In today’s world of high performance sport we have the potential to bury ourselves in numbers. There is not much we can’t measure, monitor, or analyze. In many ways this is a positive step forward & some ways it can be negative. The key is keeping the numbers in context. If you are letting the numbers dictate everything you do then it is time to reconsider. We coach people who do the sport not machines, there is a huge amount of individual variability to the same training and competition stress, not to mention the emotional and psychological factors that weigh in.
Talk to your athletes; closely observe their body language. Find out about the rest of their lives. Remember they are athletes only 2 to 4 hours a day, and the other hours of the day can have more of an impact than the training time – 24 hour athlete. Sharpen your observation and communication skills. It will add a dimension to the numbers. Sometimes it will validate the numbers, and other times it will dictate throwing out the numbers and following your coaching instincts. I cannot help but think how we did it before we had the ability to gather the numbers we have today. After all, in high performance sport the only number that counts at the end of the competition are those numbers on the scoreboard.