Millfield School Sponsored PhD Studentship in collaboration with the Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University

Funding will consist of UK / EU full tuition fees for three years and the award of a living stipend at UK Research Council rates (£15,609 per annum pro-rata into 12 monthly payments). Funding will be subject to satisfactory progress.

A laptop will be provided and the opportunity to apply for funding to support the research project.

Millfield school will also provide board and lodgings within school term time only.

The Long-Term Development of Athleticism in School Sport: Developing Physically Competent and Confident Young People

Supervisory team:  Prof Kevin Till; Dr Ian Cowburn; Graham Williams is an Athletic Development Coach & Lead Practitioner at Millfield School

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) position statement has defined long-term athletic development in the context of the habitual development of athleticism (Lloyd et al., 2016). Indeed, the NSCA suggested such development occurs over time and is related to the improvement of a range of health and sport related factors (i.e., reduced injury risk, sporting performance, enhanced health and fitness). In this sense, athleticism becomes a key construct underpinning youth athlete development. Moreover, athletic development is a cornerstone of youth development for all pupils within school settings given the daily exposure to physical activity, physical training and the broader outcomes of this domain (i.e., health, fitness, wellbeing, sporting development).  As such, we recently recommended the implementation of strength and conditioning and athletic development within schools (Till et al., 2020).

Authors have outlined the key features of athleticism (Lloyd et al., 2015), in which the interrelated development of physical, motor skill and psychological factors are prevalent. These are:

1. The ability to repeatedly perform a range of movements with precision and confidence
2. In a variety of environments
3. Requiring competent levels of motor skill, strength, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination and endurance

A plethora of scientific research has explored the development of a range of physical qualities through childhood and adolescence (e.g., (Harrison et al., 2015, Meylan et al., 2014, Oliver et al., 2013) with findings offering guidance to the applied practitioner on optimal exercise prescription related to exercise volume, intensity, movement complexity and the requirement for a foundation of fundamental movement skills. Separately, authors have explored the confidence of young athletes in sport with the aim of understanding the complexities of this psychological state. For example, authors have cited the role of achievement goal orientation (Lee et al., 2021), the influence of peer interactions (Hwang et al., 2017) and the personal, social and organisational influences (Battaglia et al., 2021) on sport confidence.  However, little evidence has been gathered on the interaction between the physical competence and confidence of youth athletes related directly to the development of athleticism Indeed, little is known on how physical competency effects confidence and visa versa and/or the most effective interventions to enhance the physical competency and confidence of young athletes simultaneously, particularly in a school sport context.

In gathering such information, this PhD will explore the development of athleticism in youth sport in the context of a UK independent boarding school. This PhD will design experimental studies to improve the understanding and development of physical competency and confidence in young athletes with aim of enhancing athleticism and subsequently the long-term health, fitness and athletic performance of youth in this context.

The successful candidate will be embedded within athletic development coaching team at Millfield School, providing athletic development provision to young athletes aged 13-18 years across a range of sports programmes. Practical coaching hours in term time will not exceed 3 days per week.

Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposals and the project with; Professor Kevin Till (K.Till@leedsbeckett.ac.uk) and Graham Williams (williams.g@millfieldschool.com).

• BATTAGLIA, A., KERR, G. & TAMMINEN, K. 2021. A grounded theory of the influences affecting youth sport experiences and withdrawal patterns. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 1-23.
• HARRISON, C. B., GILL, N. D., KINUGASA, T. & KILDING, A. E. 2015. Development of aerobic fitness in young team sport athletes. Sports Medicine, 45, 969-983.
• HWANG, S., MACHIDA, M. & CHOI, Y. 2017. The effect of peer interaction on sport confidence and achievement goal orientation in youth sport. Social Behaviour and Personality: an international journal, 45, 1007-1018.
• LEE, S., KWON, S., KIM, Y.-S. & LEE, D. 2021. The effect of adolescent athletes’ achievement goal orientation and perception of error on their sport-confidence. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16, 646-657.
• LLOYD, R. S., CRONIN, J. B., FAIGENBAUM, A. D., HAFF, G. G., HOWARD, R., KRAEMER, W. J., MICHELI, L. J., MYER, G. D. & OLIVER, J. L. 2016. National Strength and Conditioning Association position statement on long-term athletic development. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 30, 1491-1509.
• LLOYD, R. S., OLIVER, J. L., FAIGENBAUM, A. D., HOWARD, R., CROIX, M. B. D. S., WILLIAMS, C. A., BEST, T. M., ALVAR, B. A., MICHELI, L. J. & THOMAS, D. P. 2015. Long-term athletic development-part 1: a pathway for all youth. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 29, 1439-1450.
• MEYLAN, C., CRONIN, J., OLIVER, J., HOPKINS, W. & PINDER, S. 2014. Contribution of vertical strength and power to sprint performance in young male athletes. International journal of sports medicine, 35, 749-754.
• OLIVER, J. L., LLOYD, R. S. & RUMPF, M. C. 2013. Developing speed throughout childhood and adolescence: the role of growth, maturation and training. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 35, 42-48.
• TILL, K., BRUCE, A., GREEN, T., MORRIS, S. J., BORET, S. & BISHOP, C. J. 2021. Strength and conditioning in schools: a strategy to optimise health, fitness and physical activity in youths. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine.

As part of your application, please provide a CV, cover letter and research proposal. The proposal should align to the above theme and include a brief literature review related to this project, with an outline of the studies that you would propose to the answer the aims of the PhD (maximum 5 pages single spaced).

We can only consider complete applications. The research degree application is complete once you have uploaded all of the following:

1. Your application form (include the project reference MILLFIELD)
2. Your research proposal, statement of purpose and CV on the Research Proposal Template
   
3. Copies of your bachelors and master certificates, including transcripts
4. Copy of your IELTS (or equivalent) certificate (if applicable) further information can be found on our Graduate School FAQs
5. Copy of your passport

Email the documentation above) to researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk 

The deadline for applications is midnight on 10th April 2022

Candidates must be available for interview on 16th May 2022 (at Leeds Beckett University)