Ryan Maddra; Alumni Speaker – Opening Address
Assistant Performance Analyst, Hull City
Ryan graduated from the University of Hull in 2017 with a Bsc (Hons) in Sports Coaching and Performance. Throughout his three years of study at university he gained valuable experience alongside his studies coaching football within nursery and primary school environments. In his final year at University, Ryan undertook a placement at Hull City Ladies FC leading a team of three performance analysts. This placement allowed him to refine his skills with Sportscode, apply basic Key Performance Indicators and implement analysis techniques within a practical environment.
Ryan continued gaining experience as a football coach working with different abilities and age groups alongside his voluntary role at Hull City Ladies, but with full time coaching opportunities limited in sport he was unsure of his long term career path. Despite this, Ryan pursued his passion to work within sport, and the desire to progress into a role which he enjoyed and challenged him. Shortly after graduating in July 2017, Ryan was successful in his application for a full time performance analysis internship with Hull City’s First Team.
This role required him to travel to every fixture home and away with the first team squad and on a day to day basis tasks such as filming training, compiling opposition reports, coding individual clips and preparing opposition video analysis to be presented to the manager were all aspects of his role. Ryan utilises numerous skills which he developed through his time at university and in particular presenting at the Student Thesis Conference was a beneficial experience which offered an introduction to presenting research, which is now a key part of his role at Hull City.
In July 2018, Ryan progressed in his role to a full time contract as ‘Assistant Performance Analyst’ at Hull City, and he is thriving working in an environment with elite athletes and staff members who challenge each other daily to develop their skills and facilitate a positive professional learning environment.