Matthew is an Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist (BASES) and Strength and Conditioning Coach (UKSCA) with over 20 years’ experience as a practitioner supporting athletes across sports (including Olympic and Paralympic athletes), with extensive experience in the development of talented youth female soccer players.  His research interests reflect this and he is interested in answering ‘real world’ questions and conducting high-quality applied research. His PhD focused on the physical development of girls’ soccer players with the outputs informing the English Football Associations physical development guidance for Talent Centres.  As director of studies, he has supervised three PhD students to completion, their research answers applied questions related to testing and monitoring of English girls’ and boy’s academy soccer players and investigating environmental factors effecting performance in Major League Soccer.  He currently supervises eight PhD students and has been involved in research with organisations across the globe including Middlesbrough FC (English Championship), Inter Miami CF, Colorado Rapids FC, San Diego FC, Cincinnati FC (Major League Soccer), Bay FC (National Women’s Super League) as well as Teesside University’s FA Emerging Talent Centre for Girls football.

In collaboration with our Active Partnership and Sport England, Matthew is director of studies for a PhD student addressing access to talent development programmes for young people from the most disadvantaged background.

As a strength and conditioning coach, Matthew continues to lead the physical development programme for Teesside Sports FA Girls’ Emerging Talent Centre, a programme he has been involved with since 2011, and he enjoys applying his research directly to practice.