Kickstart your season
It has been an eventful 2020 with many additional challenges that none of us foresaw and many of those challenges will continue at least throughout the first quarter of 2021. But with the global rollout of multiple vaccines there is optimism and a hope for a slow return to normality in the sporting world. Many coaches will find themselves in a situation where they are not as familiar with their athletes/teams and can’t fall back on the regular training and competition assessments of the recent past. Global restrictions introduced to help with the pandemic have had a huge impact on many aspects of day-to-day life on physical, mental and social well-being. Lack of training and adherence to programs, along with a very changed lifestyle for your athletes has produced a very different set of circumstances as we start into the new year. This is not an optimal start to a new season or a return to full time training. Having a clear understanding of the lifestyle stressors your athletes are experiencing is a necessity.
Athlete Well-Being
Sport has been significantly affected from amateur to professional. The Youth Sport Trust produced an evidence paper on the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on children and young people.
More than a quarter (29%) of 16-25 year olds feel that their future career prospects may have been damaged, 46% believe that finding a new job now feels “impossible”, with one-third feeling that “everything they have worked for is now going to waste”. 69% feel that their life is “on hold” and almost half (47%) don’t feel in control of their lives … Boredom (51%), worry (28%) and feeling trapped (26%) are the top three emotions experienced by children and young people.
In the US, The NCAA Student-Athlete COVID-19 Well-being Study was designed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student-athletes’ current physical and mental well-being. Over 37,000 student-athletes responded to the survey, spanning the three divisions, all sports and athletics conferences. The survey found that there were higher rates of mental distress, increase in sleep difficulties and anxiety and depression. Emotional barriers included a fear of exposure to COVID-19 (43%), lack of motivation (40%), feelings of stress or anxiety (21%), and sadness or depression (13%).
On the positive side, deterioration in mental health and reduced physical fitness and activity has increased the appreciation of the importance of sport in many young people’s lives and the benefits it can bring to them.
Assessing the well-being of your team
Ensuring athletes are fit and healthy from both a physical and mental perspective is essential to allow performances to flourish. As the old adage goes “You can’t manage what you don’t measure”. Like anything you want to monitor, it is important initially to know what your baselines are.
What are your team’s weaknesses and strengths?
How can you educate your athletes and encourage good lifestyle habits that help improve the performance of every athlete on your team?
Metrifit’s new lifestyle profiling survey can help you kickstart your season and assess the overall health and well-being of your team, allowing you to understand the main priorities on the road back to normality to help optimize performance.
Developed with our Chief Research Advisor, Dr. Catherine Blake, Deputy Head of UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sport Science, our detailed lifestyle profiling survey makes use of a number of validated questionnaires across many variables including Sleep, Stress, Health, Nutrition, Fatigue and Motivation. Athletes can take this survey monthly and receive individualized dynamic reports and feedback on progress from month to month with educational infographics emphasizing the importance of lifestyle habits in relation to their performance. A detailed team overview for coaches collates this information across the whole team providing invaluable insight into the main lifestyle issues that they are experiencing.
This new functionality is available within the existing Metrifit Ready to Perform product but also as a standalone product.
Conclusion
Multiple lifestyle factors can have a significant effect on athletic performance. Evaluating these is important to help each athlete reach their potential. An athlete who is not sleeping and is suffering from chronic stress is more likely to burnout and dropout than perform their best on the sports field. Early intervention identifying issues and educating athletes on how lifestyle stressors can affect their performance can reap immeasurable rewards. Metrifit’s profiling is scientifically supported and offers a practical way to assess and improve lifestyle strategy for your team.
It may be just one of the best things you do for your team this year!
To find out more about our Metrifit Ready to Perform product or our new lifestyle profiling contact us at or click on ‘Request Demo’ below.
Michael Torres
CEO, Shift Performance, Miami
Michael Torres
CEO, Shift Performance, Miami
Tino Fusco, B.Sc. ChPC
Head Coach, Women's Soccer, Mount Royal University (Canada)
Tino Fusco, B.Sc. ChPC
Head Coach, Women's Soccer, Mount Royal University (Canada)
"When COVID altered college athletics as we knew it, Metrifit came to the rescue. This intuitive athlete monitoring, health and well-being system provides the athlete, coach, and sports medicine staff a way to monitor and balance the physical, emotional, health and well-being of our athlete’s. Metrifit provided that calm in the middle of the perfect storm for our entire athletic department for the future. Thank you to the entire Metrifit family for assisting our department with a seamless process."
Jennifer McIntosh
Head Athletic Trainer, Colorado School of Mines
Jennifer McIntosh
Head Athletic Trainer, Colorado School of Mines
Dave Passmore
Head Coach, Irish Hockey
Dave Passmore
Head Coach, Irish Hockey
Kevin Schultz
Associate Director of Strength & Conditioning
Director of Olympic Strength & Conditioning
University of Wisconsin
Kevin Schultz
Associate Director of Strength & Conditioning
Director of Olympic Strength & Conditioning
University of Wisconsin
Graham Williams
Athletic Development Coach, MSc ASCC
Millfield School, UK
Graham Williams
Athletic Development Coach, MSc ASCC
Millfield School, UK
Ryan Osborn
Head Basketball Coach, Carmel High School
Ryan Osborn
Head Basketball Coach, Carmel High School
Dr. Dale Richardson
CEO Achieve Total Performance Pty Ltd
Dr. Dale Richardson
CEO Achieve Total Performance Pty Ltd
Niall O’Driscoll
Academy Directory, SJ.B (St. Joseph’s Bray ) Academy
Niall O’Driscoll
Academy Directory, SJ.B (St. Joseph’s Bray ) Academy
Aaron Mansfield
Head Coach, LMU Lions, Loyola Marymount University
Aaron Mansfield
Head Coach, LMU Lions, Loyola Marymount University
Tommy Mooney
Strength and Conditioning Coach at DCU Sport and with Dublin Minor GAA
Tommy Mooney
Strength and Conditioning Coach at DCU Sport and with Dublin Minor GAA
Robert Karlsson, Professional Golfer
Robert Karlsson, Professional Golfer
Brijesh Patel
Quinnipiac University, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Brijesh Patel
Quinnipiac University, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Kari Thompson
Head Volley Ball Coach, Southern Illinois University
Kari Thompson
Head Volley Ball Coach, Southern Illinois University
Joe O’Connor
NISUS Fitness, S&C Coach Clare Senior Hurling, Horse Sport Ireland and Limerick Senior Hurling
Joe O’Connor
NISUS Fitness, S&C Coach Clare Senior Hurling, Horse Sport Ireland and Limerick Senior Hurling
J.B. Belzer
Head Coach, Women's Soccer at Regis University
J.B. Belzer
Head Coach, Women's Soccer at Regis University
Eamonn Fitzmaurice
Kerry Senior Football, Manager
Eamonn Fitzmaurice
Kerry Senior Football, Manager
Yvonne Treacy
Nutritionist, Wexford Camogie
Yvonne Treacy
Nutritionist, Wexford Camogie
Dan Horan
Head of Fitness for International Football/Fitness Coach Men's Senior Team
Football Association of Ireland
Dan Horan
Head of Fitness for International Football/Fitness Coach Men's Senior Team
Football Association of Ireland
Emma Hawke, PhD Exercise Physiology
Coach - Sweden Climbing, Olympic Offensive - Female Coach Swedish Olympic Committee, Senior Lecturer - Coach education programme (Sweden)
Emma Hawke, PhD Exercise Physiology
Coach - Sweden Climbing, Olympic Offensive - Female Coach Swedish Olympic Committee, Senior Lecturer - Coach education programme (Sweden)
Lee Stutely
Team Manager and Athlete Support Services Coordinator at Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby
Lee Stutely
Team Manager and Athlete Support Services Coordinator at Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby
Erik Helland
Director of Strength & Conditioning and Head Strength Coach Men’s basketball, University of Wisconsin
Erik Helland
Director of Strength & Conditioning and Head Strength Coach Men’s basketball, University of Wisconsin
Edgar K. Tham
Founder and Chief Sport & Performance Psychologist, SportPsych Consulting (Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines)
Edgar K. Tham
Founder and Chief Sport & Performance Psychologist, SportPsych Consulting (Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines)
Paul Cremin
Head Physiotherapist, Cornish Pirates Rugby Club
Paul Cremin
Head Physiotherapist, Cornish Pirates Rugby Club
Cian O’Neill
Kildare Senior Football Manager
Cian O’Neill
Kildare Senior Football Manager
Dan Rickaby
Assistant S&C Coach, Tulane University
Dan Rickaby
Assistant S&C Coach, Tulane University
Brian Clarke
Head Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator,Noblesville High School
Brian Clarke
Head Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator,Noblesville High School
Jason McGahan
Sports Scientist, Kildare Football, PhD Sports Science Researcher
Jason McGahan
Sports Scientist, Kildare Football, PhD Sports Science Researcher
Richard Deuchrass
Lincoln University Athletic Performance Manager
Richard Deuchrass
Lincoln University Athletic Performance Manager
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