2D and 3D Load: How GameTraka’s New Metric Evolves Performance Analysis
As the sports technology space evolves, so does the need of the customer. Each and every day new advents are made and technology changes. Every element of our life is continually being advanced via technology and this trend will only grow stronger over time.
At Sports Performance Tracking we are lucky enough to be at the forefront of the latest advances in sports technology. We pride ourselves on both being able to provide an easy to use solution for athletic performance monitoring but also providing a product that is in line with industry best practice. As our platform evolves, so will specific use cases and in turn the focus of our users.
With the introduction of 2D & 3D Load on to the GameTraka platform we gave users the ability to take a deeper dive in to their performance metrics. Now, not only can coaches and managers gain powerful insights using the SPT2 10Hz GPS to assess athlete running capacity but they can also begin to understand a the full loading picture.
2D & 3D Load are tightly intertwined with an athletes physical make up and will produce a figure that is unique to them for each and every session. A real strength of accelerometer derived load (eg. 2D Load), is that not only will it give you insights in to how much external load an athlete has been subject too, but it will also tie in nicely with metrics such as total running volumes and sprint efforts. An easy way to understand this, is when an athlete is running, their footfalls will contribute to the forces that are being captured in overall ‘Load’. On the other side of that coin, if for example an athlete has not run a large volume (Offensive Lineman in NFL and a Prop in Rugby Union), accelerometer derived load will still capture heavy impacts and accelerations. So now not only do we have a metric that will be able to quantify a large number of movement profiles, but it also translates well across a range of sports and positions. It is also worth noting that there is a significant amount of scientific evidence that points towards value of 2D & 3D Load.
As the GameTraka platform moves forward in this manner, we are also assessing our pre-existing metrics. When looking at current metrics, we factor in elements such as recent scientific evidence and insights they can provide users. With every season that passes and sports science knowledge of human motion improves, our knowledge base increases. At the beginning, SPT used cutting edge metrics that incorporated GPS signal, such as Intensity. With the increased use and availability of high resolution accelerometers in sport, sport science across the world has adopted the use of accelerometer derived “Load” metrics.
Let us factor in one last element to this discussion of using an accelerometer derived metric compared to GPS. On board the SPT2, load is calculated at 100 data points per second (100Hz), this means that even if a motion only lasts for a fraction of a second there are still several data points to work with. Comparing this to Intensity, which was initially built to work with a 1Hz GPS signal. During periods that an athlete undertakes a large number of high magnitude movements (think accelerations and decelerations) the Intensity calculation may miss some key information we collect and as such is not harnessing the full power of the SPT2 hardware.
As sports technology keeps advancing, so does the GameTraka platform and we will continue to bring you the latest in metric calculators. Take a look at the video below to learn how the advancement of the Load metric on the GameTraka platform can be used over the Intensity metric and the best practice around how to do so.
