Get to know the St Kilda experts behind Holmesglen Institute's Double Diploma of Sport Development and Event Management, in partnership with St Kilda Football Club.
Matt Hornsby
What is your role at the Saints?
Head of Performance. I'm responsible for managing the physical conditioning, medical and welfare teams within our program.
How long have you been involved in this field?
Over 20 years working in physical performance, strength & conditioning and exercise science within elite sport.
What are the best parts of your job?
- Working closely with athletes as they develop through their careers;
- Being a part of their journey through the highs and lows of elite sport;
- Sharing ideas with skilled professionals and continuing to grow personally due to the challenging nature of the industry.
What is the highlight of your career?
Creating lifelong friends through the many shared experiences that team sport provides, and working with footballers through their journey as young draftees, to then watching them develop into dominant athletes in their sport.
What will students learn about your field from the course?
- The key elements required to structure a high performance program;
- The importance of collaboration across many disciplines to achieve high performance;
- How to optimise your chances of establishing a career in elite sport.
What is the best advice you’d give to a student who is interested/taking part in the course?
Maximise this rare opportunity to learn from experienced and skilled professionals. It’s a great way to grow your knowledge and create networks within the industry.
Madi Clarke
What is your role at the Saints?
Event Manager.
How long have you been involved in this field?
2-3 years.
What are the best parts of your job?
- The energy you feel once you see an event that you and the team have prepared from start to finish be executed;
- Getting to try new things and coming up with innovative ways to bring experiences to life;
- Getting intel on current and upcoming trends/suppliers.
What is the highlight of your career?
- Trevor Barker Award
- Shanghai 2019
- Brownlow 2019
What will students learn about your field from the course?
This course will help students figure out what field of events they will want to pursue in the future. They will have access to learning about the following type of events:
- Small scale events
- Large scale events
- Game day/ family day events
- Corporate events
- Business program events
What is the best advice you’d give to a student who is interested/taking part in the course?
Be ready for hands on work! There may be early mornings, long hours and late nights, but it's all worth it in the end.
Steve Forcone
What is your role at the Saints?
Strength & Conditioning Coach.
How long have you been involved in this field?
10 years.
What are the best parts of your job?
A sporting club provides a fun and engaging environment to work in every day. The feeling when a player achieves improvement, or the club has a win is a special one. It can be a high pressure job, but that provides a positive pressure to keep working hard on areas that might be helpful to our performance. It also helps motivate me to keep learning and innovating, either in education, from other professionals, or even experimenting with new methods.
What is the highlight of your career?
Getting a full time job at St Kilda Football Club.
What will students learn about your field from the course?
Students will gain an insight into how a football program operates day to day, which is something I did not see until working here.
What is the best advice you’d give to a student who is interested/taking part in the course?
Don’t wait for what course requirements tell you to do to get involved. If you think you are passionate about this area, start volunteering your services for local or representative sporting teams or individuals. I volunteered for many years after working or studying full time during the day and this confirmed that the field was my passion.
