BRADFORD (Park Avenue) will use a state of the art GPS tracking system from the start of next season.
'Playertek' is used by the likes of Leeds United and Newcastle United and allows a club to monitor player performance in matches and training.
This means Mark Bower and his coaching team will be able to personalise training plans to optimise game performance, and keep fatigue injuries to a minimum throughout the course of the campaign.
The system has a four-year life span and was bought by a donation from the Avenue Development Fund Committee.
Bower is delighted with the new equipment and hopes it will vitally reduce the number of injuries in his small squad.
He said: "It is going to give us an insight into individual performance. It will allow us to build a database of statistics. We can see what works and what doesn’t.
"It will allow us to make sure players are looking after themselves, hopefully it will reduce injuries and improve performance.
"We have one or two older players in our squad that have had injuries in the past, so we need to make sure that we manage workload and not just go on our judgement.
"It is awful lot of money for a club with our spending power, but it is only through the generous donation from the development fund that we have been able to get it.
"We want to go down a more structured route and having this technology is all part of that vision."
Avenue physio Tally Clayton breaks down what the trackers will tell the club and believes it will put Bradford a step ahead of other teams in the league.
She said: "It gives a better personal understanding of what every players load is. From that we can look at how much they should be doing a week and then adjust their training schedules.
"It covers the total distance covered in a workout which would then create a weekly total distance as well as a matchday. We had been doing that from other methods but this is more accurate.
"It gives you an output then you can look at certain aspects of their game. If you have got a winger it will give you their sprints which is most likely going to be different than a centre half.
"We can look at certain players who may be more inclined to picking up injuries and adjust things. It is another tool to see how close they are to optimum performance on a Saturday.
"In the future, it will definitely help attract players who have been at full time clubs where it is an expected thing, in our league it is not."
Bower is confident the system will help recruitment, which has been different to any other season.
The Park Avenue boss added: "We are showing that we can be as professional as we can be given the constrains that we have got, it does make you more attracted to players. With loans, clubs want to know they are sending their players to a professionally run club. With what we have put in place hopefully we can attract ambitious players.
"Usually the season ends and there is a free-for-all with every club in for players. A lot of clubs haven’t been in the position to offer players contracts yet.
"We are really pleased with where we are. We have kept some players and brought in new players who will be assets for us.
"It is getting that balance correct. I want a good core in place, which I feel we are getting in place, and then add as much quality as we can on top of that.
"Everyone is anticipating that players who usually get contracts at football league level won't and they will filter down into non-league. We are a small club in the league so we will try make the best of what we have got."
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