Salford University exercise and health students put the Salford City Reds first team through their paces this morning when the players dropped into the University’s high-tech human performance labs for a gruelling fitness testing session. As the Reds geared up for the new season, students from the Faculty of Health & Social Care analysed the team’s levels of strength, flexibility, endurance, speed, agility and body fat – using cutting-edge laser technology. It was the second time the students had got to grips with the players, and heralded a new community partnership between the University and the club – about to be launched at Friday’s home game against Swinton Lions. The University’s Sports Science and Partnership Manager, Chris Bamber said: “The fitness testing session couldn’t have gone better.  The players really benefited from understanding more about their fitness levels and hopefully we’ve helped them train smarter and win more matches. “The students also benefited enormously from this hands-on experience working with some of the best rugby league players in the country.  It’s all part of the University’s mission to make learning more relevant and practical.” Some of the assessments involved a ‘speed gun’ which fires laser beams to measure how fast the players can sprint, a ‘power mat’ which gauges how high they can jump, and a ‘dynometer’ machine which uses air resistance to calculate strength.The results will be translated by the University into reports which Reds coaches can use to plan training strategy.  Head Coach, Shaun McRae, said: “It’s a great partnership.  We’re seeing some real benefits from working with Salford University and I’m confident their work will help boost our performance this season.” The University’s state-of-the-art human performance labs are among the best in the UK, and students studying exercise and health have regular access to the facilities.  For more information on the facilities and the courses, go to www.chssc.salford.ac.uk/exerciseandhealth