Essendon Football Club (EFC), in conjunction with the School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences, University of Ballarat (UB) are looking for enthusiastic candidates to apply for a tax-free Postgraduate Scholarship.
 
A key aim of the EFC-UB alignment is the development of an applied sport science research program leading to best practice high performance initiatives for the club and high quality research outcomes for the university.
 
As a result of the equitable system created by the AFL draft and salary cap, all clubs are looking for that competitive-edge that will provide an on-field performance advantage.
 
“Sport science and technology has played a major role in the rapid evolution of our game over the last 10-years,” Essendon Sport Science Manager, Jason Berry, said.
 
“Coaches are driving this evolution, demanding players be smarter in game-play, to kick straighter, and to run faster, for longer.”
 
Berry points to the introduction of two new teams, Gold Coast and Western Sydney, and the subsequent introduction of 88 new players into the system, as a reason to improve research in AFL clubs.
 
“The temporary thinning of the elite AFL talent pool will force clubs to search even harder for performance innovations that may assist player development and secure a winning edge,” Berry said.
 
The successful candidate will be based at Essendon Football Club and will be on an annual salary of at least $25,000 for 3 years, beginning in 2009.
 
In addition to this, bonus scholarship payments are available each year, depending upon the completion of milestones aligned to the PhD program.
 
The chosen candidate will undertake research in one of the EFC-UB High Performance Alignment priority areas:

- Physiology

- Skill Acquisition

- Performance Analysis

“The EFC-UB research program and subsequent knowledge building will play a major role in the maintenance of ‘best practice’ high performance service delivery to the players and coaches of the club,” Mr Berry said.
 
""This scholarship should be seen as an excellent opportunity for candidates to gain invaluable experience working at an elite sporting club. It will give the successful candidate a fantastic insight into the operations of a high-level sporting club.""
Candidates need to submit their applications by 5pm, Friday 31 October 2008.
 

For enquiries and application information:

Dr Jason Berry, EFC-UB Sport Science Manager

Ph: (03) 9230 0398

Email: jberry@essendonfc.com.au