Research Ideas

I am still a ways off from beginning my dissertation research, but in the meantime I have several topics I feel need further research.  My population of interest is primarily high school athletes, but I am open to other ideas.  If you wish to collaborate, please reach out via email: coachjpwilson@gmail.com.  

Research Topics:

Autoregulation in Youth Training

The topic of my capstone project for the MS degree, Efficacy of Autoregulation for Novice or Youth Athletes, analyzed current research in the practice of autoregulation in strength training for high school athletes.  At the time (2022) only seven peer-reviewed articles addressed the topic, and many of the study participants were adult novice athletes.  I have constructed my own autoregulation system and implemented it in practice, and I would like to compare this system to traditional RPE/RIR schemes in hopes of advancing best-practices for high school athletes.

 

Olympic Lifts and Variations vs Non-Olympic Lifts in Training

There is heated debate amongst strength coaches, in particular those working with high school athletes, as to the usefulness of implementing the Olympic lifts (clean and jerk, snatch) and/or variations (power clean, power snatch, clean and press, etc.). The pros for using the lifts with high school athletes are the development of explosive power and eccentric muscle training during the catch phase, while the cons are the teaching investment as the lifts are very technical.  Most current arguments, however, are anecdotal and lack specific research.  In 2019 I obtained a USA Weightlifting Level 1 certification for the purpose of better understanding the technique and how to teach the Olympic lifts, and since I have taught cleans and variations with varied success.  I would like to further research the efficacy of implementing Olympic lifts in training for high school athletes.  Do Olympic lifts improve athletic performance in high school athletes?

 

Periodization for Sport-Specificity with Multi-Sport Athletes

Most high school athletes I work with compete in two to three sports and are in-season for most of the calendar year.  The largest group, football players, find this cumbersome to achieve adequate levels of strength and power required for success in such a physically-demanding sport.  In practice, I have implemented an annual periodization system specifically for football athletes which cycles hypertrophy, strength development, and power development synchronized with various sport seasons.  I would like to expand upon this system to apply to other sports and advance the current best-practices for working with multi-sport high school athletes.

 

Eccentric Lower-Body Training for Improving Change of Direction in Sport

As a seminar project in my MS program I studied the effects of eccentric training adaptations on change of direction (COD) ability in a single athlete.  The current research abounds with support of the bio-mechanical effects of eccentrically strengthening lower limb extensors and a positive correlation to improved COD ability, however, much is left to be researched in practice.  Does eccentric overload training improve COD ability in trained athletes?  Additionally, the impact of bilateral deficits on the direction of turn in a COD has not currently been shown to be significant.  Can eccentric training improve bilateral deficits in trained athletes?

 

Plyometric Training vs Plyometric with Resistance Training

During my MS program and my preparation for the CSCS exam I became familiar with the NSCA guidelines on plyometric exercise, including a progression from certain strength levels prior to implementing plyometrics.  Interactions with sport coaches and observations of social media provide ample evidence of this practice not being adhered to.  In untrained populations, does plyometric training alone improve athletic performance (measured via vertical jump, COD, acceleration) as well as plyometric training coupled with standard resistance training?  Secondly, how does a baseline level of strength via resistance training prior to beginning plyometric training effect these outcomes?