Professor Matt Bridge PhD

• PhD Sport and Exercise Sciences

• BSc Sport and Exercise Sciences

Professor Matt Bridge is the Deputy Head of School of the world-leading School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham.  Working in coaching and applied sports science for over twenty years he is focused on the interaction of coaching and science in applied sport settings.  He leads the School’s International Strategy and is responsible for developing our partnerships with leading global institutions.  Prior to being Deputy Head of School, he was Head of Education and has contributed to degree programme leadership.

Matt has worked with professional and amateur sports teams, coaches and athletes in a range of coaching and consultancy roles and is Chair of British Universities and Colleges Golf.

Matt contributes to the delivery of modules across the School’s undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes. He brings an applied sports science and coaching focus to the School’s modules, covering topics including skill development and learning, professional practice in sport, athlete development and movement analysis.

Matt supervises PhD and Doctoral students working on a number of research projects. He is interested in approaches to study for a PhD in both the projects detailed below and in areas related to his general research interests. Current PhD student projects include:

• Developmental pathways of elite dancers
• Effect of practice constraints on football skill development
• The role of proprioceptive acuity in skill acquisition
• Use of isolated practice in elite football academies

PhD projects across the school can be found through FindAPhD

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Skill Development

Interest lies in gaining a greater understanding of what leads to optimal skill development. A lot is known about effect of practice structure on the learning and retention of sporting skills in controlled environments and to novel tasks in these environments. However, these controlled environments are removed from the dynamic interactive ones in which coaches work. This work examines the findings of research in controlled settings by carrying out similar research in real world coaching environments. The greater ecological validity of the research will enable practical guidelines to be given to coaches and performers.

Athlete development

As sport becomes increasingly professionalised there is the need to develop a greater understanding of the developmental processes and pathways that lead to both elite performance and lifelong participation in sport and exercise. These are mulitfactorial and including physiology, psychology and perhaps most importantly sociological influences.

Knowledge exchange and impact

Alongside his academic work Matt has consulted to the British Olympic Association, the European Tour, Icelandic Golf and for individuals and teams in a variety of sports including golf, cycling and triathlon.

Learn more about Matt’s research here

Matt is the Director of Golf for University Birmingham Sport which involves the oversight and strategy of the university’s student golf teams. He is also Chair of the Golf Sports Advisory Group for British Universities and Colleges Sport.

Member of:

• British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
• European College of Sports Science
• World Scientific Congress of Golf.