Dr. Jason Berry

About Me

Jason leads the integration of evidence informed concepts into the applied programs at IMG Academy through initiatives in Sport Science, Research, and Innovation. He oversees the Sport Science Department and the key focus areas including; athlete development pathways, athlete management (periodization, assessment, monitoring, and recovery), performance analytics, and performance technology. Jason drives data management and knowledge exchange activities to enable full potential of the Athlete Management System (AMS) and associated athlete development and performance intelligence. Jason’s vision is to deliver a high performance support system, working across people, process and technology that sets the global standard for youth athlete development.

Prior to IMG Academy, Jason held a joint position as Senior Sport Scientist and Lecturer in Sport Coaching at Victoria University (VU) and the Maribyrnong Sports Academy (MSA) in Melbourne, Australia. MSA is a government funded selective-entry sports high school that supports over 500 student-athletes.

Jason previously worked in the Australian Football League (AFL) in various roles including Football Science Manager, specialist coach (skill acquisition), and sport science/coaching consultant with Collingwood, Essendon, St Kilda, and West Coast Eagles.

He has provided consultant services to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), National Rugby League (NRL), and the Punjab Institute of Sport (India). Jason was a Scientific Committee Member for the World Congress of Science and Football 2019 (Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia).

Education/Accreditations

• PhD in Sport Science (Athlete Development & Sport Expertise). The University of Queensland (UQ)
• Grad Cert Management. Melbourne Business School. The University of Melbourne
• B.App.Sc (Research Honours) (Human Movement). University of Ballarat (UB) (now Federation University)
• Cert in Psychology for High Performance Sport. Barca Innovation Hub Universitas, FC Barcelona
• High Performance Coach Level 3. Australian Football League (AFL)
• Accredited High Performance Manager (HPM) (ESSA)
• Accredited Sport Scientist (Level 2) (ESSA)

Publications/Conferences

• Bonney, N., BERRY, J., Ball, K., & Larkin, P. (2020). Can match play kicking and physical performance outcomes be replicated in an Australian Football small-sided game? Science and Medicine in Football. 4(4), 314-321.
• Bonney, N., BERRY, J., Ball, K., & Larkin, P. (2020). Effects of manipulating player numbers on technical and physical performances participating in an Australian football small-sided game. Journal of Sports Sciences. 38(21), 2430-2436.
• Bonney, N., BERRY, J., Ball, K., & Larkin, P. (2020). The Development of a Field-Based Kicking Assessment to Evaluate Australian Football Kicking Proficiency. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 91(1), 73-82.
• BERRY, J., Hepner, J., Burghardt, B., Myslinski, T., & Zimmer, A. (2019, June). Player movement profiles across three levels of American Football: Academy High School, NCAA Division 1 College, and National Football League. World Congress of Science and Football. Melbourne, Australia.
• Burghardt, B., BERRY, J., Hepner, J., Myslinski, T., & Zimmer, A. (2019, June). Game versus practice movement profiles of American football players at Academy High School, NCAA Division 1 College and National Football League. World Congress of Science and Football. Melbourne, Australia.
• Serpiello, F., BERRY, J., Gregson, W., & Figueiredo, A. (2019, June). Invited Panel, Youth Academies. World Congress of Science and Football. Melbourne, Australia.
• Bonney, N., BERRY, J., Ball, K., & Larkin, P. (2019). Australian Football Skill-Based Assessments: A Proposed Model for Future Research. Frontiers in Psychology. 10, Article 429.
• Bonney, N., BERRY, J., Ball, K., & Larkin, P. (2019). Validity and reliability of an Australian football small-sided game to assess kicking proficiency. Journal of Sports Sciences. 38(1), 79-85.
• Hesse, D., & BERRY, J. (2018, February). Trends in High School Sports. Gatorade 2018 High School Practitioner Summit. IMG Academy, Florida, USA.
• Larkin, P., Mesagno, C., BERRY, J., Spittle, M., & Harvey, J. (2018). Video-based training to improve perceptual-cognitive decision-making performance of Australian football umpires. Journal of Sports Sciences. 36(3), 239-246.
• Rudd, J. R., Barnett, L. M., Farrow, D., BERRY, J., Borkoles, E., & Polman, R. (2017). Effectiveness of a 16 week gymnastics curriculum at developing movement competence in children. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(2), 164-169.
• Fortington, L., BERRY, J., Buttifant, D., Diamantopoulou, K., Ullah, S., & Finch, C. (2016). Shorter time to injury in first year professional football players: A cross-club comparison in the Australian Football League. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 19(1), 18-13.
• BERRY, J. (2015, July). The use of a non-sport-specific movement coordination test to enhance the talent identification process at a school-based sports academy. The United States Coaching Education Coalition 2015 National Coaching Conference. Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
• Larkin, P., Mesagno, C., Spittle, M., & BERRY, J. (2015). An evaluation of video-based training programs for perceptual-cognitive skill development: A systematic review of current sport-based knowledge base. International Journal of Sport Psychology. 46, 555-586.
• Rudd, J., Barnett, L, M., Butson, M, L., Farrow, D., BERRY, J., & Polman, R. (2015) Fundamental Movement Skills Are More than Run, Throw and Catch: the Role of Stability Skills. PloS one 10(10), e0140224.
• BERRY, J., Vallance, B., & Clark, D. (2014, July). Efficacy of using established physical testing and a novel movement coordination test battery for talent identification into a selective entry school-based sports academy. European College of Sport Science Annual Congress. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
• BERRY, J., Carlon, T., & Young, W. (2012, June). Looking beyond the obvious: Intra expertise differences are harder to see! North American Society for the Psychology in Sport and Physical Activity Conference. Hawaii, USA.
• Hunter, J., & BERRY, J. (2011). Repeated sprint training improves intermittent peak running speed in team-sport athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 25, 1318-1325.
• Mooney, M., O'Brien, B., Cormack, S., Coutts, A., & BERRY, J., & Young, W. (2011). The relationship between physical capacity and match performance in elite Australian football: A mediation approach. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 14(5), 447-452.
• BERRY, J., & Buttifant, D. (2010). Investigation of training and match loads, and associated Injury durability, in 1st-year AFL players compared to more physically mature AFL players. Report to the Australian Football League.
• Heasman, J., Dawson, B., BERRY, J., & Stewart, G. (2008). Development and validation of a player impact ranking system in Australian football. International Journal of Performance analysis in Sport. 8(3), 156-171.
• BERRY, J., Abernethy, B., & Côté, J. (2008). The contribution of structured activity and deliberate play to the development of expert perceptual and decision-making skill. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 30, 685-708.
• Reid, M., Crespo, M., Lay, B., & BERRY, J. (2007). Skill acquisition in tennis: Research and current practice. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 10, 1-12.
• BERRY, J., & Abernethy, B. (2003). Expert game-based decision-making in Australian football: How is it developed and how can it be trained? Report to the Australian Football League.
• Abernethy, B., Farrow, D., & BERRY, J. (2003). Constraints and issues in the development of a general theory of expert perceptual-motor performance: A critique of the Deliberate Practice framework. In J. L. Starkes & K. A. Ericsson (Eds.), Expert Performance in Sports: Recent Advances in Research on Sport Expertise. Champaign. IL: Human Kinetics.

Experience

• 15+ years as a sport science and coaching professional in elite sport (professional teams and elite youth programs).
• 15+ years in research and teaching (The University of Queensland, University of Western Australia, Victoria University).
• 15+ years as a coach educator (national sport organizations to community level sport).
• 10+ years as a semi-professional athlete with grander aspirations.
• Very fortunate husband and proud father to four boys!