Inter Milan’s Roberto Niccolai

The Sports Office’s performance management system for elite soccer, The Football Squad, provides comprehensive support for Academies and player development structures.

Our systems offer powerful functionality to support all aspects of coaching, fitness, analysis, and administration in this context. They have been refined and enhanced via a process of consultation with our varied client base in elite football, which includes some of the most successful clubs and federations in the global game. 

Significantly, The Football Squad also provides what we believe is unrivaled support for Academies. This supports long-term athlete development programmes and processes.

In this short interview, Inter Milan’s Head of Academy, Roberto Niccolai explains how he and his colleagues have used the system within the club’s male and female Academy structures…..

Case Study: Wigan Warriors

The 2018 Super League Champions and TSO clients Wigan Warriors, spoke to The Sports Office about their use of our performance management system for elite rugby.

Having used the system for the last decade, Thomas O’Malley, Head of Medical explains his experiences with The Rugby Squad. He outlines how the system allows them to improve and evolve the monitoring and tracking of players.

For more information on how we can assist your club, contact The Sports Office now.

FA WSL: Performance, The WPS & The Sports Office

The FA Women’s Super League (FA WSL):

The Sports Office provides league-wide performance management and monitoring solutions for elite sports. This includes at the highest league of Women’s Football in England, the FA Women’s Super League (FA WSL).

A centralised agreement with the FA gives each WSL club and the national team access to The Sports Office’s Athlete Management System referred to in this case as the Women’s Performance System (WPS). This provides modules for each department, including Coaching, Sports Medicine and Sports Science. Also,  Recruitment, Administration, Finance and more to support the women’s professional game.

Each club has the option to further upgrade their systems to the full WPS.

A team from The Sports Office travelled to St. George’s Park to interview key FA staff involved with the women’s game. Ryan King, Head of Performance Services, Caroline White, FA Lead Physiotherapist and Pippa Bennett, Medical Lead Women’s Pathway gave their views on the WPS and the Women’s Game.

Contact us for more information on The Sports Office solutions for Athlete Management.

Video Case Study: Aberdeen FC

Aberdeen FC Academy:

Coaching, Scouting and Operations staff from Aberdeen FC explain their experiences with The Sports Office’s Athlete Management System. The Club has used the system since 2014 at Academy level and has since rolled out the system to the first team.

Director of Football Operations, Steven Gunn said, “Another key area where we have utilised The Sports Office to its full capacity is our Medical and Sports Science provision. We now have a universal platform to collate, store and share data.”

For more information on how we can assist your club, contact The Sports Office now.

Case Study: Reading FC

Client:              Reading FC

Will Oldham, Reading FC Academy Development Manager, commented: “I would recommend The Sports Office’s services to any organisation looking to bring a variety of different data sources into a single, usable platform.

“Customer support provided by The Sports Office Client Managers has been excellent. A genuine and beneficial working relationship for all parties has been formed.”

The Academy performance management system is deployed across a football club’s departments to support coaching, administration, sports medicine and a range of other operations.

Reading FC have been using the system for a number of years and report that is has enhanced many aspects of their Academy operations. This includes coaching, sports science, administration and also operational activities. The system has become a regular element of academy programmes at many football clubs and has consistently received a favourable response from players/parents.

Benefits:

  • Consolidation and triangulation of a variety of data sources.
  • Excellent customer support from Sports Office Client Managers.
  • Multi-disciplinary reports bring a range of data sources from multiple departments.
  • Academy coaches report more effective decision making around player development.

The Sports Office provide league-wide solutions to major sporting organisations and NGB’s. Some partners include The Premier League and The FA, also a number of MLS teams to name a few. To learn more about The Sports Office performance management solutions, contact us today.

 

Aberdeen FC Case Study

Client:        Aberdeen FC
System:      The Football Squad

Emma Flett, Aberdeen FC Senior Football Operations Coordinator, said: “The club has found The Football Squad invaluable since its introduction in 2013.  The communication and support from the Sports Office during this process has also been excellent.”

The Sports Office system, The Football Squad was adopted by Aberdeen FC five years ago and has been used across the club’s academy and First team. The platform was integrated within the club by the Football Operations department who have co-ordinated and lead the roll-out and training. All departments can now manage activities independently, and the Club have seen significant workflow improvements.

Source: Aberdeen FC

The Club say that a more “joined up” approach to working has helped everyone. They also claim that both face-to-face and remote support provided by Sports Office Client Managers has been highly beneficial. This has lead to rapid, efficient rollout and adoption of the system.

 

BENEFITS:

  • Brought together separate data systems into one easily accessible platform.
  • Enabled effective analysis of training and recruitment processes – club previously unable to undertake this.
  • Player and parent engagement has improved via the tracking and analysis of Academy coaching
  • Significant improvements in monitoring, reviewing and reporting on player performance, which have a live, up-to-the-minute picture of every player.

 

The Blues Case Study

Client:        The Blues
System:      The Rugby Squad

Tony Hanks, the Blues General Manager of High Performance, stated: “The Sports Office Client Managers are as far as you can get from us geographically. Yet, we find they are always the people to go, to provide support for the system and solve any problems.”

The Blues say The Rugby Squad has made a huge impact on everyday operations for all staff at the Super Rugby franchise. The Blues make extensive use of the Scheduling module of The Sports Office system. This provides access to all scheduling information and hence clarity and improved communication for management and players. The club say this has allowed players to access information and data that had previously not reached them. They feel better informed and aware of what they need to know.

image of high performance NRL rugby team The Blues

Source: The Blues

In addition to the Operation module, The Blues take full advantage of the Recruitment section to plan for future squads.

The Blues are now in the fourth year of using The Rugby Squad. New players introduced to the application have reported a rapid adjustment to it.

Benefits:

  • Improved access to all information and data.
  • Information provided to players now reaches them effectively and consistent
  • Depth Charts provide an easy view of future squad options

 

If you think your club could benefit from a system like The Rugby Squad, contact us now to find out more.

 

 

 

St. Helens R.F.C. Case Study

Client:     St. Helens R.F.C.

System:    The Rugby Squad

Matt Daniels, Head of Strength & Conditioning at St Helens Rugby League Club, commented: “Our Sports Office journey has been excellent. Their knowledge of the system, alongside their understanding of our sport, has enabled Sports Office client managers to have a real and meaningful impact on our practices and the successful operation of The Rugby Squad in our organisation. Their system is multi-faceted and caters for every area of my work. It also enables a smooth processing of our analytics.”

 

 

St Helens R.F.C. have been using The Sports Office performance management system, The Rugby Squad, for 8 seasons. The system provides a central point for the club’s performance and medical data to be effectively collected and analysed.

The club report that player interaction has also improved due to the nature of The Rugby Squad. Player engagement across the platform includes the input of wellbeing data, game reports and RPE during training.

St Helens also say that access to medical and performance data has improved the effectiveness of their coaching. As a result, they are now able to make better informed decisions relating to training loads and team selection.

“The Rugby Squad has proved to be an invaluable tool for us. To have one centralised system that has information on all players from scholarship to first team allows me to see what has happened and what is going to happen.” – added St Helens CEO, Mike Rush.

 

Atlanta United FC Case Study

Client:      Atlanta United FC
System:      The Soccer Squad

Lucy Rushton, Head of Technical Recruitment & Performance Analysis, commented: “The Sports Office system allows everyone to work on the same page. Everything we need is easily located, and information sharing has been significantly improved.

“We’ve been using the system for about a year and a half now, and the longer we go on, the more benefit we gain. The improvement in our data management has allowed us to identify patterns and trends in our performances and coaching.”

“Also, the ability to share and communicate across departments has simplified our day-to-day operations. The mobile access to the system to view coaching programmes, player medical status, and game performance data is also a great benefit.

“Some departmental work risks becoming isolated, but the Sports Office Soccer Squad platform enables everyone to bring information and data together.

“We’ve also had fantastic levels of support to implement the system from the Sports Office Client Management team.”

Client Requirements:

Atlanta United FC were seeking an online performance management system which supported and improved all coaching activity; as well as sports medicine processes  and sports science data management.  They also required a system to enhance interdepartmental communications and information management.

Solutions and Benefits:

The Soccer Squad has provided Atlanta FC with fully customisable modules in coaching, sport science and recruitment to enhance its football operations. The system has also allowed the club to create a database of all performance data, for the effective monitoring and management of training, coaching and player well-being. Atlanta FC have reported season-on-season improvements and outcomes in all areas. The club have also benefited from the system’s mobile app and cloud based access. They were able to implement it within their organisation with no specialist IT knowledge or additional staff.

Key benefits of The Soccer Squad include:

  • All aspects of performance supported through the app which offers a holistic view of the club.
  • Cloud based access to The Soccer Squad means no specialist IT knowledge or additional staff are required for implementation.
  • Easy and secure access from office, home and all club training venues.
  • Supports all aspects of performance, administration and scheduling. Also, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, personalised preparation and monitoring, succession planning, scouting and video.
  • Improved information management for every department.
  • Accompanying mobile app enables remote access 
usage for athletes/players.

 

 

 

 

 

Case Study – The Scottish Football Association

Client: The Scottish Football Association

Scottish FA

David Stevenson, Head of Performance Anaylsis, Scottish Football Association: “The Sports Office is a hugely powerful tool allowing us to quickly and easily manage our key performance processes. It helps us give the best possible preparation.”

Client Requirements: Implementation of a web based performance management system, to help support the development of players aged 11- 16, in the association’s seven national performance schools situated in different regions of Scotland and the national teams programme

Solution and Benefits: The Sports Office football specific system The Football Squad allows Scottish FA coaches to share and deliver their coaching programme between national performance schools. Each player selected by the Scottish FA to attend these schools, receives one hour a day of coaching from a Scottish FA coach. By using The Football Squad to create and store their sessions, the coaches can share session plans and help ensure a consistent approach to programme delivery. Players and staff can access the system from anywhere by logging in on any device or by using the App to:

  • Create and share Coaching sessions between coaches and with the players.
  • Player evaluation and self-refection via performance reviews.
  • Two-way player and coach interaction.
  • Upload and share video footage to support the development of players, watch and review matches or best practice.
  • Effective Player information management, administration of contact and personal details.
  • Make important documents between staff and players available to view and download.
  • Input testing results to allow national benchmarking and analysis to help with talent identification for national teams.
  • Daily wellbeing questionnaires completed by players to monitor player welfare and physical condition.