Member Article

Christmas: Can technology help Athletes take a break?

For most people, Christmas is a time of over-indulgence and relaxing. With most athletes, however, it can present a challenge. Many would assume that eating too much Christmas turkey is out of the question and alcohol is likely to be off the menu. But this isn’t the case with everyone though. Does an extra glass of wine, or missing out on a few days training really harm competitive edge?

The challenge is often greater in sports that don’t have a break, like football. In the UK, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are always crucial match days throughout the national leagues. As a result, what the rest of the population might regard as a welcome break is a challenge for these athletes. One AFC Wimbledon star, Jack Midson commented that his Christmas Day usually involved “a run out to keep things ticking over.”

It is possible that an extra mince pie or two might not actually impact performance the next day in all athletes. Leicester star and record goal-scorer Jamie Vardy last year revealed that he drinks 250ml (about six shots) of port the night before a game, before three cans of Red Bull on game day. Vardy’s goal scoring record last season speaks for itself, and highlights how performance is unique to each individual.

The key to understanding what impacts an athlete is information; the more the better. One area that has traditionally been overlooked is psychological determinants on performance. Sport commentators talk about it all the time, referring to sportspersons confidence, be it on court, track or the pitch. Confidence plays a critical role in performance, and it is evident that a break could make a positive change, particularly if an athlete’s mind is constantly fixated on one competition after the next for most of the 365 days in the year. Andy Murray has for example spoken about the positive impact getting away to his home in Surrey between tournaments has on his mind.

It could be argued that Christmas is a quiet time of year for many sports, with considerably less competitions taking place. Extensive research into long and short term recovery reveals that every athlete is different, and to understand how taking a break will impact performance, coaches need as much information on a person as possible.

By generating more information on a particular athlete, organisations can develop a greater understanding of the impact of taking a break, and even recognise the impact that eating Christmas pudding can have on an athlete’s performance. Research and predictive analytics can be used to create an environment where insight on human performance and research on recovery can develop an intelligent recommendation.

As a result, combining data on physical performance with psychological data into one piece of insight can provide individuals and wider organisations with the information to make an intelligent decision on the impact of a break.

Ultimately, Christmas highlights a need for sports organisations to treat athletes as individuals. Competition programmes can be tough on the mind and soul. Even if technically a day or two without vigourous training might reduce speed off the start line by a few milliseconds, coaches and athletes together need to judge the potential negative impact of a tired mind.

Technology can play an essential role, my advice is to use it to understand where compromises can and can’t be made. The Jamie Vardy example highlights just this. Many footballers rarely have more than a pint of beer, yet Vardy regularly drinks a considerable amount of port. Every person is different, so technology and data on each needs to be used to drive bespoke decision making. It sounds harsh, but in a team, one member may be able to go off and eat a few mince pies, returning a few days later in tip-top condition, and another might need to spend all of Christmas in the gym. Insight such as this is exactly what is required to provide an understanding of what will impact athlete performance and development and how much.

Finally, Merry Christmas, and do make sure you take an appropriate data-driven break over the festive period.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Samir Abid .