Pivot to Data Collaboration
The best organisations are realising that they can make athlete ownership of performance data a competitive advantage.
BreakAway’s head of international business, Ben Smith, and head of performance science in Europe, Rapha Brandon, discuss the benefits of putting athletes at the centre of a club’s data strategy and philosophy.
Impactful insights, better communication, deeper engagement, data that speaks the language of your club and resonates with players . . .
All of those wins correlate to more wins on the pitch—and they’re hallmarks of a high-performance culture built on the foundation of data collaboration between players and coaches.
What does your work with BreakAway mean for the future of European football?
Ben: We have a pragmatic approach to performance. We are focused on delivering meaningful impact to teams, solving real problems in interesting ways . . .
Rapha: But not new and interesting for the sake of it just being new and interesting. We’re adding value. If something is already effective, it doesn’t need changing. If something is limited or constrained by the current technology or the current scientific approach, then we are looking into new approaches to utilise the tech and understand the data. Our Radar innovation is a good example of that. It’s not change for the sake of change. It’s change to add value.
Ben: We are bringing high-performance insights closer to key stakeholders—the people at the heartbeat of performance—whether they are coaches, players, or non-technical practitioners. Most technology, data or innovation solutions sit too far away from key decision-makers, often needing a level of specialist technical knowledge to understand them. Our solutions support people on the frontline, delivering practical value and allowing a direct application of performance insights.
Rapha: We’re thinking about what we can bring to the table that’s fresh, that’s going to make a difference—the movement of data between teams, between different parties, and then most importantly, the players. A lot of player data is already being produced by their clubs. We want to help get it in the hands of players so there’s effective communication around high-quality metrics that are well presented in a way that reflects the players’ digital, mobile world.
It sounds like this is a player-first approach to performance data . . .
Ben: It’s not necessarily player-first, but there is another way by changing the structure and putting the player at the centre. There are alternative ways than the status quo that can be more effective in terms of high performance, better in terms of ethics, and fundamentally the right thing to do.
Rapha: Clubs will still have their own systems because they’ll need to operate and do their stuff. But if a player has a chance to be the node between systems, then suddenly he becomes a stakeholder in what information can be exchanged—even back to the team—and this opens up new opportunities.
Currently, players aren’t nodes that connect to the hub. They’re just receivers of information, and they may not receive it in a way they can retain it. We’re aiming to create stickiness and engagement by giving coaches and players a better way to communicate, a modern way to communicate, so the data resonates. Teams will have to feel comfortable with this new flow of data, but it puts data in a completely different context by empowering players to own their performance even more.
Ben: By changing that structure, we’re creating a system that’s a win-win for teams and for players. There can be a different power equity between teams and players, which can be a substantial advantage with the way that society is evolving. Gen Z and Gen Alpha want clear explanations and justifications as to what they’re doing and why. Data is a really good way to help someone understand why they should do something.
Rapha: It’s a pivot to collaboration.
Ben: And there are fantastic coaches at the very top level working like this. Whilst not all coaches do, you can see and feel the change as coaching evolves and adapts with the modern world. The best organisations are realising that they can make athlete ownership of performance data a competitive advantage.
Why might sharing performance data with athletes feel like a threat to some coaches when the profession of coaching is all about conveying information to athletes?
Ben: Coaching is about taking someone on a development journey, and you have a number of tools to help a player go along that journey. Data can be a really good tool for exploring different perspectives between a player and coach, or helping a player get a more accurate picture of where they’re at performance-wise. Why might some take this new data approach as a threat? Because they fear a potential loss of control, no longer being the gatekeeper to players’ information. And if that’s how a coach has been historically successful, how are they going to adapt to players having access to all their information? This conscious approach to empowering players is a different style of coaching and if people are less open to change then it can feel threatening.
Rapha: One of the purposes of data in functional terms is to provide information on tracking progress against objectives and against ambition. Another element of data is feedback loops. To help players understand themselves, their bodies, and how to get the best out of their performance and recovery, you need feedback loops. Those feedback loops need to be relevant. With our approach on the BreakAway app, teams, coaches and players get to choose the feedback loops that are relevant through our customisation functions—and we are also making sure it’s a top-notch user experience.
Are players really smart enough to have their data? Why put performance data in players’ hands when teams have sport scientists—emphasis on scientists—on staff?
Rapha: So every coach that was an athlete, he only became smart when he turned a coach? And he wasn’t smart when he was an athlete? Nearly every applied sports scientist or doctor played sports as a schoolboy or schoolgirl or in college or at some point. Did they suddenly become very clever when they weren’t playing anymore? I’ve been very lucky to work with the world’s best Olympic-winning, World Cup-winning athletes. And the very best ones are very, very smart. They are also self-directed. They can filter information; they can reject information very readily. So I’m not particularly concerned about many high-achieving athletes knowing what to do if there’s too much information flowing around, because they’ll just ignore the stuff they don’t need. And, you know, they are already very ruthless about what they pay attention to, who they pay attention to, and how they go about performing consistently high. Some athletes do need educating and guiding, and I recognise certain player personalities may tend to over-consume data without that filter and focus on their winning formula. So I guess it’s down to knowing individuals and collaborating with them to set things up for their needs.
Ben: A combined team-player approach is critical. We want teams and players to go hand in hand through the evolution of effective use of data. To start, we’d suggest it’s only the information that players are already getting. With the BreakAway app, they’re getting it on their phones, which is easier and more effective for everyone. Then teams iteratively move along the continuum, drip-feeding additional pieces of performance information, at a pace where data sharing is comfortable and effective for everyone. There’s no sudden or significant lack of control, where it feels like it’s so different from what they’ve already been doing.
Rapha: Data sharing has to be purposeful. You have to start with data that is provided with respect to a goal or a process. To start, we’re just delivering the data that’s already out there. It’s just repeating what’s already been said. But now it’s far less likely to be forgotten. BreakAway isn’t trying to tell anybody to do biomechanics, and we’re not telling them to change something about their process. We’re just ingesting, connecting, presenting, and making data available to people. We’re facilitators, we’re not tellers or advisors unless we’re specifically asked to be through our consultancy services. There’s nothing in our offering that says, “This data means you should do this.” It’s just, “Here’s your data. You and your coach make a decision about it.” We’re not reinventing the wheel. We’re helping teams expand their opportunities.
Ben: If you’re promoting equity with players around performance data, you’re choosing to engage with them in a certain way. When you collaborate around data, you’re inviting everyone to have a perspective, or a seat at the decision-making table. Then it’s understanding that data is one perspective, the athlete has another, the coach has another. And the collaborative process is about respecting those different perspectives and integrating them into the most effective high-performance model.
What should people throughout European football know about BreakAway?
Ben: BreakAway’s App is a communication tool to plug into a team’s existing performance structure to make information flow more efficiently and more effectively. We don’t create coaching or performance messaging, and we don’t complicate team-player communications. We deliver on players’ expectations of top-quality visuals and content, like every other decent app on their phone. And we help high-performance teams/organisations engage their players with their data in a controlled and quality environment, to ultimately improve performance. What a team chooses to share is up to them, but not to share anything with their players seems like a missed opportunity to me.
Question? Comment? Want to chat? Email Ben Smith and Rapha Brandon.