5 Reasons Why Experts from Elite Clubs are Switching to WIMU
06 Dec, 2024
3 Min Read
By Tom Robinson
We spoke to top Sports Scientists from teams around the world to understand why they are changing their Athlete Monitoring solution to WIMU for superior performance analysis.
The physical demands on professional footballers have increased significantly, with packed playing schedules, less recovery time and higher intensity of on-pitch action.
As a result, the role of Sports Scientists to prevent injury, manage load and aid return to play has never been greater.
Having access to the best physical data, efficient workflows, and the ability to communicate these data-driven insights are crucial for effective decision-making that will boost a club’s physical performance analysis across the board.
Clubs around the world are now realizing the competitive advantages of maximizing their human performance and are taking action.
We spoke to renowned Sports Scientists from elite sporting organizations from around the world to find out why they decided to change their Athlete Monitoring solution to WIMU in the quest for superior performance analysis.
Watch our free, online webinar with Flamengo’s Pedro Menezes and discover why the Brazilian giants switched to WIMU in order to access the best physical data, maximise human performance and prevent injury throughout the club, from academy to first team. Watch here
TIME SAVING CAPABILITY
In the role of Sports Scientist, time is at a premium and, as such, the time saving capabilities were a common theme cited by the experts.
Many reflected on previously having to create time-consuming reports in Excel and losing valuable time between the end of training and team review. In comparison, the WIMU Cloud system removes the need for Excel, automating the analysis, visualization and reporting process, in turn improving efficiency and saving time.
Fast download and upload speeds also contributed to the hours saved, contributing to numerous Sports Scientists saying, with operational tasks becoming automated, they now had more time to dedicate to real science.
“Being able to export data to Excel or use it directly in WIMU Cloud in customized reports has undoubtedly given us a significant advantage, not only in methodological evolution but also in time-saving processes and the professional development of our scientific and physiology team."
Pedro Menezes - Head of Performance, Flamengo
ACCURACY AND QUALITY OF DATA
With each WIMU GPS device containing four accelerometers, three gyroscopes, one barometer and one magnetometer, sports scientists regularly pointed to the quality of the data as a key reason for switching to WIMU.
More data points means more precision than competitors, allowing the ability to gain deeper insights from WIMU Cloud’s powerful and customizable software. This allowed users to create sophisticated reports quickly after training and matches and gave them the ability to visualize their findings in a way that was easier and more engaging for players and coaches.
INTEGRATION WITH SPORTSCODE
A decisive factor for many experts working with elite sporting organizations switching to WIMU, was the ability to strengthen teamwork, enhance collaboration, and connect workflows across departments thanks to the integration with Sportscode.
They found the WIMU and Sportscode integration both the easiest and most efficient workflow to align physical data with video, helping to get their sport science departments on the same page with analysis and coaching departments—ultimately improving training methods and team performance.
“This is the great advantage of using technology with this level of integration: We can connect different performance sectors, contextualizing the data collected with the videos.”
Pedro Menezes - Head of Performance, Flamengo
What’s more, the integration with the wider ecosystem of Hudl products streamlined their workflows and operations further into a one-stop shop where high-performance video and data is available all on one connected platform. This allows organizations to not only save time, but also removes the need for multiple vendors, contracts and messy cross-platform work.
EASY LIVE WORKFLOWS
Another significant factor mentioned regularly was the need to improve live workflows.
WIMU addresses this issue through its live monitoring, which connects via ANT+ micro usb antenna. This removes the need for large bulky beacon antennas around the field, making the system very easy to use and portable for travel. This also reduces the technology footprint and streamlines live monitoring workflow.
Finally, a common worry highlighted by Sports Scientists, prior to the switch WIMU, was the process of changing Athlete Monitoring systems itself and the perceived work this would imply.
However, across the board, the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience from the Hudl’s own Sports Scientists - who have over 300 years worth of combined experience, having worked with top clubs, organizations and federations across the world.
The understanding of our customer needs and pain points, bringing them on a learning journey that was simple, smooth and safe, has helped their departments to become more professional and more effective in achieving their goals. This continued support and expertise was a big reason for many experts who made the change.
"We have been working with WIMU at the first team level since 2022. We realized that using other technologies in the Academy prevented us from continuing to build Flamengo’s football in a vertical and integrated way, as the GPS system’s sensitivity was different. Now, with WIMU, we monitor players from the U-15 category, all within a single cloud, to better assess the athletes ready to move up to the professional level. In short, several scientific and practical reasons made us switch to WIMU from the academy to the first team, from end to end, in addition to the full support from Hudl’s team of consultants and sports scientists, which makes us feel supported."
Pedro Menezes - Head of Performance, Flamengo
