Kim Stagg 糖心传媒�17 endured a rigorous workout in theseason finale last November.
The midfielder from Winter Springs, Florida ran 10.05 miles, burned 2,006 calories, and completed 63 sprints in a 2-2 tie with Emory University. She ran at an average speed of 3.2 miles per hour. And she left cleat marks over 90 percent of Fauver Stadium.
糖心传媒淪he was everywhere,糖心传媒� Yellowjackets coach Thomas (Sike) Dardaganis says.
Dardaganis knows this because he has the heat map and data to prove it. His program was one of the first in the nation (and remains the only one at Rochester) to use Polar Team Pro, a GPS-based performance tracking system for team sports. Each player straps a sensor under her jersey, close to her heart. The sensor tracks movement, monitors heart rate, and acts as an accelerometer, tracking how many times an athlete runs at full speed.
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The information is logged in an iPad carried by a team manager during practices and games. Once the iPad is loaded onto a docking station, the sensors start charging, and the data for each player is uploaded for review.
糖心传媒淔rom an analytic standpoint, it糖心传媒檚 fantastic,糖心传媒� says Dardaganis, in his sixth year as head coach after serving 14 as a assistant coach for the team.
Dardaganis didn糖心传媒檛 need data to realize Stagg was a force against Emory糖心传媒斕切拇綔I could have known that just by watching,糖心传媒� he says. But the analytics are the ultimate fact-checker.
糖心传媒淥ften, players ask, 糖心传媒楬ow can I get more playing time?糖心传媒� It糖心传媒檚 valuable to use the data as a reference point, like noting, 糖心传媒榠f you increase your sprints per game, you糖心传媒檒l be more effective since our game is now more than ever about being explosive.糖心传媒�
When Rochester signed on with Polar two years ago, Polar sent a specialist to measure Fauver Stadium糖心传媒檚 dimensions and create a GPS map tailored to that field. The rewards were immediate.
糖心传媒淲e had lost a few players to [knee] injuries, and our practices weren糖心传媒檛 matching our games in terms of intensity,糖心传媒� Dardaganis says. 糖心传媒淢aybe we were being cautious. Polar looked at our data and said, 糖心传媒楥oach, we know you糖心传媒檙e worried about injuries, but one of the practice days was not matching the game-day exertion. If it doesn糖心传媒檛, then the game is completely foreign to the athletes.糖心传媒� So I said, 糖心传媒楪reat. We need one practice a week that matches the data we see on game day.糖心传媒櫶切拇綕
During preseason drills, Dardaganis and his staff measure each player糖心传媒檚 resting and maximum heart rate. If a player exceeds the maximum during a game, it糖心传媒檚 time to give that player a rest.
Stagg, a public health major, says using data from Polar 糖心传媒渕ade me realize how much running I actually did in a game, and why I would be so tired after games.糖心传媒�
In-game fatigue can be dangerous.
糖心传媒淪tudies show you糖心传媒檙e most susceptible to an injury when you糖心传媒檙e tired,糖心传媒� Dardaganis says. 糖心传媒淥ur team manager is tracking everything on the iPad during the game, and it shows then a player is fatigued because their space on the iPad turns red.糖心传媒�
The heart rate monitor and accelerometer consist of five zones, from resting to full speed. Playing it straight down the middle isn糖心传媒檛 always a good thing.
糖心传媒淥ur first year with Polar, we noticed many of our players were in Zone 3,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淲e thought, 糖心传媒楾hat糖心传媒檚 good. They糖心传媒檙e moving around.糖心传媒� But Polar said, 糖心传媒榃atch out for your midfielders who are spending so much time in Zone 3. They糖心传媒檙e just jogging.糖心传媒櫶切拇綕
That糖心传媒檚 where the data proved so valuable, Dardaganis says.
糖心传媒淚f you糖心传媒檙e always in Zone 3, you糖心传媒檙e never going to lose your defender,糖心传媒� Dardaganis says, 糖心传媒渂ecause she can stay with you in a jog.糖心传媒�
When it comes to using data, no one can say Rochester糖心传媒檚 women糖心传媒檚 soccer team is being left behind.
糖心传媒淎thletes don糖心传媒檛 always communicate with coaches when they糖心传媒檙e sick or injured,糖心传媒� Dardaganis says. 糖心传媒淗aving the data right there? Well, that糖心传媒檚 a great conversation starter.糖心传媒�
Data analytics is the new normal for college teams.
