MSA Research Centre

The MSA Research Centre aims to provide evidence-based, innovative solulutons to youth athlete development via high quality research. The centre is the first of its kind in an Australian High School Sport Academy and is committed to produce practical and applied research outcomes, which can be translated into the holistic training environment.

Objectives:

  • To undertake multidisciplinary, collaborative research that provides evidence-based solutions to youth athlete development questions, with the aim of improving current practice to enhance current and future athlete performance.

  • To undertake collaborative research projects with local, national, and international partners.

  • To understand the youth athlete from a holistic perspective, including physical, technical, psychological, coaching, injury rehabilitation, exercise prescription, and academic performance.

  • To translate and integrate scientific research and support, to create a learning environment for athletes and coaches to ensure the MSA high performance sport program are at the forefront of innovation.

Dr Paul Larkin

Paul holds the joint positions of Research Associate at Victoria University alongside Senior Sports Scientist at MSA.

Paul has an internationally recognised research track record exploring talent identification and development in team sports (Football/Soccer; Australian Football), and also investigating the development of decision-making skills in sports officials, mainly Australian Football umpires.

In his role at MSA, Paul develops programs and projects to support athlete-performance monitoring, talent-identification processes, coach evaluation, and coaches' facilitation of athlete learning.  

    • Joint initiative between MSA and Victoria University (VU) Physiotherapy Group.

    • Investigating the epidemiology, prevalence, and impact of ankle injuries in youth sport.

    • Understanding management – use of Cam Boot and impact on the management

    • A VU Master’s student will commence work on the project in July 2025.

    • Physiotherapy Master’s interns will contribute to epidemiological reporting.

    • A longitudinal study tracking ankle injuries over time, with a specific understanding of post injury impact related to Chronic Ankle Impairment or Ankle Injury Coping

    • Group collaboration between MSA (Paul Larkin and Sara Hasani) and VU (Patrick Rowe; Andrew Ross; and Rees Thomas)

    • Ongoing assessment of anthropometric and physical performance measures (e.g., Countermovement Jump, Agility, Sprint, Drop Jump, Height, Weight).

    • Data collection supports a longitudinal study examining changes in performance over time.

    • Development of normative data sets.

    • Specific cross-sectional analysis on Countermovement Jump and Athlete Asymmetry

    • Countermovement Jump data from ForceDecks and 505 Agility Assessment

    • Understanding of Asymmetry within specific phases of the jump and change of direction metrics

    • Longitudinal assessment of potential asymmetry

    • Potential links between asymmetry and ankle injury