Esports health and performance firm Gscience has named Jason Cowman, the current Head of Athletic Development for Ireland’s national rugby union team (IRFU), as its Scientific Advisor.
Cowman will be responsible for assisting with the continued development of Optimal, an esports athlete monitoring system, whilst also leading the Gscience Coaching Academy to help create the industry’s ‘next generation of performance coaches’, according to the firm.
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On his appointment, Cowman commented: “The credibility this team brings to gaming science is stand-out. There isn’t a team out there currently who could compete with the balance they have between their scientific capabilities and their expertise and experience of the industry. It’s a team of good people, who are very together, have a really strong vision and from very early on I could see they had a sense of purpose about them.”
Despite only recently being announced, Gscience has revealed that Cowman has already been influential on certain decisions regarding its Optimal platform. This includes advising on what to avoid and focus on in order to provide the most value for all parties involved.
Prior to his current role at IRFU, Cowman also served as Leinster Rugby’s Head of Fitness. In addition, the physical performance coach is also the Co-founder of Kitman Labs, a health and performance technology firm designed for athletes.
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Jamie Kiff, Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer at Gscience added: “What stood out straight away for us was how humble Jason was and that really fits well within our culture. Even with Jason’s decorated background in traditional sports, he still possesses a very open-minded approach to esports – in our experience this is a rare combo.
“From the outset of our professional relationship he has been a brilliant role model, providing expertise and guidance that we really appreciate as young, passionate founders.”
The partnership follows on from what was already a successful month for Gscience with the company recently being announced as Prodigy Agency’s official esports performance and health partner. Moreover, the firm has also secured deals with The NUEL, whilst also appointing Tom Smith as its Chief Marketing Officer.
Esports Insider says: The addition of Jason Cowman will undoubtedly strengthen Gscience’s efforts to develop esports’ health and performance sector. The move also continues to show how traditional sports can benefit esports, particularly in the health sector, with Cowman’s practices likely to be very useful in helping mould future esports performance coaches.