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Dr Mark Sayers
BAppSci CCAE, MAppSci Canberra, PhD RMIT
Position: Senior Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics and Discipline Leader - Sport and Exercise Science
Office: T4.04
Tel: +61 7 5459 4703
Fax: +61 7 5459 4600
Email: MSayers@usc.edu.au
Teaching areas
- Biomechanics II
- Performance Enhancement
Research areas
- biomechanics of team sports
- biomechanics of rugby union
- performance analysis
- efficacy of strength and power training exercises
Profile
Dr Mark Sayers has an extensive background in the biomechanics of team sports (especially the football codes), functional gait analysis, and the development of functional speed and power through sports specific training programs. He has worked as a sports scientist since the 1980’s and has been a consultant biomechanist and coach for several national and international high profile sporting bodies. Mark is an extremely experienced and popular lecturer, having held academic positions in sport science since the late 1980’s. His teaching skills resulted in his being voted into the national top ten lecturers for 2010.
Dr Sayers is recognised internationally for his work on the key skills in the sport of rugby union, having researched and coached teams at both the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups. Mark has been the biomechanist for several Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby sides and was the biomechanist and specialist skills coach for the Wallabies in 2001-2002 and biomechanist and kicking coach for the Italian rugby team during the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He was the biomechanist and special skills coach for the New Zealand All Blacks between 2000 and 2001 and again from 2004 to 2008 and has been credited as being a key aspect of the team’s success over the past 10 years. During his work with the All Blacks, his biomechanical expertise were also utilised by adidas® International in the design and testing of rugby balls, boots and uniforms. In addition to his extensive work with the various football codes, Dr Sayers has also undertaken research for surf life saving, kayaking, rowing, softball, and baseball. His doctoral research on the importance of strength in rowing performance has influenced the training and selection of Australia's elite rowers.
Dr Sayers has over 30 peer reviewed publications in scientific journals, has authored or co-authored several book chapters and has presented at over 30 national and international conferences. He has also written over 20 coaching articles for publication in national and international magazines. Mark has supervised over 25 HDR and Honours students to successful completion in projects ranging from biomechanical analyses of sports skills, to performance analysis projects, and research exploring injury mechanisms.
Publications
Many of Dr Mark Sayers' publications are available from the Coast Research Database.
Research Grants
- A biomechanical analysis of throwing using spear throwers: A 21st Century examination of 17,000 year-old technology, USC Internal Research Grant, $4,500 (Sayers M, Neill H, Czok C, Gould S, Calder A. 2010)
- Towards an understanding of Neutral Spine Posture (NSP) to health and wellness: The role of postural cues in the attainment of NSP, USC Internal Research Grant, $5,000 (Mellifont D, Sayers M, Richardson C. 2009)
- The biomechanics of lawn bowls, USC Internal Research Grant, $15,000 (Sayers M, Mellifont R. 2008)
- Biomechanical analysis of rugby skills, New Zealand Rugby Union, $25,000 (Sayers M. 2007)
- Biomechanical determinants of agility in rugby union, New Zealand Rugby Union, $65,000 (Sayers, M. 2007)
- Pathology of shoulder injury in high performance rugby union players, New Zealand Prime Minister’s Scholarship, $90,000 (Sayers M, Hore A, Gallagher P, Robertson D, Jones A, Mohammad K. 2007)
- Functional gait analysis as a screening tool for the prediction of soft tissue injury in high performance rugby players, USC Internal Research Grant, $3,892 (Sayers M, Mellifont R. 2005)
- Physiological and biomechanical responses to pedometer guided walking in older adults, USC Internal Research Grant, $3,892 (Askew A, Sayers M. 2005)
- Strength requirements for high performance rowing, Australian Olympic Athlete Program, $20,000 (Hahn A, Sayers M, Tanner R. 1997)
- Biomechanical analyses of surfboard paddling, National Sports Research Program, $5,000 (Draper J, Sayers M. 1986)
- Biomechanical analysis of surf-ski and surfboard paddling, Rothman’s Foundation, $5,000 (Draper J, Sayers M. 1986)
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