The University of Tasmania is playing a key role in supporting the rehabilitation and return-to-play journey of Tasmania JackJumpers guard Sean Macdonald, drawing on its expert staff and state-of-the-art facilities at the Shed, Inveresk.
Macdonald ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) when playing for the Australian Boomers on 31 July last year, facing surgery and extensive rehabilitation since.
It was through the University’s sponsorship of the JackJumpers High Performance Program, that expertise and advice was sought to help Macdonald get back on court.
“The collaboration builds on long-standing professional networks and the University’s sponsorship of the JackJumpers High Performance Program,” Dr Nathan Pitchford, senior lecturer in the School of Health Sciences, said.
“The program’s manager Ryan Carroll approached the University to support specialised rehabilitation and performance testing as part of the club’s broader partnership with the institution.”
Nathan and a team of Health Sciences staff coordinated and delivered a comprehensive testing program, with the University acting as the central facilitator for all assessment procedures.
This included engaging specialist staff to support high-quality data collection and analysis, ensuring the JackJumpers received clear, evidence-based insights to inform ongoing rehabilitation planning.
“Testing was conducted at The Shed, the University’s new exercise and sport science facility, which provides advanced capabilities in biomechanics and movement analysis,” Nathan said.
“Using tools such as isokinetic dynamometry, high-speed motion capture and force plate testing, the team assessed Sean’s lower-limb strength across multiple movements. He also completed a series of jump and change-of-direction tasks to analyse movement quality at key stages of his rehabilitation.
“Following testing, University biomechanics experts Dr’s Jake Cowin and Matthew Schmidt analysed and reported on the data, providing targeted insights to support safe and effective progress back to competition.”
Nathan said the partnership benefits have also created opportunities for student learning.
“While the work has been staff-led, the partnership has already created opportunities for student placements in physiotherapy and exercise and sport science, with future research and learning opportunities set to directly engage University students,” he said.
Image caption: Helping players get back on court (from left) School of Health Sciences senior lecturer Dr Nathan Pitchford, JackJumpers guard Sean Macdonald and High Performance Program manager Ryan Carroll.