PMA Club Engagement Day hosted at Old Trafford

The PMA on a MacBook at Old Trafford StadiumThe Premier League performance team invited the Client Managers to Old Trafford to assist with a PMA Club Engagement Day.

The PMA is the performance management solution provided by The Sports Office and used by over 90 Premier League and Football League Academies. This provides a platform for all academy players and staff to collect performance and wellbeing data allowing coaches to conduct player reviews and reports.

The Client Management team presented on new system functionality and future developments. They joined discussion groups with Academy staff to share insights and experiences to see how they could improve their current use of the system.

TSO staff presenting on the PMA to academy staff

Staff from clubs such as Bournemouth and Manchester City gave presentations on elements of The PMA which they maximise. Sam White, Youth Development Phase Coach from Bournemouth presented on Player Reviews through The ‘Report Engine’.

Followed by Ellen Kristiansen, Academy Secretary from Manchester City who exhibited their use for event management. Coaching and games programmes were among other topics presented, focusing on how they use The PMA to assist in their daily club operations.

The Sports Office offers a range of support and services, including club visits, the support desk and training days. All clients have this available to them to ensure they maximise their performance potential.

The Sports Office would like to thank Premier League, in particular, Andy O’Boyle, Head of Elite Performance and Paul Prescott, Youth Programmes Manager for hosting the event.

22nd November 2018 /  

Academy Directors across elite sport use The Sports Office ‘Report Engine’ for Long Term Player Development

Academy Directors from a range of elite sports clubs have highlighted The Sports Office ‘Report Engine’ as an invaluable tool for optimising long-term player development.

The ‘Report Engine’ is a core element of The Sports Office performance management systems for elite sport. The functionality has the power and capacity to deliver fully customisable and automated reports to staff, players and other key personnel.

Users can create and share individual player or automated team reports, using a range of performance data. The reports can track on-field and training performance, injuries and wellbeing.

Emma Flett, Aberdeen FC’s Senior Football Operations Coordinator, commented: “Player and parent engagement has improved as coaches’ reports can be tracked and analysed.

“Prior to the adoption of The Sports Office, much of the reporting on players’ performance was verbal, which was difficult to monitor and review with players at later dates.”

She continued, “The ease of use of the system has allowed the club to develop and progress its Academy functions. It has been invaluable since its introduction in 2013.”

The Sports Office Report Engine Player Performance Report on a MacBook

The ‘Report Engine’ has key benefits for everyone within an elite football organisation. Transparency and feedback can be provided at all levels including federations, players and parents.

In addition to their success within Scotland, The Sports Office also work to support the FA’s The Long-term player development strategy. A strategy which emphasises the importance of accurate performance data and applied knowledge for player development.

The ‘Report Engine’ can also present data in an accessible format. This makes it easier to apply and take effective evidence-based decisions.

If you feel your organisation would benefit from a centralised hub which cohesively brings together all elements of performance workflow into one system, contacts The Sports Office now.

19th November 2018 /  

TSO TOUR #3 – Inter Milan

Carl CM at Inter Milan Youth Development centre training on bespoke developments

Carl Pomfret, Client Manager at Suning Youth Development Training Centre

Client Manager Carl Pomfret recently travelled to Italy to introduce the new automatic language translation feature to Inter Milan. The Serie A giants have used Sports Office athlete management systems for the past year.

Automatic language translation is now LIVE within all Sports Office performance management systems and is made possible by tokenisation. ‘English to Italian’ is the first pair of languages to translate. The update means clients are able to carry out all performance management activities in their native tongue.

During the visit, Carl worked closely with Inter’s Senior IT Analyst, Roberta Macchi to deliver additional training and answer queries from the club.

Roberta commented, “Abbiamo recentemente avuto la visita del nostro “client manager”, Carl Pomfret. Sempre sorridendo e con grande gentilezza, ci presenta le novità e ci supporta nel lavoro quotidiano. E’ un aiuto prezioso per tutte le nostre attività.”

Translating to, “We recently had a visit from our “client manager”, Carl Pomfret. Always smiling and with great kindness, he presents us with news and supports us in our daily work. It is a precious help for all our activities.”

In addition, Carl Pomfret met with each department including Medical, Recruitment and Sports Science. He also provided assistance to support optimal use of the system to GPS staff, Analysts and Wellbeing staff.

Bespoke Developments:

Inter Milan requested customised financial modules to fine tune this aspect of the system to their specific needs. This and automatic language translation are examples of the Sports Office’ capacity to deliver bespoke developments to performance management systems for any club or organisation.

Inter Milan currently use The Sports Office at Academy level and Academy Director, Roberto Samaden, has stated his satisfaction with the progress made to date.

If your organisation requires a centralised system to monitor performance with bespoke developments, contact our business development team.

28th September 2018 /  

The Manager’s App Latest Update:

The Manager’s App design has been curated to support top-level executives and management. The App provides immediate touch access to the key performance data and critical management information, presenting data of the most relevance. Decision making is more informed and communication is faster.

The Manager’s App is compatible with iOS devices and can be found in the native app store.

Contact The Sports Office here, for more information on our systems including The Sports Office App.

14th September 2018 /  

TSO TOUR #2 – Japan

Yokohama, Japan:

A recent trip to Japan saw Carl Pomfret and Stuart Jones spend 5 days with staff at Yokohama F. Marinos. As part of the City Football Group, it was a continuation of the roll-out of The Football Squad. Other clubs within the group to benefit from the system include Manchester City, Melbourne City, and New York City FC.

As part of this full system roll-out, the Client Managers spent time with Sporting Director, Isac Doru. Along with other key personnel within each department. The training sessions delivered on The Football Squad were to aid their performance data management.

Isac commented, “I would like to thank The Sports Office staff for creating this beautiful pearl for football modern management.”

Carl, Isac, & Stuart watching Yokohama F Marinos

The Client Managers were fortunate enough to attend a Yokohama F. Marinos vs. Vegalta Sendai game. Also, they had an exclusive tour around the Nissan Stadium, home of the 2002 World Cup Final.

Following this, the trip took them to the heart of Tokyo, where Carl and Stuart went to meet and visit the Japanese FA at their Headquarters, There were initial introductions made with hopes to introduce the system across the organisation.

Stuart Jones stated, “The trip itself was a very interesting experience, it was amazing to see a completely different culture. I’ll never forget the pufferfish I tried in Tokyo.”

Stuart & Carl experiencing a traditional Japanese meal

Club visits and system implementations are all part of the life at The Sports Office. We offer club assistance through our support desk and visits when required. Read the first TSO Tour here, for more insight into The Sports Office operations.

So, to learn more about the software, or to see if The Sports Office systems are what your club needs, then contact us to discuss how you too can maximise your organisations potential.

4th September 2018 /  

TSO Tour #1 – Toronto & New York City

Intuitive software is only half of what The Sports Office provides to the World’s Best Sporting Organisations. It is our exceptional service that has enabled our clients to quickly implement and learn how to gain maximum benefit from the performance management software.

A dedicated team of Client Managers are the main point of call for all queries. They take great pride in demonstrating each and every feature developed over the last decade. Some of this support is completed remotely, but the TSO Client Managers also love to ‘go on tour’ and visit their clients around the world from time to time.

A recent 10-day trip sent Carl Pomfret and Chris Tuson, Client Managers across the ‘Pond’, firstly to Toronto, Canada and then into the USA.

Toronto, Canada:

Chris and Carl flew out to Toronto, where they spent the first five days of the trip with two existing Sports Office Clients, Toronto FC and Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto FC has been using the system for 4 years now, and the Maple Leafs have completed 3 full seasons maximising their use of The Sports Office software. So, the Client Managers spent their time on this trip to re-educate the clubs on various aspects of the system.

Carl and Chris at Toronto FC Academy & Training Ground

Toronto FC approach performance optimisation through one system for the entire club. This helps them to mirror essential data collection and report generation across the first team, also within their USL and the Academy programme.

Each department was shown new elements to allow them to gain maximum benefit from The Sports Office systems. Moreover, on this visit Client Manager’s demonstrated 10 new reports for Toronto FC to improve their outputs from the system.

Carl spent some time with Toronto Maple Leaf’s Human Performance department, where they got to explore some principal elements of reporting and analysis. They got to analyse fundamental data over the last season and had a look at ‘crunching’ this with previous data, to look for patterns and trends.

Toronto Maple Leaf’s Training Facilities

Using the highly sophisticated ‘Report Engine’ and automated reporting capabilities. The Sports Office are able to deliver real-time reports to key staff.

New developments from The Sports Office have also sparked interest across Toronto and Canadian Elite Sport. The Client Managers are currently answering these enquires and are demonstrating the software to prospective clients.

New York City, USA:

Following their time in Canada, Chris and Carl flew over to New York.  They too were accompanied by Managing Director, Andy Clarke on their visit to New York City FC, part of City Football Group. The Client Managers got to go to the Academy at the new training facility, Orangeburg.

This visit, in particular, was a 3-day full configuration of the Football Squad system for the Academy. Chris, Carl and Andy spent time with each department as they introduced the system to staff and key personnel. They demonstrated how easily they can incorporate the system into their daily workflow.

Also, departmental and player profile data was input into the system. This starts the collection of performance data under one centralised hub.

New York City FC vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 2-2

 

NYC FC were also kind enough to invite the team to the Delta Sky 360* Suite in the Yankee Stadium. Here, they got to see NYC FC vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The final result was a 2-2, with New York goals from Jesús Medina and Valentín Castellanos.

The Sports Office Client Management team are willing to go the extra mile for your club and squad. To maximise you clubs potential with The Sports Office, contact our Client Management Team to arrange a visit.

 

28th August 2018 /  

New video features are ‘game-changers’ for analysts and coaches

The Sports Office staff have been radically enhancing the systems use of video for performance analysis and coaching. A series of new features will maximise player/athlete engagement and personal development.

The enhancements mean videos, with added visuals and notes, can be quickly and effectively generated to create high-impact learning resources.

“We believe these enhancements will be game-changing for the use of video in high-performance sport”, commented Chris Tuson, from The Sports Office.

“These updates now offer coaches and analysts many new features which will significantly augment their work and mean their players and athletes experience is hugely enriched.”

More details of the updates are as follows:

Video tagging wizard

Users can now tag videos as they view footage in real time, for instant analysis. Easily create tags for highlights and crucial moments. Also, quickly generate metrics including total player involvement. The tagging wizard offers the option to upload multiple tagging files against videos. This allows both staff and players to use third-party data such as OPTA, STATSport, Sportscode. Tags can be seen while viewing footage in real time.

Video tagging report

As video tags are created they become metrics in the system’s analytics engine. This means reports can be generated to provide both holistic and more granular performance summaries.

Video drawing/annotation tool

It is now possible to add text and other visual annotations to pinpoint key moments in videos and gain the most from the analysis process. A toolkit of options makes it easy to add both text and symbols. It is also possible to overlay annotations on LIVE video content for rapid performance analysis.

Video analytics

This is a multi-faceted update. To enhance player/athlete engagement, performance data can be added and visualized alongside video content. Also, precisely measure and analyse video engagement. This allows staff to monitor player’s usage in great detail. This includes the number and duration of video views. Also, analyse trends in video content including total hits.

All these latest video enhancements utilise the power of cloud computing offered by The Sports Office systems. This ensures a smooth and streamlined user experience. The enhancements will also complement the new Player’s App.

This native app integrates with Sports Office performance management systems and third-party social media platforms. It provides a comprehensive range of personalised support and creates a powerful link between club and player.

Further updates to video functionality in Sports Office systems are planned to include the creation of playlists, clipping, dashboard searches and further tagging options. Other features including multiple viewing angles and commentary on uploads are also being developed.

For more information or additional training on these new features, please contact The Sports Office Client Management team.

 

13th August 2018 /  

New release from The Sports Office – The Player’s App

The latest release from The Sports Office, The Player’s App, has been designed to keep players better informed and enhance progression at the club. The App integrates with Sports Office performance management software and social media platforms to provide a comprehensive range of personalised support.

The native Player’s App optimises all communication, sports science and sports medicine modules. Along with coaching and administrative processes between an organisation and its players/athletes.

Phil Clarke, Director from The Sports Office said: “Elite sports organisations will now be able to offer significantly enhanced support to their players with our new native app.

“The app will ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness in critical areas including communication, coaching and administration. It will create a powerful, personalised link between clubs and their squads.”

Phil added: “Our new Player’s App will provide an additional tool for coaches and elite sports practitioners to reach the players they work with and support them to drive improved performance.”

Features:

The video enhancements provide a key area of functionality within the new Player’s App. Staff can assign specific videos to players to maximise engagement, learning and progression. Categorise video footage and create personalised playlists to enhance focused player reflection. Also, download video content to view offline.

The Newsfeed and Dashboard areas provide a real-time update of relevant information directly from the club.  Support player output and ensure consistency with club policy and public statements by synching club social media accounts.

The Player’s App also enhances communication between staff and players with secure instant messaging and push notifications. It offers heightened functionality, instinctively detecting a user’s language via personal mobile settings.

The app is compatible with a wide range of 3rd party sources. This allows the use of sports science and performance analysis data from providers including OPTA and STATSports. Download to all personal devices easily from major app stores and is compatible with iOS and Android devices.

Download the Player’s App PDF, and please contact a member of our Client Management team today to learn more and discuss how The Player’s App can be implemented in your organisation.

 

 

2nd August 2018 /