, podcasts and abstracts.
Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA)
The Australian Strength and Conditioning Association is the accrediting body for strength and conditioning coaches in Australia. It aims to ensure and enhance quality assured strength and conditioning coaches through its courses, accreditations, events and conferences.
Strength Coach Curriculums
The Strength Coach Curriculums provide resources on agility. They do this through a 10-week course, free articles and resources.
ALTIS
ALTIS is an elite training environment that has coached over 100 Olympians and 40 Olympic medalists over the last 40 years. They are also the global leader of education in sport performance and specialise in speed. They share information through downloadable e-books, articles, podcasts, and digital and in-person education.
The International Society of Biomechanics in Sports
The international society of biomechanics in sports provides a forum for the exchange of ideas for sports biomechanics researches, coaches and teachers. It also aims to bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners.
Force: The Biomechanics of Training
Dr. Dan Cleather wrote Force: The Biomechanics of Training, where he shows why an understanding of force is a critical factor in planning effective training programs. He writes in an easy-to-understand way with digestible short chapters.
Basic Biomechanics
Susan Hall wrote Basic Biomechanics, where she provides an introduction to human movement and applied anatomy. She does this by using examples of relevant sport, clinical and daily living examples as well as through example problems and practice questions.
The Sports Biomechanics Online Lecture Series
On behalf of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports, Dr. Stuard McErlain-Naylor presents 28 online lectures on the biomechanics of specific sports as well as biomechanical data collection and analysis techniques.
The British Psychological Society
The British Psychological Society is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK. It is responsible for the promotion of excellence and ethical practice in the science, education, and application of the discipline.
Eighty Percent Mental
On the Eighty Percent Mental Podcast, Dr. Pete Olusoga and his expert guests will answer all the questions you could possibly have about the role of the mind in sport performance. They will explore what the research says and highlight lessons from sport psychology that you can use on and off the field.
Dr. Pete Olusoga’s podcast is listed as an approved resource by the British Association of Sport & Exercise Science (BASES) for their SEPAR accreditation route.
The Physiological Society
The Physiological Society promotes physiology supports those working in the field by world-class scientific meetings, offering grants for research, collaboration and publishing the latest developments in their leading academic journal.
HIIT Science
Paul Laursen and Martin Buchheit are the founders of HIIT Science. They are leaders in high-intensity interval training education. They take sports science concepts of high-intensity interval training and apply those principles directly to the athlete’s training process. They are also the hosts of the Training Science Podcast.
The Well HQ
The Well HQ, co-founded by Dr. Bella Smith (NHS doctor) Emma Ross, Baz Moffat (former Team GB rower) and Dr. Emma Ross (former Head Physiologist at the EIS), provides courses and webinars on how we educate, engage and train women in sport, health and life.
They cover topics including the menstrual cycle, pelvic floor, menopause and sports bras.
Laerd Statistics: SPSS Guide
Laerds statistical test selector helps you to select the correct statistical tests to analyse your data. Their step-by-step SPSS statistical guides show you how to carry out the statistical tests using SPSS Statistics, as well as how to interpret and write up your results.
Science for Sport: Statistics
Science for Sport has written three high-quality and easy to read articles on statistics for coaches, students and academics. These articles focus on Reliability, Statistical Significance and the Smallest Worthwhile Change.
Adam Virgile: Sport Science Made Easy
Adam Virgile provides tutorial videos on YouTube that are aimed to facilitate improved athletic performance through enhanced sport science applications, including tutorials in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
Excel Tricks for Sports
Excel Tricks for Sports is a YouTube channel that is made by a sport scientist, sports analyst and strength and conditioning coach working with Olympic athletes.
The videos demonstrate techniques and systems used when preparing training programmes, managing training, monitoring data, creating athlete fitness profiles, dashboards and preparing fitness testing reports in Excel.
UK Coaching – They advertised job vacancies in the UK sport and physical activity industry.
UKSCA – They advertise job vacancies in strength and conditioning.
Jobs in Sport Science Twitter – They share the latest job opportunities in sport science.
Complementary Training – They share the latest jobs in sport each month.
English Institute of Sport – They advertised current career opportunities within the EIS.
BASES – They advertise job vacancies, studentships and internships in sport and exercise science.
UK Sport – They advertise UK based sports jobs.
*Please note that the above lists are not exhaustive – this is a live resource that will continue to evolve and be updated.
