Rate My Professor Jonathon Headrick

Dr Jonathon Headrick is a lecturer and researcher in the field of exercise and sports science at Griffith University, located at the Gold Coast campus in the School of Health Sciences and Social Work, previously known as the School of Allied Health, Sport and Social Work. Holding a PhD in skill acquisition from Queensland University of Technology, he serves as Program Director for the Exercise Science suite of programs, including the Bachelor of Exercise Science, Bachelor of Exercise Science (Honours), and Bachelor of Exercise Science/Master of Physiotherapy. He is an accredited Exercise Physiologist (AES) and Accredited Sports Scientist (ASpS), and convenes core courses such as Motor Learning and Control (3009AHS) for exercise science students. His teaching emphasizes practical applications in motor learning and skill development within sports and exercise contexts.

Headrick's research specializations encompass skill acquisition, sport psychology, and motor learning, with 36 publications cited over 583 times per ResearchGate metrics and an ORCID identifier of 0000-0002-7591-1162. Key publications include 'Proximity-to-goal as a constraint on patterns of behaviour in an interceptive task' (Journal of Sports Sciences, 2012, cited by 180), examining constraints on athletic performance in interception tasks. He co-authored the book 'Constraints-Led Learning in Practice: Designing effective practicing environments' (Routledge, 2019) with Ian Renshaw and others, influencing coaching practices through ecological dynamics approaches. Recent works address injury prevention and performance, such as 'Shoulder pain and injury risk factors in competitive swimmers: A systematic review' (Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2023, cited by 48), 'Taekwondo Fighting in Training Does Not Simulate the Affective and Cognitive Demands of Competition: Implications for Behavior Analysis and Training' (Frontiers in Psychology, 2018, cited by 96), 'Delaying Tackling in Youth Contact Sports: Moving toward a Safer Future or Softening the Game?' (Sports Medicine, 2025), 'Hamstring Strain Injury Prevention: Current Beliefs and Practices of Practitioners Working in Major League Baseball' (Journal of Athletic Training, 2024), and 'Perceptions of fatigue and neuromuscular measures of performance fatigability during prolonged low-intensity elbow flexions' (Experimental Physiology, 2023). Headrick supervises PhD students and contributes to advancing evidence-based training and injury risk management in sports.