Clay County Soccer Club
Based in Fleming Island, Florida, Clay County Soccer Club (CCSC) is a youth sports organization with over 3,000 players. Offering coaching to boys and girls from U3 all the way up to semi-professional level, CCSC is fully committed to the development of young athletes in its area.
Getting Ahead of the Game
As the Executive Director of CCSC, Matt Hollyoak’s role is to ensure that the club’s programming is fulfilling its potential. As part of that responsibility, Matt is constantly looking for ways to help CCSC’s players be the best they can be. This has seen him introduce Catapult’s wearable tracking technology for CCSC’s teams at U15 level and above.
“When we saw Catapult for the first time through a referral, it was a no-brainer,” says Matt. “Our goal is simple. We want to offer the best experience to our players. To do this, you have to constantly innovate and figure out ways in which you can improve. We believe technology is going to be a big part of the modern youth game; we wanted to be there first.”
Reliable Performance Feedback
By using Catapult technology with its teams, CCSC is able to support coaches and athletes with objective performance data. The club uses this information to set benchmarks for players, back up coaching points with data, and improve the training environment.
“The primary way Catapult helps us is through providing reliable, unbiased feedback on player performance,” says Matt. “We have been able to provide specific standards on player performance that we can hold them accountable to. At first the amount of data was overwhelming, however, when we started to set thresholds, it became much easier for them to understand.”
When it comes to analyzing the data from the wearable devices, CCSC’s coaches look at certain metrics to get a gauge of player performance and development over time.
“From a periodization standpoint, we use PlayerLoad,” Matt says. “This allows us to manage the players’ workload to reduce injury and ensure that they are 100% ready for game days. That being said, every metric has value. Based on what we are looking for, we will pick the appropriate tool for the task.”
Building Athlete Buy-In
In terms of generating buy-in and educating players around the benefits of athlete monitoring, CCSC has seen the technology quickly become an integral part of the training and matchday experience.
“The vests have become just another piece of kit that players bring to training and games,” Matt explains. “The players are excited to share their data with each other–the competition has increased the intensity of practice and helped improve the performance environment.”
As CCSC continues to develop an outstanding experience for its players, Catapult technology is playing a key role in ensuring that the athletes are given every opportunity to raise their game and reach their potential.