Dr Matt Springham

Senior Lecturer - Strength and Conditioning

Biography

Matt is a Senior Lecturer in Strength and Conditioning Science and Exercise Physiology and is technical lead in Strength and Conditioning at the Royal Ballet Company in Covent Garden, London.

Matt is a UKSCA accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach, a BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist (Physiology), a Chartered Scientist and a Fellow of the HEA. Prior to working at St Mary's, Matt worked in full time Professional Football in Applied Sport Science support roles for 12 years, working for a number of elite-level professional and national teams.

Research

Research profile

Matt's research interests include monitoring load, performance and fatigue in professional football players, and has particular interests in sports GPS technology and the immuno-endocrine responses to training. To date, Matt has achieved over £1.1 M of external consultancy and research funding.

Journal Articles (First Author)

Springham, M., Williams, S., Waldron, M., McLellan, C & Newton, R.U. (2021). Summated Training and Match Load Predictors of Salivary Immunoglobulin-A, Alpha-Amylase, Testosterone, Cortisol and T:C Profile Changes in Elite-Level Professional Football Players: A Longitudinal Analysis. European Journal of Sport Science. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2021.1949638.
Springham M., Williams S., Waldron M, Strudwick AJ., McLellan, C & Newton RU. (2021). Salivary Immunoendocrine and Self-Report Monitoring Profiles Across an Elite-Level Professional Football Season. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 53(5): 918-927. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002553
Springham, M., Williams, S., Waldron, M., Strudwick, T., McLellan, C & Newton, R.U. (2020). Prior Workload has Moderate Effects on High-Intensity Match Play Physical Performance in Elite-Level Professional Football Players when Controlling for Situational and Contextual Variables. Journal of Sports Sciences. 38(20): 2279 – 2290. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1778355
Springham, M., Williams, S., Waldron, M., Burgess, D. & Newton, R.U. (2020). Large Reductions in Match Play Physical Performance Variables Across a Professional Football Season with Control for Situational and Contextual Variables. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.570937
Springham, M., Waldron, M., Burgess, D. & Newton, R.U. (2020). Very Large Differences in the Competitive Demands of the Major British and European Professional Football Leagues: Considerations for Team and Player Workload Management. Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning. 28(5): 16 – 25.
Springham, M., Walker, G., Strudwick, T. & Turner, A. (2018). Developing Strength and Conditioning Coaches for Professional Football. U. Professional Strength and Conditioning. 50: 9-16.

Journal Articles (Contributing Author)

Shaw, J., Mattiussi, A., Brown, D.D., Springham, M., Pedlar, C. & Tallent, J. (2021). The Activity Demands and Physiological Responses Observed in Professional Ballet: A Systematic Review. The Journal of Sport and Exercise Science. (IN PRESS).
Shaw, J., Mattiussi, A., Brown, D.D., Williams, S., Kelly, S., Springham, M., Pedlar, C. & Tallent, J. (2021). Dance Exposure, Individual Characteristics, and Injury Risk over Five Seasons in a Professional Ballet Company. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002725.
Shaw, J., Springham, M., Brown, D.D., Mattiussi, A., Pedlar, C. & Tallent, J. (2020). The Validity of the Session Rating of Perceived Exertion Method for Measuring Internal Training Load in Professional Classical Ballet Dancers. Frontiers in Physiology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00480
Hart, L., Cohen, D., Patterson, S., Springham, M., Reynolds, J. & Read, P. (2019). Previous Injury is Associated with Heightened Countermovement Jump Force-Time Asymmetries in Professional Soccer Players. Translational Sports Medicine. 2(5): 252-262.
Turner, A., Bishop, C., Springham, M. & Stewart, P. (2016). Identifying readiness to train: when to push and when to pull. Professional Strength and Conditioning. 42: 9-14.

Conference Presentations

Springham, M., Waldron, M., Burgess, D. & Newton, R. (2019). Game distribution and density differ between the Major British and European Professional Football Leagues. BASES Conference 2019 - Programme and Abstracts, Journal of Sports Sciences, 37:sup1, 1-93, DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2019.1671688.
Springham, M., Dunbar, J., Jehanli, A. & Browne, A. (2013). Acute immuno-endocrine responses to a mid-season football match in the English Football League Championship. United Kingdom Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) annual conference, Nottingham, UK.
Dunbar, J., Springham, M., Franklin, E., Jehanli, A. & Browne, A. (2013). Investigating the use of a Point of Care cortisol test in the professional football environment. United Kingdom Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) annual conference, Nottingham, UK, 2013.

Invited Conference Presentations

Chambers, R (Welsh Rugby Union), Drawer, S (Team Sky Cycling), Smith, A (UK Sport) & Springham, M (Brentford FC). (2016). Sports Analytics Innovation Summit. Panel Session: Sport Science: Performance Analytics. London, UK.

Book Chapters

Springham, M & Stewart, P. (2018). Soccer. In: Turner, A. ed. The Routledge Handbook of Strength and Conditioning: Sport Specific Programming for High Performance. London: Routledge.

Media enquiries

For media enquiries, please contact our Press Office Team by emailing press.office@stmarys.ac.uk.