Quantifying neuromuscular performance of elite rugby union players
Dave Howarth, PhD student
Dave Howarth has spent more than 15 years in high performance sport, working across multiple sports in professional, institute and private sectors throughout Australia, North America and Europe.
Growing up playing rugby, Dave describes himself as “never a great player, but always a hard worker”. At age 17, whilst still playing rugby, Dave began working at his first 'real' job as a greenkeeper.
After injury ended his hopes of professional rugby, he went in to coaching and soon found himself in the gym. He worked as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Manly Marlins and Northern Suburbs rugby clubs in Sydney, and the NSW Waratahs and Rugby Australia for four years. He also took on roles with Surfing Australia, NSW Weightlifting, RAWMA MMA team and trained independent extreme athletes in rock climbing, snowboarding and downhill mountain biking. This began his career in high performance sport, where he later moved to the USA, taking his expertise internationally.
He is now a world leading expert in the use of force plate technology to monitor athletes. In his current role as Head of Athletic Performance at Connacht Rugby in Galway, Ireland. Dave utilises the data from force decks to make decisions on loading, adjust programming and add it to a robust athletic profile that keeps players performing and their availability high. In only his second year with Connacht, the team secured a spot in the playoffs and, with it, a berth in the Heineken Champions Cup – Europe’s premier rugby competition – for the 2019-20 season.
Some of the organisations Dave has worked with include (links open external sites):
Dave is also in the midst of completing his PhD at the Human Performance Research Centre (HPRC). His thesis is titled 'Quantifying neuromuscular performance of elite rugby union players: measurement characteristics and moderating factors'.
Dave says studying his PhD at HPRC has given him a truly unique opportunity.
I am able to immerse myself in High Performance…or as it’s otherwise known,...the relentless pursuit of better!! The guidance from Distinguished Professor Aaron Coutts and Dr Blake McLean on my project transcends the research and seeps into my practice. The ability to have contact with world-leading minds in sports science and athlete management gives me great confidence in my decisions not just as a researcher, but also as a performance manager. That is probably the common thread with performance managers, they lean on great people for advice and ideas.
Dave says having access to the learning resources UTS provides is also amazing. "The High Performance Symposium is an incredible example of these resources. The level of presentation and information is world class for continuing professional development. The staff involved with the HPRC are incredibly generous with their time and advice, helping us to up-skill across all facets of research and practice."
