In sports there are a number of difficulties we face as scientists. One of the most important elements is creating a situation in which there is an understanding in scientific and, in our case, football language. To make this possible we have created feedback in terms of ‘The Game’. This sounds pretty easy, but to know what the game is about, we had to do a lot of data research, so The Game was first made understandable for us from a data point of view. Using position data (GPS), event data (video data) and internal load data (questionnaires) we created benchmarks that we can use to give feedback to the trainer. In this case it is about if the training was or was not successful and what can the trainer do to be successful the next time?
Closing the gap between the science department and the football practical department will make the game on the field much better!
As a physiotherapist and human movement scientist, my work field always has been sports. I started as a physical therapist in handball and via the Olympic field hockey squad I made my way towards football as Performance and Innovation manager. Next to my job at Feyenoord I also am owner of 6 physiotherapy practices in the surroundings of Rotterdam. Being able to combine physical therapy and performance science is a dream coming true. It gives great pleasure to be able to see how sporters at the highest level get better and it is awesome to be able to measure there progress and see if your work pays off.
Rick Cost, Coördinator Fysieke Training Feyenoord