A Profile Of Sports Science Stakeholders Working In Major League Soccer & National Women’s League

Understanding sports scientists’ professional background and patterns of interaction with the scientific community is fundamental to disseminating scientific information to practice and training future professionals. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to create a profile of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) sport scientists. METHODS: Sports science stakeholders were identified from club websites based on job title and their education and gender were determined from publicly available information through the 2020 season. Additionally, stakeholders from 58% of MLS and 67% of NWSL clubs completed an electronic survey detailing their job responsibilities and professional background. RESULTS: While all surveyed NWSL clubs employed a sports scientist (1.17 ± 0.75 people per club) only half were full time employees and one-third served a dual role as the club’s strength coach. In contrast, only 79% of MLS clubs employed a sports scientist (1.26 ± 0.73 people per club) of which 91% were full time and only 18% were served a dual role as the club’s strength coach. While all stakeholders possessed a secondary degree, the level (Masters: 68%, Doctoral: 18%, Bachelors: 15%), location of highest degree (US: 54%, Europe: 26%, Australia: 14%) and topic (Exercise/Sports Science: 77%, Sports Medicine: 11%, Other: 9%) varied. Many, but not all stakeholders were men (94%), regularly read scientific journals (89%), possess professional accreditation (85%), attend scientific conferences (80%) and played soccer (80%) (see Table below). CONCLUSION: However, there is minimal overlap in the specific journals, accreditations or conferences utilized. These results indicate that the educational and professional backgrounds vary greatly between sports scientist working in professional US soccer, presenting a challenge for disseminating scientific information to current sports scientist and training future sports scientists. Table 1: - Professional Background of Responding Sports Science Stakeholders Where have you obtained most of your sports science knowledge? MLS NWSL Personal Experience 7 2 Colleagues 2 1 Research Journals 3 Education 1 1 Conferences / Workshops 1 1 Non-Research Publications 1 Do you have experience playing soccer? MLS NWSL Yes 12 4 No 2 2 At what level did you play soccer (highest level of competition)? MLS NWSL Youth leagues 2 High school 1 1 College / University 4 2 Semiprofessional league 4 1 Professional league 1 Do you have any coaching certificates / certifications? MLS NWSL Yes 11 6 No 3 0 What sports science related certificates / certifications do you have? MLS NWSL NSCA-CSCS 8 6 USAW (any) 3 4 NASM (any) 2 1 ASCA-PSAC 2 USA Track & Field 2 UKSCA-Accredited S&C Coach 1 BASES-Charter Scientist 1 CSCCa-SCCC 1 Functional Movement Screening Certification 1 FRC (functional anatomy series) 1 PRI (postural restoration institute) certification 1 CrossFit - Level 1 1 EXOS-XPS 1 What soccer specific coaching certificates / certifications do you have? MLS NWSL US Soccer Coaching License (D) 4 1 US Soccer Coaching License (F) 2 AYSO 1 NSCAA - USC premier diploma 1 UEFA Soccer Coaching License (any) 1 SFA - Children''s / Youth Award 1 Do you regularly attend any professional conferences / workshops? MLS NWSL Yes 12 4 No 2 2 Which professional conferences / workshops do you regularly attend? MLS NWSL NSCA (any conference) 3 1 FIFA Isokinetic Medical Group Conference 2 CSCCa Annual National Conference 1 EXOS 1 IOC World Congress on prevention of injury and illness in sport 1 Seattle Sports Science 1 USOC clinics and symposiums 1 World Congress of Science & Football 1 SMARTER Team Training 1 Do you regularly read any research journals? MLS NWSL Yes 12 5 No 1 1 What journals do you regularly read (only common responses provided)? MLS NWSL Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 4 4 British Journal of Sports Medicine 5 1 Journal of Sports Science 2 1 American Journal of Sports Medicine 2 1 International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance 2