From Manchester City to athletic training at a new UI research centre

"We are now on equal footing with sports clubs and institutes worldwide, such as English premier league teams like Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. NBA-teams are also using these tools, as is the English Institute of Sport," says Milos Petrovic, assistant professor at School of Education’s Faculty of Health Promotion, Sport and Leisure Studies. Milos has with his colleagues worked on developing a new Research centre for sport and health sciences at the University of Iceland stationed in Laugardalshöll. Milos knows what he is talking about having previously worked with the champions of both Europe and the UK; Manchester City and helped one of the best golfers in the world improve their swing. Milos is here discussing the possibilities of measurements in diverse sports in a new research centre, his life in Iceland, and the success of Serbia in sports.

We met Milos on the second floor of Laugardalshöll where excellent facilities for sports measurements have been built. "The Sport and Health Sciences programme recently received a 14 million ISK grant from the University's Equipment Purchasing Fund and decided to buy this equipment. This is the latest gear to measure people’s physical activity. Technology and sports sciences meet here as we are in fact using technology to improve physical activities of athletes and the general public in sports. We can measure all kinds of movements and performance in sports, such as jumping, throwing, running or strength in all parts of the muscles," explains Milos.

Research linked to both sports and public health

When asked Milos says that the equipment has a threefold purpose. "First of all, we are going to work with athletes, any athletes, be it high-level sports, amateur or recreational," says Milos.

Secondly the work revolves around children and their development. "We can study whether they are developing in the same way as other children in the world; whether they are ahead or lag behind, if they have any musculoskeletal disorders, how they jump, and how fast they run," explains Milos.

One of the team’s research emphasis will be on flatfoot in children, which can cause all kinds of musculoskeletal problems in knees and back. "We are creating the first database on flatfoot among Icelandic children. I launched this project a few years ago and my database comprises around 500 children," says Milos but his study includes taking computer images of soles with a specially designed box.

In Milos’ study from 15 years ago around 10% of children had flatfeet but according to his data in Iceland 24% children seem to have it here. Milos says it possible to reduce the effect of flatfoot on the body with simple exercises. "We can offer a training programme at the beginning and measure various factors that pertain to this ailment. We can then follow through by evaluating the results of the exercises after approximately  two months," he says on the benefit of this technology.

Thirdly we plan to use the equipment in the Research centre for sport and health sciences in collaboration with health-care workers. "We recently established a collaboration with the Landspítali University Hospital's endocrine department where we plan on working with people with diabetes," says Milos who studied the gait and posture of people with diabetes in his PhD thesis at the Manchester Metropolitan University. "I found out that people with diabetes deal with various problems connected with walking and use much more energy than the average person. We are currently trying to develop exercises at home to improve their quality of life," he says.

Supports preventive action against injuries and promoting recovery

According to Milos the research centre can also be used for various preventive action when it comes to athletic injuries. "This new equipment can be used to measure whether someone is at risk for injury; for example due to imbalance in leg muscle strength. If one leg is stronger than the other there is an increased risk of injury. We can measure this strength now, but before an evaluation such as this was simply guess work," he says and adds that athletes can also get support when recovering from injuries. "We can evaluate when athletes are ready to go back after injuries. Preventive measures are always better than injury, and we can help both athletes and sports clubs with that.

The research centre is also equipped with software for various diagnosis, both for individuals and teams. "This equipment gives us the opportunity of game analysis of sports matches. Coaches can bring in their team and recordings to us and we analyse what went wrong in matches and suggest improvements. We can also analyse how much individual players run in each game and other scenarios," he says.

Collaboration with sports clubs and federations pending

Milos adds that the Research centre for sport and health sciences can offer teams that are buying members an evaluation of their health and physical condition. "When teams are investing in expensive players, they can bring them to us for all kinds of testing. This way the teams know what they are buying before they sign a player contract," referring to both tests of strength, stamina and other important factors among elite athletes. 

We are preparing to make agreements with sports clubs and federation on measurements. The University of Iceland is, furthermore, prepared to collaborate with The National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland. “In that way we can support the new athletic policy that is currently being formed at the Ministry of Education and Children and the Icelandic Sports Association.

The facilities in Laugardalur will also be of use in the research of Master's students in sport and health sciences at the University of Iceland. "We recently acquired this equipment and have already begun working with students in a few Master projects," says Milos.

Worked on improving Rory McIlroy's swing

Milos emphasises that the equipment can be used in all kinds of measurements in sports, both individual and team. Now, for the first time in Iceland, it is possible to accurately analyse a golf swing. "When I was working in England one of my tasks was that kind of analysis on the famous North-Irish golfer, Rory McIlroy. Along with my collaborators I worked on a comprehensive analysis of his swing as well as jumping analysis, strength, and energy use but he walks between 20 and 30 kilometres on the golf course each day. He needs the energy for that and to properly hit the ball. This is why he is one of the best in the world, not because of me but because he took advantage of sports sciences in his development as a golfer," explains Milos. 

Worked with the football team Manchester City

Milos has a very interesting background with a vast and diverse experience. He is born in Serbia where he trained in track and field. "I am a trained physical training instructor and track and field coach. I completed an undergraduate- and Master's degree in Serbia, but then moved to the UK for my PhD studies at the Manchester Metropolitan University. After this I worked at the Institute of Sports, whose clients include Manchester City. I then moved to Malasia where I worked with the local Olympic committee in supporting Olympic athletes in their attempts to achieve the best results possible in their branch of sport," he explains.

Manchester City is considered by many to be the best football team in the world. "My work for the team is similar to my work now, using technology for analysis. We managed measurements of the players' physical form, especially during the preparatory period for the season, and we provided that information to the Manchester City's team of coaches, who continued working on improving the performance of each player using a specially designed training programme for each one of them," says Milos.

He points out that the collaboration began when Pep Guardiola became the team's coach in 2016. "He completely changed the mentality in the team. He had already worked in the championship league twice before coming to Manchester City, and he made small but significant changes here and there in the team that mattered. Seven years later, Manchester City boasts numerous English league titles and just won the Champions League for the first time," Milos points out.

From Malasia to Iceland

After working for a while in Malasia; Milos applied for a post-doc at a few universities, including the University of Iceland where he was finally offered a job which he accepted. "Then came COVID and I stayed on and then got a position as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Health Promotion, Sport and Leisure Studies," says Milos who lives here with his wife and three children. "We came here with our son and have since then had two girls born sixteen months apart." 

When asked how he likes working at the University of Iceland Milos says that Þórdís Gísladóttir, head of faculty. gives him a lot of freedom in his work. "She gave me the keys to this space and encouraged me to build the best facilities possible. Her support makes everything much easier and I am trying my very best, but sometimes things work a little slower than you would like within universities. I am a foreigner and I am not used to the Icelandic mentality: "this will work itself out!" (þetta reddast)," says Milos and grins.

Milos shares more than his interest in sports studies with Þórdís as he was himself a high jumper like her. "She participated in two Olympic games but I in none but I was a good national high jumper," says Milos with a smile. "It helped me a lot be in track and field as it is the basis for all other sports."

Measurements support the coach

When asked what the new measuring equipment will change for Iceland as an elite nation in sports, Milos points out that it makes it easier for coaches and others to spot talented young athletes earlier, individuals that have a chance of becoming elite.

"Also, both domestic coaches, and world and Olympic ones, will have the support of our specialists in sport science. They were a bit on their own before in training athletes but we have more viewpoints on coaching now with technology that sees what the human eye cannot. We can analyse the athletes' movements better with recordings, evaluate the strength of individual muscles and so on."

The group behind the research centre wants to support Icelandic teams to achieve excellence. "We want to help them find out what they need to do to join the best teams, whether it is handball, football, basketball or other sports."

Better education for coaches is key to greater success

It is safe to say that Serbia is one of the top athletic nations in the world despite it being small, but this nation of seven million has produced the best basketball player in the world today, Nikola Jokic, and the best tennis player, Novak Djokovic. Furthermore, the Serbian women's national team is the world champion in volleyball. When asked what it is in Serbian mentality that explains this success Milos points out, that even though it sounds contradictory, it is lack of access to equipment such as the one that will be put in use here in Iceland. "The lack of good conditions drives us to be better. When we get there we can go abroad and join better teams which gives even more room to develop as an athlete."

Good training is also important. "We have excellent coaches and strict requirements are in place for those who want to become coaches in Serbia. There you have to hold a degree in sport science or sport teaching, preferably a Master's degree, but the demands are not as high here in Iceland where almost anyone can become a coach. You may point out that Pep Guardiola does not have a degree in sport science and that is correct, but 40 sport scientists work with him. They tell him: These eleven players are in the best form today and they should play!"

They way forward for Iceland is thus to educate more coaches. "That is why we are here. Here we will educate future coaches and sports scientists. It is important that we also have the right technology and equipment, and I hope but also my experience, as I have travelled and worked all over the world, will be useful here in Iceland. It is important to have a fresh point of view regularly, both in companies and institutes in order to ensure development and innovation of ideas," concludes Milos.

• Research centre for sport and health sciences on Instagram.
• Milos on Twitter.