Matt is offering you the chance to perfect your golf swing (no previous experience necessary). His research uses high-speed 3D motion analysis to explore what makes the perfect golf swing. He has also been selected to carry the Olympic flame when the torch relay passes through the West Midlands. He lectures on both the Applied Golf Management Studies and the Sport, Physical Education and Coaching Science undergraduate degrees and is the programme leader of the new MSc in Sport Coaching.
We caught up with Matt to find out more...
What do you do?
I’m a senior lecturer in Coaching and Sports Science.
What does that mean?
I work closely with coaches looking at the application of sports science in their practice. My focus is on the developmental processes of sports people and physical limitations to technique, especially in golf. Essentially, I look at what influences your participation in sport, the likelihood of you becoming a high-level performer and how your body limits you in performing the right technical movements in sport.
How do you describe your research to your friends?
My friends would say that I get people to hit a lot of golf balls. I would say that I look at how a golfer moves and the influence that their body has on their swing technique. Once we know this we then try to help them with corrective exercise programs and drills.
What is the best part about your role?
I get to learn from some great people and every day is a different with its own unique challenges, be this learning with students or working with elite golfers.
What qualities make someone a good teacher?
The ability to show someone the value of what they are learning in the real world, engaging and challenging them so that they are enthused to learn.
What inspires you?
Helping others to fulfill their potential, inspiring them to be lifelong learners. We all need to learn every day as there is so much that we don’t yet know.
How do you inspire your students?
I try to make learning interactive and driven by problems that they may meet after their degrees. I challenge students to challenge me, to bring the difficult questions and to engage and interact in the learning process.
What is the highlight of your life to date?
Apart from my wonderful family, it will be on June 30 when I will be taking part in the Olympic Torch relay, carrying the flame through West Bromwich.
Why should we vote to go behind-the-scenes with you?
It will be a challenging you will be involved in the processes that are used in both research and performance enhancement with elite golfers and we’ll also put you through the process yourself. You’ll be able to learn how what we do in everyday life affects our ability to make sporting movements.
Fun Facts
I have worked at the University of Birmingham for...
Eleven years and before then I was a student here, completing my ungergraduate degree in 1998 and then my PhD.
The three words that best describe me are...
On the go.
When I was younger I wanted to be...
A Harrier jump jet pilot.
The three people on my fantasy dinner party guest list are...
Sir David Attenborough (for his fascinating conversation), Stephen Fry (for his wit) and Sir Alex Ferguson (to learn from).