Introduction to Performance Analysis:
Imagine every time a match ended people went straight home in complete silence. Not a single comment about that new player’s passing led to a goal boasting how their team has progressed or how they could have avoided that last minute conceded had that other player moved slightly faster; …madness right?
Discussing a previous performance comes naturally as human beings trying to understand any event that has happened and how we could have managed the situation differently. Historically, coaches and trainers have been drawing conclusions based on their personal experiences. Performance analysis is just that, trying to make sense of an event with an objective to plan and induce a change in a future performance. More importantly, performance analysis is the technology-driven link between subjective and objective observation of an event through data and statistical analysis. Nowadays, technological advancements such as live tracking produce immediate feedback allowing teams to adjust the conditions on the fly.
Football has evolved; it has become more competitive than ever, demanding more every time across every age, gender, playing level at a global scale. Players, managers, coaches, sport directors are eager to gather every little piece of information that can make their team stand out with the ultimate objective: to win. Even fans are no longer satisfied with learning who is the new transfer to their team; they need to know exactly how fast their top player is or how many goals scored last season were using their weak foot. The list is endless.
Performance analysis can be studied through two perspectives: physical and tactical.
Physical analysis or load management, is the methodical increase or decrease in load during the week with the end goal of producing an optimal performance at every match day opportunity. This will depend on managing players’ fatigue levels with appropriate rest and prescribing training load according to their playing status (starter vs. non-starter). This monitoring is enabled by the latest GPS technology which tracks how much is that external load e.g. how much exercise was performed (with metrics such as distance covered, sprint distance or top speed achieved). Together with tracking internal variables describing how intense the session was (such as heart rate or RPE values) both aim to consistently monitor the players’ readiness to play. This is effortlessly achieved with data analysis once the information from the GPS pods has been downloaded. It is the coach’s and sport scientist’s role to analyse and interpret those numbers to decide whether the players have achieved the objectives for the day and based on that data, plan the next session.
Match analysis involves the recording and evaluating of a match or training session from a tactical/technical perspective in order to improve outcomes and optimize training methods. Metrics such as possession, passing accuracy or expected goals assess a team’s tactical execution and player contributions providing objective feedback and revealing strengths or areas for improvement. Video analysis also involves looking at pattern plays like transitions, set-pieces or pressing styles enabling the coaches to understand teams and improve their preparation throughout the season.
Combined with load management, they can provide insights into a player’s performance. For instance, if a player’s passing accuracy declines early in the second half, GPS data might reveal an inability to meet match demands. Furthermore, it can aid designing a training session or drill which combines both principles; fulfilling a tactical approach or objective while ensuring a specific metric threshold is reached. This can be achieved by altering according to the principle trained, the size of the training field and the number of players involved in said drill (example: wingers work & medium to large pitch size & 8-9 players involved whilst aiming to get a specific amount of distance in high speed running).
The act of systematically planning and managing the weekly load is called the microcycle; anything from 2 to 8 weeks is the mesocycle and the grouping of mesocycles covers a whole season or macrocycle. This is the so-called Periodization models which we will cover in the next article!
Here at NYSA we use the latest GPS technology to collect that data from one of the largest providers in the industry: Catapult. Our athletes have complete autonomy over their pod, recording, downloading and receiving a full report of their performance post-training directly to their phones. Tracking and understanding their performance on field they can coordinate their weekly load with the coach and their P3RFORM coach who support our athletes off the field with an appropriate and personalised workout schedule within the gym, both assisting the athlete in achieving their goals and excelling within their sporting career.
