How GPS & Heart Rate Tracking Helped Boise State University Women’s Soccer Reach MWC Championship

Idaho, a state known for their long history of potatoes, is home to the Boise State University Women’s Soccer program that competes in the Mountain West Conference. Located right on the Boise River, a snowy backdrop of picturesque mountains makes Boise State a very special place.

Jim Thomas has been the face of the Broncos Soccer team for nearly a decade, leading the Broncos to conference titles in 2018 and 2019 and compiling 61 wins since 2017 alone. Over the past several years, there has been one constant in Boise, and that is winning. 

Over the summer of 2021, Coach Thomas consulted with Associate Head Coach Max Weber about elevating the program to the next level. One of the largest challenges in the collegiate soccer season is managing your athletes and periodizing your practices through the week. 

We caught up with Coach Thomas and Coach Weber to hear how GPS & Heart Rate tracking helped them get to the MWC Championship this year. 

Using GPS tracking BSU was able to focus on pressing and counter pressing in the midfield. Developing speed immediately after gaining or losing position had become integral in driving successful outcomes. 

2. BSU tracked major movements accurately to find trends within the game 

GPS tracking allows you to see when and where you had sprint efforts to and be able to correlate athletic movement to moments within a match. By assessing these trends, then BSU could replicate these trends in training to properly prepare for match demands.

3. Combination of GPS-HR shows areas of maximal work-rate required in how we defend