Rate My Professor Mitch Smith

Associate Professor Mitch Smith serves in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Technology Sydney and Ghent University, Belgium, with a focus on the impact of mental fatigue on soccer performance, and a Bachelor of Human Movement Science (Honours) from the University of Technology Sydney. In 2016, following his PhD, Smith commenced as a lecturer in the Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Newcastle, advancing to his current role as Associate Professor. Previously, from 2010 to 2015, he worked as a casual academic in the School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism at the University of Technology Sydney. His teaching contributions include coordinating courses such as EXSS2060 Motor Control and EXSS3070 Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition, where he pioneered blended teaching formats. Smith has garnered significant recognition for his educational leadership, including the 2022 Learning Design and Teaching Innovation Award, 2021 College of Engineering, Science and Environment Teaching Excellence Award, 2020 Faculty of Science Teaching Excellence Award, 2019 BOLD Team Award for Innovation in Course Development, and the 2016 Aspetar Excellence in Football Research Award from the European College of Sports Science. He has also been a finalist for multiple University of Newcastle Excellence Awards, including Community Engagement in 2024.

Smith's research centers on mental fatigue, examining its effects on physical, cognitive, decision-making, and skilled performance in team sports like soccer, with broader implications for industry and defence sectors. As co-founder of the Fatigue Research and Assessment Group (FRAG), he leads multidisciplinary efforts integrating clinical and performance physiology, psychology, neuroscience, motor control, and training to mitigate fatigue. Notable publications include 'Mental Fatigue and Soccer: Current Knowledge and Future Directions' (Sports Medicine, 2018), 'Mental Fatigue Impairs Soccer-Specific Physical and Technical Performance' (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2016), 'Mental Fatigue Impairs Soccer-Specific Decision-Making Skill' (Journal of Sports Sciences, 2016), 'Mental Fatigue Impairs Tackling Technique in Amateur Rugby Union Players' (International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2023), and 'Understanding the Presence of Mental Fatigue in Elite Female Football' (Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 2021). With over 31 journal articles, 14 conference outputs, and collaborations across institutions in Australia, the UK, and Belgium, he has secured 18 grants totaling $1,839,467. Smith has presented public lectures, such as 'Mental Fatigue and Football' in 2017, supervises PhD candidates on youth sports topics, and reviews manuscripts for journals like Science and Medicine in Football and the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance.