THE U S
WOMEN’S National Team emerged at the top of Group D (the “Group of Death”) on
last week after winning against Nigeria at their final Women’s World Cup group
stage game in Vancouver. And also
defeated Colombia at the Round of 16 last Monday June 22.
As they
chase down the title, the USWNT is barreling full-steam ahead to ensure that
their best match performances are still ahead of them.
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| Dawn Scott, USWNT Fitness Trainer |
Behind
every world-class team is a training staff that works to keep players healthy,
and much of the preparation going into these important matches is orchestrated
by Dawn Scott, the strength and fitness coach for the team—as well as a little
accessory sitting on the wrist of every USWNT team member.
For years,
Scott has been using wearable and activity monitoring tech to make the most of
every training session.
“Heart rate monitoring has been around for
over 10 years now, but in the past five years there has been an increase in the
use of GPS technology in soccer and
sports generally, which is basically like a car’s satellite navigation tracking
every single movement and impact a player makes on the field,” Scott says.
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| Polar Wrist Watch |
The USWNT
uses Polar wearable to gather metrics from training, which lets the coaching
and training staff analyze how hard each player is working and allows them to
adjust future training sessions and tailor individual workouts. This isn’t just
some fun data your Apple Watch or FitBit spits out that you proudly look at and
forget: These metrics are helping the team determine how play.
“The key
factors I focus on are time and load in certain heart rate zones based on an
individual’s maximum heart rate, then from the GPS the amount of high intensity
running (running above a certain speed threshold), as well as total player load
(an accumulation of the impacts in the three planes of motion).
“The work rate for individuals as well as an
analysis of the speed profile for each player,” Scott says. “Even within
positions the demands are not the same—as forwards Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan
both have very different roles.”
“Physical
qualities and styles and their physical load reflect that, and hence they need
to be training and preparing differently.”
“Soccer
players cover an average of seven miles in a 90-minute game, making it one of
the most physically demanding team sports. As such, fitness is paramount not
only to winning, but to preventing injury.” Scott explained.
“By
combining the heart rate and GPS, firstly it allows you to determine how
players cope with a certain workload and gives a good indication of the fitness
level for players. If two players have the same external load from the GPS, but
one player’s heart rate is higher, it suggests that their endurance system is
not as well developed,” Scott says.
“Once you know the positional load you can
then use that as a gauge and indication of your physical load during training,
as well as ensure players are prepared for the load they will experience during
a game.”
It has also
been an ongoing process with the technical coaches to really fine-tune which
physical variables are of most interest and most appropriate for how they want
the team to play in games, and subsequently prepare in training. It also means
that when we want to taper closer to games we can make sure we are not
fatiguing and/or overtraining players in the crucial preparation period.
Wearable and fitness-tracking devices are quickly becoming standard in helping
determine how a soccer team plays; and with what combination of players.
