Federation University sport science students Micah Drake and Liam Haintz will score a touchdown with their new intern roles with one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
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The pair will intern at Yale University, working as strength and conditioning coaches for the university's American Football team the Yale Bulldogs and working on an honours research project to help athletes avoid knee injuries.
Micah Drake and Liam Haintz will leave for Connecticut next month and work with the 90 Yale Bulldogs players through the second half of their pre-season training and the first few games of their season, which includes two home games at the university's 62,246 seat capacity Yale Bowl.
Last season, nine Bulldogs sustained anterior cruciate ligament injuries and the work and research of the Federation students aims to help prevent further knee injuries.
"They have asked us if we can do some research with them to monitor neuromuscular fatigue in their athletes with a test they can administer," Ms Drake said.
Ms Drake and Mr Haintz have devised a new form of jump test using force plates and different height boxes which can provide novel data and insight into fatigue levels.
The 90 Yale Bulldogs players will be tested before and after games, then 24 and 48 hours post-game to assess how their muscles are responding.
"Hopefully we can show if there are some red flags we can pick out to assist coaches in whether they should back off with training or if athletes are ok," she said.
The opportunity to intern with a prestigious Ivy League university came about through Federation University Discipline Lead, Exercise and Sport Science, Dr Scott Talpey, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, where Yale University is based.
Dr Talpey has connections to Yale through a previous role and suggested the internship to their coaching staff as a way to support the Yale Bulldogs while providing Federation students with an exciting opportunity to further their studies.
"This internship at Yale University will provide an amazing opportunity for our students and is an endorsement of how highly Federation's sport science discipline is considered around the world," Dr Talpey said.
"Federation's sport science and exercise team have helped many elite athletes and sporting organisations here in Australia and now, we are excited to have two of our students travel to Yale and share our knowledge and practices with one of the world's most prestigious institutions."
Mr Haintz said he had always enjoyed American sport but never thought he would have the opportunity to work at an institution like Yale.
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He said the research they would be conducting, in addition to working as strength and conditioning coaches, would potentially translate to other team sports whether it be on the field or on a court.
"What we are looking specifically at is American football, but we hope the knowledge we find will transfoer to other sports," he said.
Both said they were excited to experience the atmosphere of US college football, particularly home games in the university's Yale Bowl which has about 10,000 more seats than Marvel Stadium.
"I'm really excited as this is a huge opportunity for me, not only for my studies but for my future career aspirations as well," Mr Haintz said. "I'm extremely grateful to have the opportunity to be able to undertake this trip to such a prestigious university as Yale."
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