Reuben’s recommendation
What can Emma do?
Give a quick overview of your work experience (jobs, internships, volunteering)?
Built a comprehensive career in sport science, high performance, and athlete development across elite football and cricket programs, progressing through internships and professional roles.
Proven experience in athlete monitoring, GPS analysis, performance support, and event operations, delivering meaningful insights and supporting athlete development.
Achievements include contributing to performance programs at Woodville West Torrens FC, Adelaide FC, Norwood FC, and community engagement initiatives with the South Australian Cricket Association.
Currently expanding expertise in data-driven athlete performance and applied sport science, leveraging advanced analytics, monitoring tools, and high-performance systems.
Do you have a track record of delivering measurable outcomes or KPIs?
N/A
What technical or industry-specific skills do you bring?
Data analytics
Athlete engagement
GPS systems (Catapult)
VALD systems: force plates, force frame, NordBord
Dashboards and coding using R, Python, and Power BI
What tools/platforms/software are they proficient in?
Microsoft Office Suite
Power BI
R
Python
VALD
Catapult
What qualifications, certifications, or degrees do you hold?
Bachelor of Human Movement (Exercise and Sport Science), UniSA
Bachelor of Health Science (Honours), UniSA
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Sport Science, UniSA
Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics for Sport Performance, Victoria University
Master of Applied Sport Science, Deakin University
Taking a chance on me means bringing in someone who’s eager to learn, ready to contribute straight away, and committed to growing with the team.
I know I might not tick every single box on paper, but I bring something real to the table. I’ve worked hands-on in elite sport through my time with Woodville West Torrens Football Club and during my internship at Adelaide Football Club, so I understand the demands, the standards, and the pace of high-performance environments.
My background in recovery and data analytics enables me to do more than collect information — I can transform it into actionable insights that genuinely help coaches and athletes perform better. I adapt quickly, I work hard, and I genuinely care about the people I support.
What steps has Emma taken to break into the sports industry?
I have proactively built my pathway into the sports industry through:
Continued university study in sport science, applied sport science, and data analytics.
Volunteering and gaining hands-on experience in elite and community sport environments.
Internships across high-performance programs, including Adelaide FC.
Casual employment in roles adjacent to sport to broaden practical experience.
Networking with professionals in roles I aspire to, building connections and learning from their insights.
Emma’s interest in sport all started from a childhood spent immersed in sport
Growing up watching sport, especially AFL, the Commonwealth Games, and the Olympics, I was fascinated by how athletes improved and developed each season. Understanding sport science and how important the people behind the scenes were was a big driver to get involved as a sports trainer initially.
As my understanding developed, both through university study and hands-on experience, I added more strings to my bow and saw firsthand how I could develop relationships with athletes and create buy-in for what sport science can bring to a program.
Helping athletes achieve their goals is the biggest reason I want to work in sport.
Since then, Emma has gone on to work in sport, achieving things like
Elite athlete support | Event and community operations | Data-driven performance analysis |
|---|---|---|
Working as a Sport Scientist and Sports Trainer with Woodville West Torrens FC for 10+ years, contributing to athlete development and performance programs. | Working as a Match Day Operator with Sportable for 1+ years. | Served as a GPS Analyst with Norwood FC for 5 months, supporting data collection, analysis, and insights to enhance athlete monitoring and team performance. |
Where does Emma want to go?
Next 6-12 months | Next 5-10 years |
|---|---|
Gain employment as a Sport Scientist. Continue developing analytical skills and improve ways of communicating insights to coaches and athletes. Learn and gain experience in areas that challenge her, such as strength and conditioning. Develop a personal brand and share knowledge to contribute to the advancement of sport science. | Build expertise in applied sport science and contribute to research in the field. Progress to Head of Sport Science or High Performance Manager at the Adelaide Crows or another leading AFL team. Mentor and develop the next generation of female high-performance staff. |
What sporting problem keeps Emma up at night?
The challenge of personalising recovery protocols for individual athletes and individualising load monitoring within team environments.
What is Emma like?
What kind of environment do you thrive in?
I thrive in a high-pressure, chaotic, and collaborative work environment.
When have you had to show resilience in your life or career?
Completing a PhD during COVID nearly derailed the entire project. Shortly before lockdown, we had just been approved for our project with clear study designs and populations ready to go. Once COVID locked down research, we had to wait to be able to start recruiting, and with all the time lost (18 months in total), we had to completely rewrite the entire project and adjust what studies we could feasibly do with only a 6-month extension on time. I could have easily thrown in the towel and given up on the PhD, but it was a massive goal to be able to complete it, therefore I dusted myself off, accepted that the outcome wasn't going to be what we had planned and adapted what we could to be able to get a completed thesis, which I was able to defend with minimal issues and passed with only minor revisions required.
What about Emma’s interests outside of work?
What are your interests outside of work?
Photography
Travel
Reading
Video games
What is your favourite sporting moment?
Adelaide Crows coming from behind and going back-to-back in 1998.
What’s your ideal holiday?
My ideal holiday involves exploring nature, anything where I am outside seeing beautiful things.
If you had 30 minutes to pick the brain of anyone, who would it be and why?
Tania Gallo - one of the first female sport scientists in a male AFL program.
What’s one book or podcast that’s helped your career you’d recommend?
“Think, Prepare, Play like a Champion” helped me understand the different personality types within sport and how to relate to all of them better, allowing me to be a more effective practitioner.
Additional details
Where in the world are you located, and where are you open to work?
Living in Adelaide, but open to work anywhere in Australia.
What is the most important consideration for you in your next role?
Professional development
Cohesive team
Salary
What others say about Emma
“Emma genuinely cares about the athletes; she supports their performance and their wellbeing.”
“Emma believes performance is more than numbers — it’s about people, culture, and holistic support.”
“Emma's not afraid to take initiative, try new approaches, and improve systems along the way.”
“Emma sees the big picture in athlete performance — recovery, wellbeing, and analytics all matter.”
What questions does Emma have for employers?
Are there gaps in data collection, analysis, or application where a new hire could make an immediate impact?
How do you see sport science evolving within the organisation over the next few years?
How is success measured for sport scientists in this organisation?
How do you encourage collaboration between sport science, coaching, and medical staff?
Can you share an example of a recent initiative or project where sport science made a tangible difference for athletes?
What are the biggest challenges your team is facing right now?
How do you measure the impact of recovery or conditioning interventions on performance outcomes?
Are there opportunities to implement new testing protocols or analytics approaches?
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