Researcher Highlights
A Sporting Chance

How do you translate a lifelong career within the performance environments of professional sport into academia and research? Ask Dr Colin Sanctuary who’s converted his experience in cricket, soccer and rugby league into an academic career in Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Newcastle.

Colin was managing the State of Origin Pathways for NSWRL before he made the move to the University of Newcastle in a career change that’s reaping rewards for his students. “When COVID hit everything changed and I knew it was time to look for a new opportunity,” Colin says. “I saw this position, reached out and here I am.”

Applying his performance environment and coaching know-how to his teaching, Colin’s relationship building skills have seen him gather extensive professional networks over his years in professional sport which are reaping dividends for University of Newcastle and the Exercise and Sport Science students.

Working alongside his colleague Dr Nick Riley, Colin has worked to deliver a series of engagement programs which bring together local and national sporting communities to engage primary and high school students at a new and exciting level.

Two unique examples are the Maths with the Mariners (delivered in conjunction with the Central Coast Mariners) and Indigenous Maths In Motion Program (delivered with the Newcastle Knights). In these programs maths problems are solved through participating in sporting activities and movements. “In both of these examples we have used the Industree & McDonald Jones Stadiums as venues and vehicles to deliver the program along with the ‘hook’ of ‘soccer’ and ‘rugby league’,” Colin says.

“You have children who love sport, so when you combine maths, sport and movement that is when the children really seem to engage with the learning opportunity.”

Through this work Colin and Nick presented to FIFA Pacific Delegates, the English FA and the British High Commission at a recent FIFA Women’s World Cup event in 2023.

It’s making those connections with the sporting teams that leads to such positive educational outcomes.

“It’s all about relationships,” Colin says of his impressive community outreach. “If you have good relationships across your professional network you are able to develop and then provide some innovative opportunities and solutions.”

And it’s not just primary and secondary school kids who benefit, because of his relationship with the Newcastle Knights Colin now has three people undertaking PhD’s alongside the club. It’s a win/win situation for both the clubs who benefit from this targeted research, and the researchers who deliver solutions the organisation needs.

Developing transferable skills

If there’s one key thing that Colin is passionate about helping to develop in students, it’s transferable skills. “I started my career as a teller at Barclay’s Bank in the UK before going on to University as a mature student. And I do believe that it is all the skills you learn along the way that set you up for a career.”

“For me, as a teller, it was developing conversational skills and the ability to interact with people from all demographics and backgrounds,” Colin adds.

“Now using my extensive background in professional sport and other areas I am trying to provide the students with an applied learning environment and develop good industry engagement opportunities.”

The list of clubs Colin’s worked with over the years is impressive: Cricket with Durham County Cricket Club, Soccer with Newcastle Utd & Hartlepool Utd and Rugby League with NSWRL; Newcastle Knights, England RL & Wakefield Trinity. And he’s taken aspects from all these clubs and codes and is applying them to his teaching and research.

Colin looks at higher education from a coaching perspective. “It’s all about viewing support pathways through a long lens,” he says. “It’s having a plan in place about where the students are now, where they’re going to get to, and how you can help them progress in their potential educational and career aspirations.”

It’s about developing genuine pathways for students and investing in them throughout, so they develop the skills they need to take up opportunities out there in the world.

Colin sees work-integrated learning as an essential ingredient in aiding the development of ‘work ready’ graduates. Here, like everything he does, there’s coaching science behind this with Colin working on the building blocks that students need to succeed. “In the first year we are developing modules around communication and applied personal practice which build up to ensure that by the time they get to their third year they’re ready and prepared to do a substantive placement with a real-life organisation in the bespoke settings of a professional sport, education, gym or health/clinical environment.”

Bringing Colin immense satisfaction is the number of students who’ve been offered roles off the back of their professional placement. “It’s giving them the breadth of experience they need to be life-ready graduates,” Colin notes.

Training the trainers

Colin is also keen to take on any form of training that will help accelerate his research and make a difference. Along with his colleague Dr Nick Riley, in 2023 they took part in the CSIRO On-Prime Program to devise strategies to deliver one of their key platforms into the communities that will benefit.

The Best Start Program is a playground based tool developed by Colin and his colleague Dr Nick Riley which explores and assesses the foundational movements of primary school children. Here, as well as providing an understanding of a child’s foundational movements there are also additional curriculum linked resources which combines movement skills, numeracy and literacy. The resource has enormous potential, and Colin and Nick now have developed strategies to see it disseminated widely in the community and beyond.

And it’s not just locally, the word is out and this work is now spreading overseas. A chance conversation has led to an opportunity, in conjunction with Siones Foundation, to showcase the Best Start Assessment Tool to the Tongan Dept of Education.

Colin’s gamecard is pretty full – but it’s work that he enjoys doing for students, the university and the community. He’s here because it’s the right place, at the right time.