Burleigh Bears Rugby Club
Based on Australia’s Gold Coast, the Burleigh Bears are a professional rugby league club that compete in Queensland’s top-level club competition, the Queensland Cup. This competition sits below Australia’s top-flight league, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Lachlan Clifton is the Bears’ Strength & Conditioning Coach and is responsible for monitoring player performance and development. He is also responsible for the Bears’ rehabilitation processes and is given license to integrate the performance infrastructure that assists with his work.
How Catapult wearables benefit the Burleigh Bears:
- Return-on-investment
- Informing Key Performance Decision
- Player Buy-in
- Going above and beyond
- Recommendations for others
Return-on-investment
Lachlan previously used athlete monitoring technology before he joined the Bears and so “had a good understanding of its benefits”. Following product demonstrations from Catapult, the S&C coach integrated Catapult wearables, our GPS-based athlete monitoring technology.
“After speaking with Catapult and showing the product to the coaching staff, we decided that it would be a good investment for the club.”
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Informing Key Performance Decisions
The Burleigh Bears use Catapult wearables to monitor the players’ performances and rehabilitation processes. “Catapult gives us a better tool for player monitoring and load management for training and game-related sessions,” says Lachlan.
Coaches and Lachlan in particular have found the technology useful when informing decisions regarding training intensity and ensuring players return to play effectively and efficiently.
“By measuring distance, distance per minute, sprints, power plays, top speed and, impacts Catapult wearables allows us to accurately adjust our training load each week and assist with our recovery processes.”
In addition, the S&C coach states that the monitoring technology has benefited the coaches’ understanding of player performances and where and how they can develop. “It has also allowed the coaching staff to better understand areas of improvement and where athletes are performing well,” explains Lachlan.
Player Buy-In
In addition to benefiting the coaches, Lachlan thinks the introduction of Catapult wearables has improved the players’ performances and understanding around certain coaching decisions and how they could use the technology to develop.
“The players have all bought into the use of Catapult and are always curious about the data collected. They have found it useful for their own recovery processes but also looking out how they are performing each week.”
As part of the players’ curiosity, they are “wanting to understand the different metrics and how that relates to their gameplay. Positively, this has been seen throughout all the players,” mentions Lachlan.
Going Above and Beyond
Lachlan has enjoyed a great relationship with Catapult since the Bears started using Catapult to monitor performances.
“Working with Catapult is always a positive experience. They are always open and clear about their products, the benefits, and how they can help. Their customer service is always quick to get in contact to resolve any issues that we have had.”
Recommendations for Others
Lachlan has suggested that clubs, teams and organisations similar to the Burleigh Bears should consider Catapult when considering how to get to the next level.
“For coaches looking to get a comprehensive look at their athletes for training/game and rehabilitation purposes, I would highly recommend the use of the Catapult system.”
Interested in discovering how Catapult can help your team find its competitive edge? Contact Catapult today.
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