Frank Sherman Pyke (1 December 1941 – 22 November 2011) was an Australian

sports scientist Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

, educator, author, Australian rules footballer and sports administrator. He played 130 games for in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) and two

interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

matches for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, and later served as a professor at a number of universities in Australia, Canada and the United States. He also served as the inaugural executive director of the

Victorian Institute of Sport The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international succe ...

(VIS), where he pioneered the Athlete Career and Education (ACE) program.

Career

Early life and football career

Born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia, on 1 December 1941, Pyke played schoolboy cricket and football and was also a noted athlete, winning state championships in running, long jump and high jump. He represented Western Australia at the 1956 National Schoolboys' Championships held in Launceston. He made his debut for Armadale in the South Suburban Football League at the age of 15. Falling into the

Perth Football Club The Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in Lathlain, Western Australia, currently playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Representing the south-east area of the Perth metropo ...

's recruitment zone, Pyke made his senior debut for the club in round one of the 1959 season, at the age of 17. Playing originally as a half-forward flanker, and later as an onballer, Pyke became a regular in the Perth side, and finished third in the

Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and b ...

in 1962 and second in 1963, behind

Ray Sorrell Ray George Sorrell (born 1 January 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with East Fremantle and South Fremantle in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL). A centreman, Sorrell achieved many accolades during ...

.Where are they now?: Frank Pyke
– footygoss.com. Posted 29 April 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2011. He played in the club's 1966 premiership win over East Perth, playing as a loose man in defence during part of the game. Pyke also opened the bowling for the Perth Cricket Club in the WACA district cricket competition. Outside of sports, he worked as a physical education teacher at Belmont Senior High School.Pyke had wide impact
– ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...

''. Written by John Townsend. Published 24 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

Education career

In December 1966, Pyke left Perth with his wife, Janet, to study sports science at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. He graduated with a PhD in exercise physiology and human performance, and later taught at

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

Normal Normal(s) or The Normal(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Normal'' (2003 film), starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson * ''Normal'' (2007 film), starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Rennie, and Andrew Airlie * ''Norma ...

, Illinois, and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Pyke returned to Western Australia in 1972, where he accepted a position as a lecturer in the Department of Physical Education and Recreation at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

(UWA), and resumed his football career with Perth. While at UWA he was involved with the rehabilitation of fast bowler

Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is Australian retired cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".

, who Pyke had previously taught at Belmont Senior High School. He is credited by some with "saving illees cricket career" and " iving Lilleeback his fire". Pyke later served as the inaugural Head of the Centre for Sports Studies at the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

, Head of the Department of Human Movement and Sports Science at the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

and Professor and Head of the Department of Human Movement Studies at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. He also held adjunct professor status at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

, the

University of Ballarat The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...

and UWA. Pyke was appointed the inaugural Executive Director of the

(VIS) in 1990, a position which he held until 2006. During his tenure at the VIS, he developed a number of programs, including the Athlete Career and Education (ACE), which has been credited as "the program nationally for elite athletes". He was awarded an

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

in 2000, life membership of the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation in 2002 and was made a member of the Sports Australia Hall of Fame in 2003. He was awarded the 2010 Mobley International Distinguished Alumni Award by Indiana University. Pyke was diagnosed with

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most commo ...

midway through 2011, and died in November 2011.

Personal life

Pyke had three children with his wife Janet: Stephen,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, who played football for Norwood and cricket for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, and

Don Pyke Donald Lachlan Pyke (born 5 December 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who is an assistant coach at the Sydney Swans. He was formerly the senior coach of the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He pla ...

, who played football for and the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football L ...

and was the former senior coach of the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since ...

Publications

Pyke has authored, co-authored and edited a number of books and articles, mainly on sports science and medicine:Books by Frank S. Pyke
– trove.nla.gov.au. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

Books

#
Football: the scientific way
' (1975; with Ross Smith) #
The grid system for skill practice in Australian football
' (1977; with Lawrence Woodman) #
Running man: a multidisciplinary introduction to physical education
' (1977; as co-editor with Geoffrey Watson) #
Focus on running : an introduction to human movement
' (1978; as co-editor with Geoffrey Watson) #
Physiological considerations during exercise in hot climates
' (1981) #
Towards better coaching: the art and science of sports coaching
' (1981; as editor) #
Sport in the heat
' (1985) #
Training for sports and fitness
' (1990; with Brent Rushall) #
Better coaching: advanced coach's manual
' (1991; as editor) #
Gold rush: a decade of success
' (2000) #
Champions in sport and life: the Victorian Institute of Sport, 1990–2005
' (2006) #
Champions in sport and life: and the companies that make it happen
' (2006) #
Cutting edge cricket
' (2010; with Ken Davis) #
Going for gold: champions from the West
' (2010)

Articles

* Mallett, C. J. and Pyke, F. S. (1 January 2008)
Coaching the best
''Sports Coach'', 30 1: 6–8. * Pyke, F. S. (1966)
The effect of selected preliminary activities on certain maximal performances
'.

(thesis). * Pyke, F. S. (14–19 January 1979)
The physical educator and physical fitness
12th Conference of the Australian Council for Health Physical Education and Recreation. * Pyke, F. S. (2007)
Science in Australian sport: its origins and challenges
''Sport Health'', vol. 25, no. 2, Winter 2007, pp. 26–27.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyke, Frank 1941 births 2011 deaths Australian schoolteachers Australian sports executives and administrators Dalhousie University faculty Deaths from motor neuron disease Neurological disease deaths in Western Australia Illinois State University faculty Indiana University alumni Perth Football Club players Australian sports scientists University of Canberra faculty University of Queensland faculty University of Western Australia faculty University of Wollongong faculty Writers from Perth, Western Australia Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees