Norwood Football Club entered into a Performance Sports Collaboration agreement with UniSA in 2018. The partnership was based on a previously successful interstate collaboration that had occurred between an AFL club and a university. The main aims of the partnership were for both parties to benefit from the opportunities and expertise that each other provided. The agreement included research, service provision and a Student Engagement Programme.
Students from a range of disciplines have gained valuable placements at Norwood Football Club and the club has been able to benefit from their expertise. To date, Norwood has provided placements for students from the following disciplines:
- Exercise and Sport Science
- Physiotherapy students
- Finance/Accounting
- Sport & Recreation Management
- Creative Industries; and
- Clinical Exercise Physiology students who designed and ran a 12 week Men’s Health Program to re-engage members of the local community back into physical activity via engagement with their local club.
The future will provide many more student placements, with the new construction at Norwood allowing for Allied Health student consultation rooms and access to a new Sports Science High Performance Centre.
The partnership has also provided the opportunity for three PhD projects on the topics of Recovery, Psychology and Men’s Health. These projects allow students access to the football club facilities and consenting participants from the range of athletes who are engaged with the club.
‘Working with staff and students from Uni SA for the last two years has been a fantastic experience for all of us at Norwood Football Club. Not only has it provided learning opportunities for our staff as they support and teach the students about working in the sporting industry but importantly the students have gained a lot of valuable experience and had some fun in the process. We look forward to continuing the relationship and creating new opportunities for Uni SA students.’
Rick Shrowder – Talent Manager, Norwood Football Club
