How far did I run?

The world of sport is constantly developing, with technology playing a major part in its development. We are told that athletes are fitter, faster and stronger than ever, but how do we know that? Where is the proof?

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are satellite-based navigational technology. In recent years, micro-sensors have been included inside the GPS, meaning other factors such as heart rate can also be accounted for. This technology gives a good indication of the distances covered and the speeds reached by athletes in sport. Most people believe that the reasons behind sports teams using GPS for their players is to see how far or how fast each player has run, and this is true to a certain extent, but the main reason why these numbers are tracked is to prevent injuries (Martinez-Arastey, 2018).

Different players on the pitch are going to cover different distances. Players who only come on as substitutes are not going to cover as much distance as players who play the whole game. GPS is used to hold players accountable and to see how much distance each player has covered at what speed. This can then be used to structure each player's recovery and further training session depending on how much distance they have covered. If one player has played two full matches in a week, they are not going to be able to train as intensely as a player who only came on for a few minutes in those matches. With this information in mind, coaches can structure training and match schedules so that injury is minimized (Sporttechie, 2017).

Coaches must go deeper than basing player's schedules solely on volume though. Positions on a pitch have a major bearing on the information gained by the GPS. Two players may cover the same distance in a match, but this does not mean that these distances were covered at the same intensity. An example can be seen in American Football, where linebackers and defensive backs cover roughly the same amount of distance in games, however, the defensive backs display more maximum accelerations/decelerations during that game. It is clear to see that the players who cover the same distance at high speeds will be more prone to injury due to their bodies being more fatigued, and their schedules must, therefore, be structured differently to other players. Manchester United were the 'pioneers' of GPS technology in the Premiership. They were the first team to use it in the 2010 season and in that year, they had the lowest injury rate of any club in the Premiership (McGann, 2014). This would not have been possible without the use of GPS.

Once schedules are sufficiently implemented, then the other statistics like maximum speed and positioning can be analysed. If a manager feels that one of his players was out of position for periods of a game, he can verify this by looking at the spaces most frequently covered by the player on their GPS. Player's maximum speeds can be analysed if a manager feels that one of them isn't fast enough and needs to work on their speed. Aerobic fitness levels can also be checked, by looking at the distance covered by a player in the first ten minutes of a match versus the final ten minutes for example. The information that can be gained by GPS goes on, but there is no point in having all of the information if it cannot be sufficiently analysed.

Despite the usefulness of GPS for athletes, there are also some potential downfalls. The first one being the cost. As technology advances, the price of these devices is decreasing, but many still teams do not have the funds to buy GPS devices for each player. They are mostly only seen in the professional game because of their price tag. While GPS has been shown to be accurate when measuring long distances at moderate speeds, they do not show the same level of accuracy for short distances covered at high speeds (Walker, 2017). Technology is improving every day though, and GPS in the future will be smaller, more accurate and will provide more useful data, making them an essential tool for any athlete.

References

[1] Martinez-Arastey, G., 2018. Sport Performance Analysis - GPS Technology in professional sports. [online] Available at: <https://www.sportperformanceanalysis.com/article/gps-in-professional-sports> [Accessed 3 March 2020]

[2] Guest Writer, 2017. Sporttechie - What is GPS and how is it used in sports? [online] Available at: <https://www.sporttechie.com/gps-used-sports/> [Accessed 4 March 2020]

[3] McGann, R., 2014. Metrifit - The use of GPS in sport. [online] Available at: <https://metrifit.com/blog/gps-in-sport/> [Accessed 4 March 2020]

[4] Walker, O., 2017. Science for Sport - GPS (Wearables): Part 1 - Technology, Validity, and Reliability. Available at: <https://www.scienceforsport.com/gps-wearables-validity-and-reliability/> [Accessed 4 March 2020]