From Field to Weight Room, the Full Performance Picture

As a follow up to 'SPT Discusses Athlete Management with Teambuildr', we take a deeper dive into how users are implementing SPT GPS athlete tracking and integrating it with Teambuildr strength and conditioning data.

One such user is The Academy AU, a full-time education and training program tailored for the next generation of Australian Rules Football players.

Working with a large group of student athletes has its positives. Athletes are engaged, they want to improve and they are compliant with the program set up for them. But with this comes logistical and resource challenges.

With the right systems in place (and with little time or financial burden to your organisation), it is possible to deliver high level athletic performance programs once only reserved for the pros.

Insights:

“The combination of these two platforms allows a simple but powerful ability to quantify external load measures experienced not only on the football field, but also the gym” explains Jake Giannakis, High Performance Manager at The Academy.

The Academy athletes are tracked on the field during practice and match play with SPT2 devices and analysed post-session in the GameTraka software. This compact but powerful device gives coaches the ability to glean valuable insights regarding total athlete running loads, along with metrics regarding total external loading the athlete is placed under.

For strength and power development the implementation of Teambuildr has enabled The Academy to effectively streamline strength programming, as well as track and monitor athlete progress over time. With stronger athletes, the likelihood of suffering a non-contact injury declines.

Coaches at The Academy are able to gain insights and see the ‘full picture’ when it comes to athlete workloads and fatigue state. With some basic Microsoft Excel skills, The Academy can track and report on-field loads and tonnage in the gym for their student athletes and build reports that demonstrate a more holistic picture. Without both pieces of the puzzle, understanding why an athlete may be sore or tired may prove difficult.

Cost Effective:

Both Teambuildr and SPT's GameTraka platforms have been built with inclusive philosophies in mind. No longer do you need extensive budgets that stretch far beyond what most of us can comprehend. As the market place for efficient and user friendly systems becomes more competitive, the end result for the user is better systems that cost less.

SPT & TeamBuildr are priced to be inclusive and are not cost prohibitive. Each system has the end user in mind and provide a solution that not only work well together but save coaches time and resources.

There is a misconception in the sports technology sector, that for something to be good it needs to be expensive and complicated, that is simply not true.

Tailored Approach:

Once upon a time athletic development was a one size fits all approach. This has changed with the advancement of human physiology understanding and the application of basic sports science principals being implemented. Athletes can now be provided with programs to suit individual needs and goals.

Below is an example of combining external load monitoring data from an SPT2 GPS unit and lower body tonnage from Teambuildr:

Displayed in the graph is both the weekly totals for both lower body load lifted (kilograms) and high speed running distance (meters). These totals are displayed as a ratio that compares the current week to the average of the last 3 weeks.

In week 5 of the example we can see that the lower body S&C loading is in the green zone but our high speed running has ‘spiked’, this is the perfect opportunity to start a conversation with this athlete and modify any planned training loads if required.

Click the links for more information on GameTraka and Teambuildr including live software demos.

Any clubs, schools or academies using SPT and Teambuildr, feel free to contact us and see how we can help you streamline your reporting and provide meaningful insights for your athletes and coaches.