William holds a MSc in Strength & Conditioning, graduating from Limerick Institute of Technology in 2015. William is a practising Strength and Conditioning coach, working within Athletics, GAA and Rugby Union. Additionally, he has worked as an academic content creator and tutor for Setanta College. William wanted to progress his career in research and academia and subsequently arrived at his current role as a PhD student in the SHE research group.
The role of strength on speed adaptations in female team-sport athletes
This project aims to evaluate the role of strength on speed adaptations (i.e., acceleration, maximum-velocity & ‘game’ speed) and investigate the effect of specific strength training (i.e., maximal-, explosive-strength) on speed in elite female team-sport athletes, specifically Ladies Gaelic Football players.
The findings from this innovative project will provide evidence-based research that will inform decision making and best practice within elite female team-sports, specifically the Ladies Gaelic Football. Further, this project will contribute to bridging the gender data gap in sport and exercise science research.
A review of the literature has indicated that strength training can improve sprint performance in female team-sport athletes, however, the magnitude of improvement in sprint performance was influenced by the strength quality (i.e., reactive-, maximal-, combined-, and special-strength) utilised in the intervention.
Dr Kris Beattie, Dr Robin Healy, Dr Mark Lyons, Dr Clement Higginbotham, Dr Aoife Lane
