How Sports Analytics Help Coaches Improve Player Performance
Author: Jeff Dillman
A coach’s success can be defined by recruiting classes, winning streaks, and championships. The root of all three common denominators is based on player performance on and off the field.
KINEXON’s Director of Sales, Jeff Dillman, is a strength and conditioning veteran with over 25 years of experience. Many people simply call him “Coach” from his time roaming the sidelines with the University of South Carolina football program and IMG Academy. He always finds the right levers to pull for athletes to reach peak performance levels leading up to game day, which is crucial for success.
So, we asked Coach for his thoughts on how technology is innovating the game of American Football.
Key Takeaways:
- Sports technology is not here to replace measurements for effort, toughness, or discipline; it is about optimizing efficiency.
- Concentrate on establishing a foundation of 3 – 5 metrics to establish a foundation for training sessions and expand sports performance analysis as needed.
- “Do Simple Better” and allow player performance technology to guide coaching decisions.
How Have Coaching Strategies Changed With The Integration of Player Tracking?
Coach Dillman says, that as coaching methods continue to evolve, sports performance software can be positioned as an extension of a coaching staff. It’s there to help athletes perform at their full potential when the game is on the line.
It’s becoming more common for coaches to study and incorporate athlete performance technology (or player tracking) into their practice and game assessments. Even if a coach has a successful winning percentage, they are constantly seeking ways to get better.
PERFORM GPS Pro is a football tracker that offers insight into player performance. It helps to expose where they might fall short or areas with growth opportunities to push their limits. Whether you want to look at position players or individual athletes, the real-time and post-session data allows coaches to adjust training sessions to maximize performance leading up to game day.
What Does It Mean To Let Player Performance Metrics Guide Coaching Decisions?
It’s crucial to understand that technology isn’t here to replace measurements for effort, toughness or discipline; it’s about optimizing efficiency. This is often misunderstood.
Using a player tracking system like PERFORM GPS Pro can help guide your decisions during practice sessions. You can enhance training outcomes and streamline performance evaluations. Leveraging technology intelligently and understanding the importance of optimal stress and recovery can maximize training efficiency and help athletes achieve their full potential.
Coaches often find themselves in survival mode during practice, but there is a more practical approach. The goal is to change the intent or intensity throughout the session with the guidance of live and post-session data. Sustained high-intensity levels can lead to players occasionally taking plays off or experiencing fatigue.
By incorporating player performance data into training sessions, coaches will better understand each player’s performance levels leading up to game day.
It’s about balancing the demands of practice rather than overdoing it in practice. We’re able to draw a blueprint and monitor the intensities of individual periods in practice so we can educate the coaches on how they should structure their practices to manage loads. Using sports analytics is not about driving the coaches with the data; it’s to help guide coaching decisions.
How Can Player Tracking Help With Training and Recovery Periods?
For football coaches, athlete performance coaches, or strength & conditioning coaches, we understand the importance of tracking player performance. However, with the abundance of GPS-based technology and tracking solutions available, adopting a focused and efficient approach is crucial. That’s where player tracking comes in.
What Does It Mean to Embrace “Do Simple Better”?
Instead of overloading yourself with 50+ live metrics from the jump, concentrate on 3 – 5 to establish a foundation. You can gain a more precise and actionable understanding of each player’s capabilities by simplifying your focus.
These foundational metrics provide a benchmark to measure progress and identify areas for improvement. Ensure these metrics align with the specific requirements for each position, encompassing aspects such as Mechanical Load, Acceleration and Deceleration Load.
How Do Sports Analytics Provide a Comprehensive Performance Assessment?
As you build upon the baseline of metrics, gradually incorporate additional metrics to gain a more comprehensive understanding of player performance during practice and game situations.
This holistic approach enables you to identify strengths, weaknesses and patterns that can inform targeted training emphasis.
How Can Coaches Balance Demand and Preparedness?
Consider a player’s load during practice or training sessions during the week to prepare athletes for peak performance on game day. Strive to meet the demands players will face within the game.
However, it’s crucial to strike a balance for training. Incorporating data visuals can help avoid excessive training that may lead to fatigue or injury.
Why Should Recovery Periods Be Mandatory?
Creating a challenging environment during practice is essential. Avoid consecutive high-rated perceived exertion (RPE) sessions. Pushing athletes excessively without allowing sufficient recovery can lead to burnout and potential injuries.
It’s vital to strike a balance and prevent debilitating levels of intensity or stress. This can be achieved with the right amount of high-low intensity training analysis to maximize performance on game day.
Where Will PERFORM GPS Pro Impact American Football The Most?
Technology will continue influencing the game as more solutions provide in-depth player performance analysis. Whether you are training at your practice facility or playing a road game across the country, PERFORM GPS Pro delivers the player analysis coaches will benefit from to make quick and efficient personnel decisions.
Our sports scientists and customer success experts do a great job tailoring customized reports to maximize performance, but more importantly, maintaining a constant loop of communication with coaches to understand data outputs and take action.
Interested in learning more about GPS-based player tracking solutions?
More stories
KINEXON Football Analytics Helping to Decrease Injuries at the University of Wyoming
Author: Dave Grendzynski
Eric Donoval, the Director of Sports Performance for the University of Wyoming football team, offers a unique perspective on how KINEXON football analytics are reshaping his program’s training methods.
How Mesh Locating Technology Boosts Asset Tracking and Management, Saving Production Time and Costs
With the innovative KINEXON Mesh locating system, we empower our customers to streamline their search efforts and effortlessly track and manage all assets. This comprehensive system offers a near real-time overview of assets, resulting in reduced costs caused by over and underutilization. By optimizing resource allocation, businesses can enhance production efficiency, making operations more cost-effective and resource efficient.
KINEXON Mesh: The Reasons Why Industrial Asset Tracking and Optimization Just Got Better
At KINEXON, we strive to provide our customers with the best solutions tailored to their needs and goals. Our latest innovation, KINEXON Mesh, is a game-changing technology in the world of IIoT. With Mesh, companies of any size can now more effectively track the location and connect industrial assets, optimizing shopfloor and warehouse operations like never before.
Sports Science Reveals the Secret Behind Cristina Neagu's Unstoppable Handball Shot
Is Cristina Neagu really the best handball player in the world? Red Bull put together a team, that included a sports scientist from KINEXON, to help answer this question. Here’s what they discovered.
How Football Analytics Rejuvenated the University of Louisiana's Training Regimen
Author: Dave Grendzynski
Coach Connor Neighbors, the University of Louisiana’s Director of Athletic Performance for Football, offers insights into how the “Ragin’ Cajuns” partnership with KINEXON’s football analytics is transforming their training approach.
What Is Basketball Shot Load and Why Is It Important to Track?
Author: Gregory Bernstein
“It’s a make-or-miss league.” This commonly heard phrase, repeated by coaches, players, and analysts worldwide, encapsulates the simple truth about basketball: if your shots go in, your team wins, and if they don’t, you lose. After countless hours of scouting, scheming, and statistical analysis, all the hard work only pays off if the ball goes through the basket.
With KINEXON’s new shot tracking solution, we’re here to optimize your shooting drills and routines, ensuring your players are physically prepared to execute in the moments the game will be decided.
KINEXON Volleyball Analytics: A Revolution in Sports Data
In the age of digitization, volleyball is experiencing a shift. While instinct and intuition still play a vital role in team management and strategy, there’s an ever-increasing emphasis on analytics.
But what kind of data can you pull? And what type of information can coaches glean from it? Let’s find out.
Sports Data Campus, KINEXON, and Sevilla FC Team Up to Improve Football Analytics
Author: Dr. Guilherme de Sousa Pinheiro
Sports technology is redefining many of the games we all love, including football. Analytics software is being studied and is ushering in a new era of sports. Thanks, in large part, to the Sports Data Campus, Sevilla FC, and ball tracking technology.
How Shot Tracking Can Increase Success During Practice and In-Game
In the dynamic world of basketball, the margins between victory and defeat are razor-thin. As athletes strive for excellence, the significance of data-driven insights cannot be overstated. Shot statistics, generated by basketball analytics software, are a powerful tool that is revolutionizing how players, coaches, and trainers approach the game.
This article explores the advantages of shot statistics, highlighting four key areas: the objective distribution and patterns of shots, the examination of shot choices, the pinpointing of strengths and weaknesses, and in-depth tactical analysis.
The Advantages Sports Performance Analysis Software Provide for Coaches and Athletic Trainers
In the modern sports era, the ability to dissect every moment of a game or training session is no longer a luxury but a necessity. With the advancement of technology, sports performance analysis software has emerged as a vital tool for coaches and athletic trainers to refine strategies and optimize athlete performance.
But what advantages can it offer players, coaches, and athletic trainers?
COMPETE Vision: How KINEXON is Transforming Camera Tracking Technology and Basketball Analytics
Author: Jonas Bohner
As a basketball coach, you already know how vital the stat sheet is for you, your athletes, and the coaching staff. This might include box score stats such as rebounds, assists, and fouls. But most importantly, everyone is traditionally tracking shot statistics – points scored, 2‑point vs. 3‑point shots, makes vs. misses. Considering how shot statistics are tracked, what if you could capture and analyze the data without needing a wearable device or recording by hand?
How Sports Performance Tracking Technology Can Improve Max Speed in Football
Football is a game of inches and can be the difference between victory and defeat; coaches and athletes are constantly seeking innovative ways to gain an edge. One of the most crucial aspects of the game is speed — the ability to cover ground quickly, change direction on a dime, and execute plays with precision. This is where the combination of sports performance coaches and cutting-edge technology come into play.
Why KINEXON is the Future of Tool Control in Smarter Manufacturing
In today’s rapidly evolving automotive industry, manufacturers must maintain a competitive edge by maintaining a critical balance between global customers’ demands and local governmental regulations on a single assembly line. Maintaining high production quality for premium automotive brands — with tremendously high flexibility — is a real challenge.
How to Boost Manufacturing Quality and Accelerate Assembly Processes with KINEXON Assembly Tool Control
In the rapidly evolving automotive industry, maintaining production speed and quality is more crucial than ever to stay ahead of the competition. Each week brings news of innovative electric vehicle (EV) pioneers, raising the bar for established automotive manufacturers to deliver cutting-edge products within shorter production cycles. To meet this increasing market demand, production planners must maximize assembly speed while minimizing time-consuming and costly rework operations.
Sports Analytics: A Game-Changer for Injury Prevention in Team Handball
Team handball is a dynamic sport that requires agility, strength, and endurance. However, like any physical activity, it comes with the risk of injuries.
Fortunately, modern sports science, particularly sports analytics, is opening new avenues for injury prevention. Let’s explore how this data-driven approach is making handball safer for athletes.