Philadelphia Union upgrades to Catapult Vector to further enhance analysis and decision making
The Philadelphia Union recently renewed and upgraded its performance agreement with Catapult for a further three seasons.
The updated agreement will see The Union’s senior squad use Catapult’s next-generation Vector system to help optimise performance, reduce injury risk and support return-to-play. Meanwhile, the Major League Soccer club’s academy will continue to use S5 devices among the U19, U17 and U15 squads.
The latest innovation from Catapult, Vector is the world’s smallest dual GNSS/LPS device. Designed to streamline staff workflows and improve player comfort, Vector features a range of cutting edge technologies such as integrated heart rate monitoring, sport-specific analytics, and live data snapshots via mobile and smartwatch applications.
The Union’s Performance Director, Garrison Draper, is excited to have witnessed the growth and development of Catapult’s technology over recent seasons.
“We are very excited to continue our strong partnership with Catapult and on-board the new Vector system,” says Draper. “Having worked with Catapult over the last eight seasons, it has been amazing to watch the company grow and develop each new iteration of their product stack.”
In his role as performance director, Draper is responsible for implementing processes and technologies that make a positive impact on the field. He believes that Catapult Vector can play a key role in supporting The Union’s performance staff to be more efficient as they make key strategic decisions at senior and academy level.
“As a performance director, my goal is to give ownership to all staff in the data collection, training and rehab processes,” Draper says. “We are always striving to give quality, accurate and prompt feedback to our staff and players on their performance, and Vector allows us to do that in an enhanced way.”
“Efficiency is key in our world, and the new Vector system will enhance our capacity to make decisions effectively in a fast-paced environment.”
Mathew Young, Business Development Manager at Catapult, is pleased to continue to build on a strong relationship with Philadelphia Union and support the club as it continues to develop an impressive performance infrastructure.
“Catapult prides itself on being the best in the industry for customer service, sports science expertise, and product development,” said Young. “We are delighted that Philadelphia Union puts its trust in us and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the organization at all levels.”
Good luck to The Union for the remainder of the season as the club makes a run at the MLS Cup.
Image: Philadelphia Union