In his latest column, Nino Severino discusses a big day for him and the team at the University of Suffolk’s state of the art sports science Hub.
The Hub Centre of Excellence at The University of Suffolk is now well and truly established as a one stop shop for athletes of all of levels.
It was a big week for Team Hub and me as the director, as we were opening our doors for the very first time through an official event, with many important folks invited along.
The event started in the Ipswich Waterfront Innovation Centre (IWIC) building, an area of the University of Suffolk that offers a focal point for developing new entrepreneurs.
I started by talking about two very special individuals – Jasmine Taylor, a world class telemark skier, and Martyn Waghorn, ex-Ipswich Town and now Derby County football star.
Jasmine was competing in Austria, so it was impossible for her to attend the event, but she offered to record a message for all the guests.
She was ready preparing to train, and explained how she was 3,000 feet above sea level at a temperature of -10!
Jasmine talked about the very talented team at The Hub, who are part of the support she receives which prepares her for world class training programmes and competition.
She talked about a number of Hub members, but in particular Dr Manos Georgiadis, specialist in sports and exercise psychology, and also Dr Marco Beato, who provides sport science support.
Both these Team Hub members are outstandingly experienced in their fields, with Dr Marco spending time working for top football teams from Serie A in Italy.
After we played Jasmine’s message, it was time for the audience to listen to a recording sent from Martyn , the top performing Championship football player from the 2017/2018 season, while he was with us here in Ipswich.
Martyn has committed to The Hub as an Ambassador and for me, he is a great example of an elite athlete who takes all areas of sports science very seriously, and I believe, this is part of why he performed at such a high-level during last season.
After the opening presentation, our guests were treated to an outstanding display of sports science being used by athletes ranging from Olympic, international and national levels, using the state-of-the-art performance equipment.
We now have many athletes from all over Great Britain accessing the Hub, our team of specialists and reaping the benefit the equipment can offer them.
Closer to home, it was great during pre-season to see Jimmy Reynolds, ITFC Head of Sports Medicine and Sports Science, bringing the whole of the Ipswich Town first team to our laboratory, which formed part of their preparation for the new season.
They also used all the equipment below...
- VO2 Max test treadmill: This measures an athlete’s aerobic fitness through maximal oxygen consumption, which determines the maximum amount of oxygen an athlete can utilize during maximal exercise.
- Force plate: The use of the force plate is an extremely effective way to measure ground reaction force, but also gait analysis.
- Qualysis – Biomechanical analysis: Biomechanical analysis is an essential method of testing to determine angle power production, movement analysis and force production through the use of cameras and force plates in the floor.
- Biodex Isokinetic testing: This type of testing measures muscle movement through isolating them with the machine. The muscle resists an applied force at a specified rate and can measure an applied force throughout a joint range of motion.
- Growth and maturation measurements: Measuring growth and maturation for young athletes is extremely important, and is essential in determining if junior athletes are going through growth spurts, which could cause injury through training, and assesses if they fall within the correct percentiles for their age.
- Body composition assessment: A state-of-the-art assessment of body composition can be completed to assess muscle mass, fat percentage and body water composition. This assessment determines if any changes need to be made to support performance.
I feel that something very special is happening here in Ipswich. We are being offered so much support and encouragement from so many and, ultimately, that puts The Hub in a position to support some of the best athletes, not only in Ipswich, but also the whole of the UK!
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