Cormac holds a first-class honours degree in Sports Science with Exercise Physiology, graduating from Athlone IT in 2019. Cormac is also a certified Strength and Conditioning coach (CSCS) and is currently working within club rugby, while having also worked in a range of other team/individual sports such as Gaelic Football, Golf, and within an elite sporting environment in Hurling.
The Development of Sprint Performance in Field-based Invasion Team Sport Athletes
This project aims to explore the development of sprint performance within the field-based invasion team sport (FITS) setting, with a specific focus placed on the resisted sprint training (RST) method. RST is a training method which applies external resistance to the sprinting movement, therefore allowing maintenance of sprint-specific mechanical properties.
Research in the area of RST has grown considerably in recent years. However, there remains a dearth of knowledge surrounding the effectiveness of this training method among the female FITS athlete population. This project will address this gap in the literature by recruiting female FITS athletes for future training interventions. In doing so, the research will begin to provide coaches/players of Irish FITS’s with a greater insight into the practical application and effectiveness of sprint training methods from within the context of their unique sports.
Our first study was a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis investigating the effects of RST on sprint performance in FITS athletes. Our findings show RST is an effective training method for improving SP of FITS players and is most effective in the early acceleration sprint phase (0 to ≤10m), while also showing significant small effects in the remaining sprint phases (late acceleration and maximum velocity).
Dr. David Kelly, Dr. Ciarán Ó Catháin and Dr. Niamh Ní Chéilleachair
