Aug 17, 2016Applying Science at Notre Dame
This article first appeared in the July/August 2016 issue of Training & Conditioning.
Duncan French, PhD, CSCS, USAW, is a foreign man in a new land, which is appropriate since he faces uncharted waters in his new position as Director of Performance Science at the University of Notre Dame. A veteran European strength and conditioning coach who has a PhD in exercise physiology, French was brought to Notre Dame in January to help improve the athletic department’s performance enhancement services.
What makes his role different is its focus on applying the latest science to improve performance across the board. French does not oversee Notre Dame’s Sports Performance Division. Nor does he serve as a strength coach for any particular team.
Rather, he is charged with keeping up with the latest research and its applications, then figuring out how to use them with Fighting Irish teams and athletes. “The modern world of sports performance is driven by scientific insights,” says French, who was previously Head of Strength and Conditioning for the Newcastle United Football Club in the English Premier League, as well as Great Britain’s Olympic taekwondo and basketball programs. “That’s been the norm in Australia and Europe for a while, and it is coming to North America now. We want to be at the front of that change.”
French reports to Mike Harrity, Notre Dame’s Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services, and communicates regularly with sport coaches to figure out their needs. He also works closely with what the school calls its “service providers”-strength coaches, athletic trainers, nutritionists, and psychologists.
“My role is to bridge the gap between the service providers doing the day-to-day work and the coaching staff and senior administrators who have the big-picture ideas on what we need to do to be successful,” French says. “We want to make sure our operational processes and performance structures are aligned to answer the ‘what it takes to win’ questions and use innovative sports performance approaches to our competitive advantage.”
Since Notre Dame does not have a kinesiology department, exercise science program, or medical school to tap for research or expertise, a partnership with Under Armour is proving key. “We work very closely with them on the sports science piece,” says French, whose position is funded by donors and Under Armour. “We’re really engaged in a powerful think tank, for want of a better term, sharing innovation and ideas.”
One way French hopes to utilize science in his role is by personalizing training plans for each and every athlete at Notre Dame. “Look at our wide receivers, for example. They all have very different body shapes and skill sets, and each of them should be given the best opportunity to develop and excel,” he says. “Regardless of the sport or position, we have to assess our student-athletes and determine what’s required to meet their individual needs.
“We’re planning to do that through a rigorous screening process that will capture detailed objective assessments of functional movements, biomechanics, and nutrition,” French continues. “That information will then be used to create a personalized strength and conditioning program, injury prevention protocol, and fueling plan.”
French is currently using GPS technology to obtain metrics for football players, and he’s conducted sleep research with the women’s soccer team. Future plans include expanding the school’s use of 3-D motion capture to learn about athletes’ movement capabilities for use in strength and conditioning, injury prevention, and sport-specific skill development. He also plans to explore multi-cortex stimulation and how it can help in the weightroom.
Although these efforts to make the most out of science will be judged largely by the results on the field of competition, French hopes to have a broader impact as well. “The ambition is to pursue national championships,” he says. “Yet, I’d also like to see if we can promote student-athlete development in a holistic fashion rather than just the relentless pursuit of success on the sports field.
“We can’t get away from the fact that they have to balance practice, watching film, and studying for tests,” French continues. “But as sports scientists, if we can be aware of the physiological responses these demands have on student-athletes, we can be much more proactive instead of relying on a reactive approach to fatigue or stress.”
