Utilising training and match load data

Technological advances have made player-generated data common place in professional sports. This chapter provides a framework for assessing training and matching physical load, and also applicable to other areas of sports science, such as performance analysis or psychology. A formalized, end-to-end approach for answering research questions has been conceptualized within the curriculum called the Problem, Plan, Data, Analysis, and Conclusion cycle. The framework helps to set expectations about the project timeline as non-technical audiences may underestimate or be unaware of the length of time it takes for data acquisition, data cleaning, analysis, and model validation before arriving at a conclusion worthy of dissemination. In the applied sport setting, measures of criterion validity (concurrent or predictive validity), are highly applicable as they evaluate the relationship between the test and some form of criterion measure. For the sports science practitioner, establishing the reliability of physical tests that will be performed throughout the season is essential.