Can you imagine creating plans for top athletes with ambitions for Olympic glory? Or helping improve the performance of one of Australia’s most beloved football teams? This is dream career territory, but these have been real job roles for Dr Paul Goods – and now he’s at Murdoch training future exercise and sport professionals. 

The renowned Accredited Exercise Scientist and Accredited Sports Scientist said it was always his goal to be a practitioner and researcher in the high-performance sport industry, and he went to work right away striving toward his goal. 

“I completed an industry-based PhD with the West Coast Eagles Football Club, where I researched the impact of training in simulated altitude environments. During this time, I also worked as a practitioner with the West Coast Eagles’ WAFL affiliate club, the East Perth Royals,” he said. 

Then, as a sport scientist with the WA Institute of Sport (WAIS) he worked with a range of athletes, coaches and teams with the goal of producing Olympians across two Olympic Games cycles. He remains actively involved with the WAIS High-Performance Research Centre, and he also supervises Murdoch higher degree students who are conducting industry-based research at WAIS. 

I want both my teaching and research to result in positive real-world impacts.” 

“Prior to the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games I worked with Hockey Australia’s women’s (Hockeyroos) and men’s (Kookaburras) teams to prepare for the Olympic tournament. My role was to prepare the teams for the severe environmental conditions, as Tokyo was predicted to be the hottest Olympic Games ever,” Dr Goods said.

“Over the course of nearly two years, I created bespoke plans for all the athletes in both teams, including travelling to Japan for an Olympic test event and conducting heat training camps in Perth and Darwin. The Hockeyroos went on to finish top of their pool and lose a tight quarterfinal, while the Kookaburras took home a silver medal after a penalty shootout in the final.” 

These extraordinary experiences working as a practitioner in the high-performance sports industry for a decade has shaped how and what Dr Goods teaches his students in exercise and sport science degrees at the School of Allied Health.  

“As a teacher, I have a focus on providing practical, meaningful learning experiences which enable students to apply their knowledge and be better prepared for a career in sport and exercise science,” he said.  

“As a researcher, I am devoted to helping WA athletes reach their goals by conducting applied research with real-world applications. Through industry-embedded research, I hope the outcomes of my research directly improve WA athlete health and performance.” 

The expectation that exercise and sports should be available to all members of the community – both at an elite and a hobby level – has come a long way in recent years. At Murdoch, we encourage inclusivity as one of our top priority values in the Ngala Kwop Biddi, Building a Better Future, Together strategy. This is a theme reflected in Dr Good’s work, and in industry-based research which promotes exercise and engages people across all sections of society.  

To me, Ngala Kwop Biddi represents using our teaching and research platforms at Murdoch University to have a positive impact on the community.” 

“We have higher degrees students working with females and males, youths and senior athletes, as well as athletes competing in disability sport. Additionally, many of the post-graduate students conducting industry-based research are actively involved in athlete talent searches, trying to make high-performance sporting pathways accessible for all,” Dr Goods said. 

“Through mentoring community-minded future members of the local workforce, and conducting research which has a real-world impact, we can all contribute to building a brighter future, together.”