MADE TO MEASURE

British Water Polo coaches have been utilising made to measure performance analysis services to support their work both in training and at competitions.

EIS Performance Analyst Sheonah Hunt has been working with the British Water Polo squads for a year now and talks to eis2win.co.uk on how performance analysis has been utilised within the sport.

“My primary role is to provide objective feedback to coaches through video and statistics” said Hunt. “The information required by coaches in different situations may vary in competitions and training so it’s vital I work closely with the coaches to understand what information is most important to their objectives” she added.

Working wholly with water polo over the past year has helped build the foundations for performance analysis to be part of the GB water polo programme, which also utilises various other EIS support services from the Manchester team at Sportcity.

“Since performance analysis is new to the GB squads, part of my work over the past year has been to show coaches how they can take advantage of me as an analyst and the information I can gather both at training and during matches” explained Hunt.

“Using Dartfish software I am able to capture video which can then be broken down into generic performance indicators. I can also tag key events during matches, which allow coaches to watch rapid feedback after the event and also allows me to produce statistics.

“At least once a week I attend a training session where the coaches will identify specific areas they want athletes to work on using visual feedback. During competitions, whole matches can be broken down not only of our own squad in action but also the opposition which can help tactically for the coaches. In addition, EIS Strength & Conditioning Coach Huw Jones working with the squads has been using the PA software Dartfish with athletes in the gym to ensure athletes are doing exercises properly, correct mistakes and also prevent injuries” she added.

As the squads aim for 2012 the support of performance analysis will continue to impact on the programme as coaches are able to see both individual athletes’ developments and progress as a team since the programme began.

“Perhaps one of the main benefits of performance analysis is the ability to review clips and statistics over time enabling coaches to get a view of progress across all aspects- training in the pool, gym work and at competition. Being able to use this information to shape performance programmes will hopefully add to the squads growing ambitions for success leading into London” said Hunt. 

For more information about Performance Analysis click here

For more information about Dartfish software visit their website here