SPORTS TECHNOLOGIST
Chris Holmes
Hi, I'm Chris and I work as a Sports Technologist for Adidas. I specialise in developing "ovoid" balls, which is basically any sports ball that isn't round (like rugby balls). My job is to figure out the best designs for maximum performance. No day is ever quite the same, and I get to meet a lot of interesting people along the way, from sports scientists and coaches to athletes and sports stars.
I loved science and maths at school and was also mad about rugby and squash. Taking Physics and Maths at A-level helped me get into uni and I use the scientific principles I learnt during my degree every day at work. I'd recommend my job to anyone interested in science, maths and of course, sports!
Learn more about the science behind sport and exercise here and here.
Did you know?- You could earn between £18,000 and £60,000.
- Sports Technologists spend a lot of their time outdoors, testing sports equipment and sometimes travel abroad too.
- You could get to work with the best sport stars and athletes in the world.
- There are loads of exciting opportunities for sports lovers in this field, from helping Formula One cars go faster to designing a new football stadium.
- Working with big sports brands is great as you get to try new products before anyone else.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:Hi, I'm Chris, and I work here at the Sports Technology Research Institute at Loughborough.
The Euro Passport was designed and tested here. We've also worked on the England football shirt.
My days can be very varied, so one day we could be out in the field testing athletes, or we could be in the lab.
We have our main hitting area - two golf robots. We test soccer players and rugby players, so we designed a mechanical kicking simulator.
We also take the video that we've captured here.
We use the basic Maths and Physics equations that we've learnt at school and we analyse it.
The best thing about the job was combining my passion for sport and engineering, and that's why I enjoy doing the job that I do.
Interested in becoming a Sports Technologist? Find out more about it here, check out our Useful Links section or talk to a careers advisor at school.