Through group sessions of a range of adapted sports, each participant’s mobility, motor control and functional ability are addressed
The Villarreal CF–CEU Cardenal Herrera University Research Chair is driving a pioneering model to transfer research outcomes into professional sports performance enhancement and injury prevention, while also developing adapted sports programmes for children and young people with functional diversity and for oncology patients. Since its creation in November, in addition to launching biomechanical assessments of the club’s players aimed at performance optimisation and injury prevention, the Chair has introduced the CEU Active Inclusion–Castellón project to promote sport among children and young people with functional diversity.
Since January, the CEU Castellón sports facilities have been hosting the first activities within this project, which seeks to become a benchmark university hub for adapted physical activity, community intervention and social inclusion through sport. Every Saturday morning, a group of children and adolescents with functional diversity from across the province of Castellón take part in an adapted physical activity programme led by a multidisciplinary team of experts, with the support of volunteer students from CEU Cardenal Herrera University.
Programme beneficiaries —running in parallel at the CEU Castellón and Alfara del Patriarca (Valencia) campuses— take part in group sessions of adapted basketball, football, volleyball, handball, jiu-jitsu and rugby, as well as inclusive hockey. Activities are tailored to each participant’s mobility, motor control and functional capacity, with the aim of improving strength, balance and coordination, fostering regular physical activity habits, and providing experiences of teamwork, social interaction, achievement and autonomy.
According to Javier Martínez Gramage, Professor and Director of the Villarreal CF–CEU UCH Chair, “CEU Active Inclusion provides genuine opportunities for participation, functional improvement and wellbeing for these children, as well as for oncology patients who are already benefiting from a specific programme in Alfara and which we hope to replicate in Castellón in the coming weeks. Adapted sport is a key tool for improving autonomy, functionality, self-esteem and quality of life, while also encouraging social inclusion and community participation, as supported by scientific evidence.”
Javier Martínez Gramage, Professor in the Department of Physiotherapy at CEU UCH, has worked for several years with A Contracorrent Esport i Oci Adaptat to promote research into the benefits of adapted sport for participants’ quality of life and emotional wellbeing. This line of work also involves Sergio Muñoz Beato, Physiotherapy Professor and coordinator of the adapted sport area of the Villarreal CF–CEU UCH Chair.
Alongside social transfer, the Chair’s Director also highlights the academic value and the professional training impact this experience provides for future professionals, with CEU students from the university’s Excellence Programme taking part as volunteers.
Sports performance
In the field of professional sport, the Villarreal CF–CEU UCH Research Chair is developing a ground-breaking model to translate scientific research into performance improvement and injury prevention.
The Chair conducts a comprehensive athlete study from clinical, movement science and omics perspectives, focusing on three key research areas:
- Molecular biology and genetics of performance and recovery.
- Microbiome analysis and its influence on metabolic responses to training.
- Applied biomechanics for injury prevention, using monitoring technologies, wearable sensors and artificial intelligence.
Researchers adopt a multidisciplinary approach to develop a predictive model that supports clinical and performance-related decision-making, integrating biomechanical data, genomic biomarkers and microbiome information already being collected at Villarreal CF, through advanced analytics and machine learning techniques.
