Lester and staff '˜scientifically plotting' training sessions using GPS data

The data from GPS vests is helping the Chesterfield coaching staff to plot their training sessions and get the best out of the players.
Jack Lester with first team analyst Lewis Duckmanton (Pic: Tina Jenner)Jack Lester with first team analyst Lewis Duckmanton (Pic: Tina Jenner)
Jack Lester with first team analyst Lewis Duckmanton (Pic: Tina Jenner)

Jack Lester and his team have been keenly monitoring the information produced by the vests, worn by players to track things like distance travelled during sessions.

And that allows them to tailor the next session according to how hard players have worked and what they need.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“You look back and reflect and gather information as to the severity or distance players have travelled,” explained the manager.

“You can look at the intensity levels in terms of percentage of how much they’re outputting and what’s required for that position.

“We can plot a little bit more scientifically where the next session needs to be.”

You don’t need an iPad to tell you that training at Chesterfield is hard, that much was abundantly clear to the untrained eyes in the stand when the Spireites invited the public in to watch a session. But the data can confirm what staff suspect about what they’ve just seen or even present pleasant surprises.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Lester said: “It’s really good for a feedback session, if you’re going to learn and get better you need that feedback loop and it’s a feedback loop really for the session we’ve done.

“You can see with your eyes it’s a tough one and sometimes the data confirms it, sometimes you think it was a little bit more than I thought.

“We adjusted some of the timings on a Thursday because of the amount they did on Tuesday, it was really at the top end.

“While it was only 96 minutes of training, the output was outstanding so we adjusted it slightly today – not ever the intensity, that always stays at maximum level but we brought in the minutes of the drills we were doing.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And so far, the data suggests that players are working extremely hard.

“In the last two weeks some players have dropped two and three per cent body fats,” said Lester.

“In just two weeks that’s a big shift.”