• A leading Charles Sturt University expert in skill acquisition science is helping FIFA – a major, international regulatory body for football, to assist coaches, players and teams around the world to learn skills better
• Sports skill acquisition is a relatively new area of scientific enquiry which offers science-based information for coaches to understand and innovate practice design
• The FIFA video presentation focuses on how coaches can recognise whether players’ skill learning occurs and how they can shape training to optimise skill learning

An internationally recognised Charles Sturt University sports skill acquisition specialist is helping coaches around the world and across many codes to bring out the best in their players and teams and adding to scientific understanding.

Senior Lecturer in Exercise and Sports Science Dr Job Fransen (pictured left) in the Charles Sturt School of Allied Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences, who is based in Port Macquarie is a world-renowned skill acquisition scientist.

Dr Fransen has worked with major sporting franchises around the world, such as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Sydney Swans Football Club, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Rugby Australia, Parma Calcio 1913 and many more.

There are very few international experts in the field of skill acquisition science and Dr Fransen is one of them.

He has recently been interviewed for FIFA’s Training Centre by Dr Paul Bradley (FIFA consultant) about foundational aspects of skill acquisition science, the science that underpins motor skill learning.

The FIFA Training Centre is an online repository of videos for coaches in which research experts outline key aspects of their scientific discipline.

The video presentation was a direct result of Dr Fransen’s engagement in skill acquisition research in team sports over the last decade.

Dr Fransen said his video presentation focused on how coaches can recognise whether skill learning occurs in their footballers and how they can shape and manipulate aspects of their training to promote skill learning.

“Coaches have a keen interest in better understanding how team sport athletes learn and what they can do to optimise learning,” Dr Fransen said.

“This is a relatively young area of scientific enquiry, but it offers great information for those coaches looking to innovate practice design or understand why their practices are or are not effective.

“My presentation offers football coaches insight into the relatively unexplored area of team sports skill acquisition science and aims to develop coaches’ understanding of how science can inform their practice design.”

Dr Fransen said this resource is accessible to all coaches around the world, regardless of their background or skill level, and has the potential to enhance the performance of individual players and teams and advance skill acquisition science.

FIFA consultant Dr Paul Bradley said the FIFA Training Centre is designed to educate and empower football practitioners across the world with high level knowledge around selected facets.

“One of those facets is the translation of science, and the ‘Science Explained’ series helps us to do this perfectly,” he said.

“Dr Fransen’s superb body of work on skill development is fundamental information that coaches would benefit from tremendously.”

View Dr Fransen’s online video conversation with Dr Bradley.

ENDS