Monitoring Training and Stress in Young Athletes
We are delighted to feature this guest blog from Mike Hamlin, Richard Deuchrass and Hoani Smith of Lincoln University, New Zealand. This is based on recent research entitled Monitoring Training Loads and Perceived Stress in Young Elite University Athletes by Michael John Hamlin, Danielle Wilkes, Catherine A. Elliot, Catherine A. Lizamore, and Yaso Kathiravel.
Introduction
As part of our wrap-around athlete development program here at Lincoln University we have our athletes use the Metrifit system. This system allows our strength and conditioning staff to monitor our athletes and intervene if necessary. Using the information from the Metrifit in this way allows us to keep on top of acute or ongoing athlete problems and generate or stimulate conversations to clarify information and/or educate our athletes. It also acts as a central place of storage for all our testing data, programmes, nutrition, mind-space records, educational material and a record of communications.
As part of our holistic approach to athlete training and care, in 2018, we decided to look at the longitudinal data of all athletes over a 4 year period to see whether the averaged information could tell us anything about the way our athletes were dealing with the overall training program. It is well understood that not every athlete is the same and so applying the correct training loads to get effective adaptation with adequate recovery can be difficult. In addition, our athletes are unusual because they are required to take a full-time university study alongside their sports training commitments and therefore are under academic stress along with training and performance stress.
What was done?
We used the Metrifit App on 182 of our athletes over a 4 year period. We monitored subjective markers such as mood state, energy levels, academic stress levels, sleep quality and quantity, muscle soreness and training loads along with rates of injury and illness.
What we found?
We found that athletes overall stress levels increased as the semester continued until finally peaking at exam time. As stress increased towards exam time, energy levels and sleep parameters worsened and so our athletes were suffering from a number of potentially hazardous influences. What’s more, is that we found that when taken together, an athletes perceived mood, sleep duration, energy levels and academic stress levels were able to predict, with a reasonable degree of certainty, injury in our athletes. We also found that at times of highest stress, athletes suffered more illness. Finally, as others have found previously, we showed that a sudden increase in training load, especially during pre-season, resulted in an increase in injuries.
Take home message
Unless you are monitoring your athletes in a systematic and effective way (and storing data longitudinally) how do you know:-
- That your fitness programming is working
- That you are not pushing your athletes too hard
- That you are using your resources to the best of your ability
- You are improving your athlete development program in the right direction
Finally, the Metrifit software is extremely adaptable to customizations to enhance the ease of use and functionally for our athletes. The more we can customize this program to our athletes needs the more our athletes can see the benefit and so the greater the use and adherence.
What is Metrifit?
Metrifit helps coaches get to know their athletes, and helps athletes get ready to perform. It is a simple, intuitive and effective approach to monitoring looking at how the ‘small picture’ of an athlete’s daily habits, shapes the ‘big picture’ of match day performance.
Whether your use of Metrifit is to have a highly accurate reflection of acute to chronic work-load ratios to make training/competition decisions, to empower student-athletes to be reflective and take charge of their Health & Wellness, or as a basis to engage in conversation with your Student-Athletes thereby demonstrating you care about them as individuals, Metrifit simply works. It meets kids where they reside – on their mobile phones and through technology and is quick, easy, and habit-forming to use.
Why not have a look at our Metrifit Ready to Perform product and gain insight on the physical and mental state of your athletes through our daily wellbeing questionnaire? To find out more visit our Metrifit Product Overview page or contact at for a free demo. You can also register your team and use Metrifit for 14 days for free.
Please share this post so others may benefit.
Follow @metrifit
Paul Cremin
Head Physiotherapist, Cornish Pirates Rugby Club
Paul Cremin
Head Physiotherapist, Cornish Pirates Rugby Club
Dan Rickaby
Assistant S&C Coach, Tulane University
Dan Rickaby
Assistant S&C Coach, Tulane University
Cian O’Neill
Kildare Senior Football Manager
Cian O’Neill
Kildare Senior Football Manager
Dave Passmore
Head Coach, Irish Hockey
Dave Passmore
Head Coach, Irish Hockey
Graham Williams
Athletic Development Coach, MSc ASCC
Millfield School, UK
Graham Williams
Athletic Development Coach, MSc ASCC
Millfield School, UK
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
Niall O’Driscoll
Academy Directory, SJ.B (St. Joseph’s Bray ) Academy
Niall O’Driscoll
Academy Directory, SJ.B (St. Joseph’s Bray ) Academy
J.B. Belzer
Head Coach, Women's Soccer at Regis University
J.B. Belzer
Head Coach, Women's Soccer at Regis University
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
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)
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
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
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)
Ryan Osborn
Head Basketball Coach, Carmel High School
Ryan Osborn
Head Basketball Coach, Carmel High School
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
Dr. Dale Richardson
CEO Achieve Total Performance Pty Ltd
Dr. Dale Richardson
CEO Achieve Total Performance Pty Ltd
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
Brijesh Patel
Quinnipiac University, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Brijesh Patel
Quinnipiac University, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Aaron Mansfield
Head Coach, LMU Lions, Loyola Marymount University
Aaron Mansfield
Head Coach, LMU Lions, Loyola Marymount University
Jason McGahan
Sports Scientist, Kildare Football, PhD Sports Science Researcher
Jason McGahan
Sports Scientist, Kildare Football, PhD Sports Science Researcher
Eamonn Fitzmaurice
Kerry Senior Football, Manager
Eamonn Fitzmaurice
Kerry Senior Football, Manager
Kari Thompson
Head Volley Ball Coach, Southern Illinois University
Kari Thompson
Head Volley Ball Coach, Southern Illinois University
"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
Robert Karlsson, Professional Golfer
Robert Karlsson, Professional Golfer
Brian Clarke
Head Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator,Noblesville High School
Brian Clarke
Head Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator,Noblesville High School
Michael Torres
CEO, Shift Performance, Miami
Michael Torres
CEO, Shift Performance, Miami
Richard Deuchrass
Lincoln University Athletic Performance Manager
Richard Deuchrass
Lincoln University Athletic Performance Manager
Yvonne Treacy
Nutritionist, Wexford Camogie
Yvonne Treacy
Nutritionist, Wexford Camogie
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)
References