From Goals to Gains: Mastering Data Discovery Sessions with Athletes and Coaches
How to have effective sessions with an athlete and coaching staff
If you are new around here, here’s why I started writing.
As we have hit on with the last few posts (fans and athletes), athletes and coaches can now access more information than ever before about their performance, opponents, and training. But simply having access to data isn't enough - we also have discussed how to gain true benefit from data, athletes and coaches need to know how to use it effectively.
I will keep this discussion going with how to run a data discovery session with an athlete. We will cover everything from determining the athlete's goals and objectives to asking relevant questions and understanding what data is available. By following these steps, you can help your athletes get the most out of their data and improve their perfnce.
Pre-Woretermine Goals & Build Framework
The first step is always determining the goals of the session. My approach to this is to do research on the specific sport and search for “[athlete name] + data/approach to training”. This helps in (1) identifying if an athlete has discussed this before, (2) finding the specific metrics or data points that are most relevant to the athlete's goals, and (3) building context on both the athlete and their sport (if unfamiliar).
For example, a runner may be interested in tracking their pace, distance, and heart rate to improve their running performance. A basketball player may want to track their effective shooting percentage, rebounds, and assists to improve their overall game. It's also important to outline how the data will be used so you have that handy during the session to review before starting to ask questions.
Here are key frameworks for questions to start thinking about how an athlete might be using data:
Identify areas for improvement:
How do they currently use data to identify areas where they need to improve performance?
Are there any specific metrics or data points tracked to assess areas of improvement?
Can they provide an example of how data has helped identify an area where they need to improve?
Setting goals:
How do they currently set goals?
Are there any specific data-driven methods or tools that they use to set goals?
Can they share an example of how data has helped them set a goal?
Track progress:
How do they currently track progress over time?
Are there any specific tools that they use to track your progress?
Can they provide an example of how data has helped track progress?
Make informed decisions:
How do they currently make informed decisions about training and competition based on data?
Are there specific patterns that they look for to make informed decisions?
Can they share an example of how data has influenced the decision-making process for training or competition?
By putting this together, you will be able to build out a strategy for your call, as well as lead the discussion to meet the defined outcomes. These outcomes should be clear for you before starting so time isn’t wasted.
Introduce Yourself & Discuss Possible Outcomes
It’s tempting to dive right in, but like in all things, building rapport is essential. You can kick off the call instead showing off the contextual research done prior to getting on the session. Talk about your background (within reason) and any experience working with athletes in the past. Give the athlete the chance to introduce themselves as well - they are people too. From there, ask a leading question to kick things off.
“Based on a bit of research, I noted that you talked about focusing on this [specific goal] to [insert media]. Is that right? If not, what are you looking to focus on?”
This should be quick, but valuable.
Ask relevant questions
Using the framework above, develop relevant questions to help draw the athlete to talking about their use of data. Asking the right questions is crucial to understanding their needs and collecting valuable information. Here are some key questions to consider:
Goals and Objectives:
What are your short-term and long-term goals in your sport?
How do you define success, and what specific milestones do you want to achieve?
In which areas do you believe data can have the most significant impact on your performance?
Training:
Describe your current training regimen, including the types of workouts, intensity, duration, and frequency.
What data do you currently track during training (e.g., heart rate, power output, distance, etc.)?
How do you analyze and use this data to make adjustments to your training?
Competition History:
What data do you have from previous competitions (e.g., race times, splits, rankings, etc.)?
How do you use this data to identify strengths and weaknesses, and plan for future competitions?
Current Performance:
How would you assess your current performance level compared to your goals?
What specific areas of your performance do you want to improve?
What data do you have on your current performance (e.g., training logs, performance metrics, coach feedback, etc.)?
Nutrition:
How do you track and monitor your nutrition intake?
Do you have any specific nutritional goals or challenges you're working on?
Sleep and Recovery:
How do you monitor and track your sleep quality?
What recovery strategies do you employ to aid in your performance?
By asking these relevant questions and actively listening to the athlete's responses, you can gain deep insights into the athlete's aspirations for data use. Most of the time, an athlete will answer many of these within just a few leading and follow up questions. These answers can help you fill out the framework above.
Wrap Up and Next Steps
Finish up the call with clear and concise next steps. Were there any specific follow ups needed? When can the athlete and their team expect to hear back? This should be quick, but to the point and an outline for the next steps in the process.
Ground on the story and output
A successful data discovery session is all about connecting the athlete's data and goals to create an authentic and meaningful story that will help them reach attainable outcomes. We want the athlete's experiences, aspirations, and challenges to shine through whatever analysis is done. When it comes to telling that story, clear and concise data visualization is key. We want to highlight the important metrics, trends, and patterns that both the athlete and coach can easily understand at a glance.
The real value of a data discovery session lies in providing actionable insights. We want to give the athlete practical recommendations, strategies, and adjustments that they can actually implement to improve their performance. These insights need to be tailored to the athlete's specific goals and objectives, so that the data-driven strategy aligns well with their aspirations and becomes another point of view.
Of course, we also want to make sure that everything we uncover is relevant to the athlete, which is how the framework comes in. The insights we derive from the data should directly relate to the athlete's overall goals and objectives and answer some of the key leading questions as you prepared. That way, the data discovery session becomes a meaningful part of the athlete's journey and contributes to the success metrics they outline.
By following these principles, we can maximize the limited time we have with the athlete. Data can help empower athletes to solve problems - the discovery session is the start.
Thanks for reading as usual, leave a comment or like if you’re looking for more!