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Doctor John Kelley MMath

Senior Research Fellow

Summary

I am a Senior Research Fellow in the Academy of Sport and Physical Activity and a member of the Sports Engineering Research Group. I specialise in Applied Computing and Sports Analytics and combine this with my love of elite sport. I lead a research partnership with the International Tennis Federation, and I work with many British Olympic and Paralympic teams. I work in the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, allowing me to transfer my work in sport to health and physical activity applications, including an NIHR funded project to develop a data system to support treatment of cancer patients.

John Kelley

About

I am a Senior Research Fellow in the in the Academy of Sport and Physical Activity and I specialise in Applied Computing and Sports Analytics. My love of numbers culminated in a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Sheffield. I combined that with my love of sport in a PhD at Sheffield Hallam University, sponsored by the International Tennis Federation, to develop a method to measure the spin rates of tennis balls during competitive play.

I am now a member of the Sports Engineering Research Group through which I apply my skills to elite sport. I lead a research partnership with the International Tennis Federation. This partnership supports their governance of the game, including bespoke lab and field-based systems to measure the performance of rackets, balls and the surface. I have also designing their world ranking methods for the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King cup by creating computer models of both competition structures and optimising the ranking systems using those models

I work with Olympic and Paralympic teams such as Swimming and Boccia, creating bespoke data and video collection, processing, storage, and analysis tools to improve performance analysis methods. These systems incorporate mobile apps, cloud data storage and 3rd party software integration and allow high level data analytics through platforms such as Power BI.

I am based at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre which allows me to transfer my work with elite sport to health and physical activity applications. A key example is an NIHR funded project to develop a data system to support treatment of cancer patients. This system will be used to manage the prescription and logging of exercise designed to treat the symptoms of cancer treatments.

My research interests lie in Sports Analytics, where I focus on predicting and enhancing sports performance through data analysis, modelling, and simulation. My work includes developing ranking systems, validating performance technologies, and improving handicapping algorithms. My overarching goal is to raise the profile and impact of Sports Analytics at Sheffield Hallam University by integrating research with teaching and industry engagement.

Teaching

School of Sport and Physical Activity

College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences

Sport

MSc Sports Engineering:

  • Numerical Programming in Sports Engineering (module leader)

Research

  • English Institute of Sport
  • International Tennis Federation

Publications

Journal articles

Kelley, J. (2024). Using simulations to compare the current Davis Cup ranking system to Elo. PLoS One, 19 (2). http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298188

Fitzpatrick, A., Stone, J., Choppin, S., & Kelley, J. (2024). How are elite tennis matches won at Wimbledon? A comparison of close and one-sided contests. European Journal of Sport Science. http://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12063

Fitzpatrick, A., Stone, J., Choppin, S., & Kelley, J. (2023). Analysing Hawk-Eye ball-tracking data to explore successful serving and returning strategies at Wimbledon. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. http://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2023.2291238

Fitzpatrick, A., Stone, J., Choppin, S., & Kelley, J. (2021). Investigating the most important aspect of grass court tennis: short points. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching. http://doi.org/10.1177/1747954121999593

Dunn, M., Chiu, C.-.Y., Kelley, J., & Haake, S. (2020). Technologies to Aid Public Understanding in Running Performance. Proceedings, 49 (1), e26. http://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2020049026

Fowler Davis, S., Barnett, D., Kelley, J., & Curtis, D. (2019). Potential for digital monitoring to enhance wellbeing at home for people with mild dementia and their family carers. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. http://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-190844

Fitzpatrick, A., Stone, J., Choppin, S., & Kelley, J. (2019). Important performance characteristics in elite clay and grass court tennis match-play. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. http://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2019.1685804

Shafizadeh, M., Wheat, J., Kelley, J., & Nourian, R. (2019). Stroke survivors exhibit stronger lower extremity synergies in more challenging walking conditions. Experimental Brain Research. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-019-05560-9

Fitzpatrick, A., Stone, J., Choppin, S., & Kelley, J. (2019). A simple new method for identifying performance characteristics associated with success in elite tennis. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 14 (1), 43-50. http://doi.org/10.1177/1747954118809089

Driscoll, H., Hudson, C., Dunn, M., & Kelley, J. (2018). Image based stroke-rate detection system for swim race analysis. Proceedings, 2 (6), 286-292. http://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2060286

Goff, J., Kelley, J., Hobson, C., Seo, K., Asai, T., & Choppin, S. (2017). Creating drag and lift curves from soccer trajectories. European Journal of Physics, 38 (4). http://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/aa6fcd

Hext, A., Heller, B., Kelley, J., & Goodwill, S. (2017). Relay exchanges in elite short track speed skating. European Journal of Sport Science, 17 (5), 503-510. http://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2016.1276219

Reed, H., Stanton, A., Wheat, J., Kelley, J., Davis, L., Rao, W., ... Francese, S. (2015). The Reed-Stanton press rig for the generation of reproducible fingermarks : towards a standardised methodology for fingermark research. Science & justice, 56 (1), 9-17. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2015.10.001

Driscoll, H., Kelley, J., Kirk, B., Koerger, H., & Haake, S. (2015). Measurement of studded shoe–surface interaction metrics during in situ performance analysis. Sports Engineering, 18 (2), 105-113. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-014-0163-1

Nicolaides, A., Elliott, N., Kelley, J., Pinaffo, M., & Allen, T. (2013). Effect of string bed pattern on ball spin generation from a tennis racket. Sports Engineering, 16 (3), 181-188. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-013-0118-y

Conference papers

Ali, K., Shafizadeh, M., Nasr, N., Balchin, T., Hart, J., & Kelley, J. (2024). Older stroke survivors and rehabilitation therapists views on home-based resistance exercise for upper limbs. Age and Ageing, 53 (Supp 1). http://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad246.128

Shafizadeh, M., Wheat, J., Kelley, J., & Davids, K. (2017). Effects of different walking constraints on motor synergy in people with chronic stroke [abstract only]. In European Society of Biomechanics Conference, Seville, Spain, 3 July 2017 - 5 July 2017. https://esbiomech.org/conference/archive/2017seville/papers/1307-5106-1-PB.pdf

Hext, A., Heller, B., Kelley, J., & Goodwill, S. (2016). Measuring straight time in elite short track speed skating relays. Procedia Engineering, 147, 622-626. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.06.258

Higham, D., Kelley, J., Hudson, C., & Goodwill, S. (2016). Finding the optimal background subtraction algorithm for EuroHockey 2015 video. Procedia Engineering, 147, 637-642. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.06.261

Dunn, M., & Kelley, J. (2015). Non-invasive, spatio-temporal gait analysis for sprint running using a single camera. Procedia Engineering, 112, 528-533. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.07.237

Goodwill, S., Spurr, J., Kelley, J., & Haake, S. (2014). Measuring the inertial properties of a tennis racket. Procedia Engineering, 72, 569-574. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.06.098

Kelley, J. (2014). A camera calibration method for a hammer throw analysis tool. Procedia Engineering, 72 (72), 74-79. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.06.002

Wiart, N., Kelley, J., James, D., & Allen, T. (2011). Effect of temperature on the dynamic properties of soccer balls. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, 225 (4), 189-198. http://doi.org/10.1177/1754337111411644

Choppin, S.B., & Kelley, J. (2010). Generating football Cd profiles without a wind tunnel. Procedia engineering, 2 (2), 2449-2454. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2010.04.014

Kelley, J., Choppin, S.B., Goodwill, S.R., & Haake, S. (2010). Validation of a live, automatic ball velocity and spin rate finder in tennis. Procedia engineering, 2 (2), 2967-2972. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2010.04.096

Kelley, J., Goodwill, S., Capel-Davies, J., & Haake, S. (2008). Ball spin generation at the 2007 Wimbledon qualifying tournament. The engineering of sport 7, 571-578. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-287-99054-0_67

Kelley, J., Goodwill, S., Capel-Davies, J., & Haake, S. Ball Spin Generation at the 2007 Wimbledon Qualifying Tournament (P110). In The Engineering of Sport 7, (pp. 571-578). Springer Paris: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-287-09411-8_67

Book chapters

Kelley, J., Higham, D., & Wheat, J. (2016). Technology for studying interpersonal coordination in social collectives. In Passos, P., Davids, K., & Chow, J.Y. (Eds.) Interpersonal Coordination and Performance in Social Systems. (pp. 305-322). Routledge

Theses / Dissertations

Mills, K. (2024). Understanding the mechanisms that govern the impact behaviour of a football. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Goodwill, S., Choppin, S., Dunn, M., & Kelley, J. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00685

Fitzpatrick, A. (2021). Important performance characteristics in elite grass court tennis: implications for practice. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Kelley, J. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00381

Karditsas, H.E. (2020). Large-Scale Method for Identifying the Relationships between Racket Properties and Playing Characteristics. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Goodwill, S., Choppin, S., & Kelley, J. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00359

Sotheran, A.W. (2020). Real-time analysis and feedback of performance indicators in elite diving. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Goodwill, S., & Kelley, J. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00397

Hext, A. (2019). Measuring relay exchange kinematics in short-track speed skating using a multi-camera network. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Goodwill, S.

Higham, D.W. (2018). Extracting field hockey player coordinates using a single wide-angle camera. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Goodwill, S., Kelley, J., & Hudson, C.

Kelley, J. (2011). Measuring ball spin rates in match play tennis. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Haake, S., & Goodwill, S.

Media

Mcinerney, C., & Kelley, J. (2016). Simone Biles: defying the laws of physics? Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Millennium Mathematics Project, University of Cambridge: https://plus.maths.org/content/simone-biles

Presentations

Hext, A., Heller, B., Kelley, J., & Goodwill, S. (2016). Measuring straight time in elite short track speed skating relays. Presented at: The Engineering of Sport 11, Delft, The Netherlands, 2016

Postgraduate supervision

Current:

Nazish Shafique -Adapting Pose Estimation to measure performance metrics in elite swimming

Eugeniw Mempouo - Study of measureemnt properties of QTUG for falls risks assessment

Completed

Anna Fitzpatrick - Important performance characteristics in elite grass court tennis: implications for practice.

Andy Hext - Measuring Two-dimensional Short-track Speed Skating Kinematics using a Multi-camera Network.

Helen Karditsas - Large-scale method for identifying the relationships between racket properties and playing characteristics.

Adam Sotheran - Real-time Analysis and Feedback of Performance Indicators in Elite Diving.

Chris Hudson - Automated tracking of swimmers in the clean swimming phase of a race.

David Higham - Extracting Field Hockey Player Coordinates using a Single Wide-Angle Camera.

James Spurr - Statistically modelling tennis racket impacts with six degrees of freedom.

Completed supervised PhD students:

  • Anna Fitzpatrick - Important performance characteristics in elite grass court tennis: implications for practice.
  • Andy Hext - Measuring Two-dimensional Short-track Speed Skating Kinematics using a Multi-camera Network.
  • Helen Karditsas - Large-scale method for identifying the relationships between racket properties and playing characteristics.
  • Adam Sotheran - Real-time Analysis and Feedback of Performance Indicators in Elite Diving.
  • Chris Hudson - Automated tracking of swimmers in the clean swimming phase of a race.
  • David Higham - Extracting Field Hockey Player Coordinates using a Single Wide-Angle Camera.
  • James Spurr - Statistically modelling tennis racket impacts with six degrees of freedom.

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