Giorgos Georgiou, fitness coach of Anorthosis Famagusta FC, Cypriot first division, describes how he uses the match as a reference to be able to set specific goals during the weekly training.

1) How often do you utilise gpexe?

I use gpexe during all training sessions and also during matches. The stadiums here are very open and the devices receive very well. As a fitness coach, I prefer to monitor the players during every training session, since I can see when the target is reached.

I also check the progress of each player and I easily understand if the player is ready for the subsequent game. If you carry out training without monitoring, it is like being blind and missing all important clues.

2) Which parameters supplied by gpexe are you particularly interested in and why?

I decided to use very few parameters: 3 speed zones, the total distance, acceleration and deceleration events, and heart rate monitor. For myself, I also use some analysis related to the energetic approach, such as the power events.

My aim, though, is to use parameters that are easily understandable and manageable for both the coach and the players. I don’t want to give too much data to the coach because it can become difficult to handle.

3) What type of feedback do you gain from the parameters of interest?

First of all, I look at the areas of the pitch in which the player is playing during the game, and from the result I observe, I will manage to schedule the training for the subsequent week.

If I’ve seen during the game a player running a 400 to 600 meters sprint above 22 km/h, and if the same player does not double this distance running during the week, I deduce that that player won’t be able to reach this speed very often.

“it’s like having another fitness coach assistant next to me”

George Georgiou
Anorthosis Famagusta Fitness Coach

4) In what way does the monitoring of the data impact on the planning of your work?

The match is our reference model, and then we use the averages collected from about 7- 8 games to see what the needs for the training sessions are.

5) Do you use the live and for which purpose?

We don’t have the live yet, but I think that it would be very useful since I would set the target to reach and see in real-time when that target is achieved.

6) Is there any significant data collected, as an example of analysis, which you can share with us?

On this report, you can see the summary of a power speed exercise. There were 4 repetitions and every player had to make four sprints per repetition (max effort). You can see that one of my players didn’t work to the max like everybody else.

All the players except one had 16 max events, whilst that player had just 11 and in this way (so simple) I found out that the player had pain and didn’t feel 100% ready.

7) What type of interaction do you have with the coach relative to the data collected?

Our coach gives a lot of importance to the data we collect from the system, and I share this with him every day. We both have been looking at the parameters I mentioned above.

They have to be clear and meaningful, but also very simple because decisions have to be taken very quickly and if we have too many parameters to handle it can become very difficult.

8) What type of interaction do you have with the player relative to the data collected?

Every day, I hang a sheet with the same results I share with the coach, on the wall of the dressing room. Most of them pay a lot of attention to it, they check how they are performing, what the results are and where they need to improve.

They not only refer to the target set, but they think especially about how they did during the game and they make a fair comparison among them since the parameters they see are very easy to understand.

9) How much time do you utilise on average for the operative phase of the system and on the data analysis?

We have 20 devices and, taking both the operative part and the data analysis into account, including the generation of my report, I’d say it takes about one hour and a half to complete the procedure.

To tell the truth, I am not a tech geek and, when I started with gpexe, it took a little bit longer. But at the moment, since gpexe is very simple and fast to use, in a very short time I’ve been able to generate reports quickly.

10) What pushed you to choose gpexe and have you had any experience with other GPS systems, and if so, what differences did you find?

In the beginning, when I asked the club for a GPS system, I did not have gpexe in my mind. Then they asked me to give them three options and I realise that your product was better in terms of data accuracy. Then I got in touch with your reseller in Cyprus, who is also a fitness coach of the national youth team and we were able to discuss and make some comparisons with other systems in terms of validations.

Once acknowledged that gpexe was far better, we selected it, and now I can say that I am very satisfied, since everything I was told by reseller was correct. I also want to add something that I did not know before, but which for me is as much more important than the quality of the system: your customer support. When I was in need for it, you’ve been promptly able to help me and answer any questions I had. I consider myself very lucky to have chosen gpexe!