“What are those crop tops?”
“Why are they wearing bras?”
“I still don’t understand why they wear those weird tops?”
These are just a few of the questions asked on our Sydney Swans social media channels this week as the first-to-fifth year players started pre-season.
As the boys hit the track and photographs were shared on our channels, there were plenty of questions poised about the ‘crop tops’ the players were wearing so we caught up with Sydney Swans GPS Analyst Will Sheehan to get the answers for you!
Q: Will, tell us a bit about the GPS devices that the players wear and what kind of important data you get from them?
A: The GPS devices sit at the back of the red vests that you might have seen on the boys. The primary information we get from them is simply looking at how far they are running in total and how far they are running at certain speeds so we can look at whether they are jogging or sprinting etc. We can also look at how many changes of direction they are involved with.
Q: How important are they in pre-season and during the season in measuring a players load?
A: It’s a great way for the coaches to monitor not only the players individually but also as a team, how the team is progressing as far as their fitness or the amount of load they are putting on the team. The coaches tend to use that information to plan their sessions and ensure they are building towards the season and then in season to ensure the boys are not dropping in performance and see their improvements.
Q: The crop top / sports bra design has caught the attention of our audience, can you give us an insight into the design and functionality?
A: The vests which look a lot like sports bras are worn as it gets the GPS nice and close to the body and means they don’t move around. GPS are pretty sensitive with the information they provide, if they are sitting in back of guernsey or sitting around loose you don’t get accurate information from them.
