Frequently Asked Questions.

Metric Athlete uses state of the art GPS sports tracking systems (Playertek) that consists of small wearable devices worn unobtrusively under an athlete’s uniform at the top of the back, where you get the best GPS signal. The devices record every form of athlete movement, which is all stored on the internal flash drive for post-session analysis when you connect the devices via the charge case.

The device includes a state of the art GPS sensor which measures the speed and position of the player ten times every second giving ultra accurate positional and speed measures. The device also contains inertial sensors including accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer which measure the detailed movement and impacts on the player up to 400 times every second.

Metric Athlete makes sure you practice hard according to the training plan you have prepared. It also measures game performance and pushes players to new highs in games. It also gives players increased confidence in their physical performance and capabilities which all contributes to game performance and more wins.

For an athletic trainer, the biggest value is around return to play. Short of where there is impact, a lot of injuries happen from general overuse. Having baseline information on the volume and intensity of each athlete is critical in deciding when to return them to competition. A doctor might advise when an athlete has healed from injury, but that athlete’s benchmark data from before the injury will indicate when they are ready to perform in competition at the level they were before they were sidelined.

Impacts will tell you how many collisions the player has taken over a set customisable setting in player profile. This can be used to determine a possible trend that lead to an injury or as an exertion tool to help understand the load on athletes.

The Metric Athlete system enables you to measure the volume and intensity in games and practice. For practice, it is a simple tool to ensure that players are competing at the required intensity according to your plan to ensure optimal game day performance and identify players who are not putting in that required effort. For games, it allows you to measure the load on players and to plan sessions following games to optimize recovery.

The point of collecting data is to answer questions, and the more data you have the bigger the question you can answer.  By making small corrections off the patterns you see in the data, you can recalibrate as you go. The value starts on day one and goes up exponentially the more you use it.

The most important question for a strength and conditioning coach is how hard practice was and what the loads on my athletes was. Because the body generally responds well from being hit hard and then backed off, you can look at a session and adjust what the weight room goals should be. Now you can bring practice under your entire periodization model, and not just rely on activity in the weight room.

Not really, the system relies on GPS data. Tracking can be difficult indoors. It depends on the strength of the signal.

Yes, we are able to group players into teams which allows you to work with and analyse multiple groups.

Yes, we can set this up.

All of your data is stored on our secure cloud based platform.

In South Africa Metric Athlete is involved with top rugby unions including teams like the Falcons, Pumas Sharks Bulle & SWD. Internationally teams that also use the Playertek system that Metric Athlete uses include over 200 clubs and colleges including the University of Iowa, University of San Francisco and the Montreal Impact, as well as by over 40 US high schools. Worldwide, it is used by teams such as the German National Hockey team and the AC Milan Football Academy.

Data upload depends on internet speed, number of devices and how long your session was. A two-hour session on a standard broadband connection should take less than one minute per device.

Inside each device is an accelerometer to measure acceleration forces and impacts, magnetometer to measure athlete direction, gyroscope to measure orientation, a microprocessor to record the data, a powerful battery, and a GPS tracking engine.

The battery should last at least 6 hours, and it is recommend that you charge after every session. It takes about an hour to fully charge the device.