Sports Data Decoded: Unleashing the Power of Performance Insights

In collaboration with SportsBall, Catapult is excited to launch Sports Data Decoded: a new video series that highlights how cutting-edge sports technology transforms teams, athletes, and coaching strategies across the globe. 

This series simplifies complex performance analytics into engaging, visual stories to inspire decision-makers, coaches, and teams to embrace data-driven solutions.

Illustration 1: Data is the fuel for innovation in sports

The first video in our Sports Data Decoded series explores the parallels between elite sports teams and world-class companies like the Mercedes F1 team. Just as F1 relies on real-time data to optimize car performance, Catapult delivers advanced analytics to teams across football, rugby, and other sports.

Click here to speak to the team who help:

• Optimize Performance: Using wearable GPS and video analytics to refine game strategies.
• Minimize Injury Risks: Leveraging data to monitor player workloads and manage recovery.
• Maximize Impact: Generating actionable insights to drive performance gains and improve return-to-play processes.

Take the Next Step Toward Data-Driven Success

Discover How Catapult Delivers Game-Changing Insights or Explore more resources that showcase how Catapult helps teams unleash their full potential:

• Product Brochure: Catapult’s Solutions
  Learn how Catapult’s GPS and video solutions drive better outcomes for teams worldwide.

• Webinar: Data-Driven Insights – From F1 Racing to Sports Performance
  Discover how F1-inspired analytics apply to sports like football, rugby, and more, featuring Bernadette Collins.

• Ebook: Using Performance Technology to Answer Key Coaching Questions
  Find out how Catapult empowers coaches to turn data into actionable performance insights.

Illustration 2: How Far Do Football Players Really Run?

The second video in the series dives into the incredible distances football players cover during games, breaking it down by position and highlighting how much happens beyond the box score.

Discover how Catapult’s performance tracking technology provides over 650 metrics, empowering teams to tailor training programs, minimize injury risks, and maximize performance.

Watch the video now:

Click here to speak to the team who help:

• Quantify Player Impact Beyond the Box Score: Understand the hidden performance metrics like total distance traveled and workload intensity.
• Tailor Position-Specific Training Programs: Optimize training for every position using insights into running distances, accelerations, and player loads.
• Keep Players Healthy During the Biggest Moments: Use data to monitor workloads, minimize injuries, and maximize performance in critical games.

Unlock exclusive resources to elevate your team’s performance:

Report: How to Use Athlete Monitoring in Football

Discover how teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Wake Forest University use athlete monitoring to improve performance, reduce injuries, and simplify data-driven coaching. This report provides actionable insights for coaches at all levels.

Webinar: Role of High Performance in American Football

Explore how data-driven strategies are transforming American football. Learn how elite teams monitor players, enhance performance, and streamline data communication to gain a competitive edge.

Illustration 3: Bigger, Faster… Smarter – The Evolution of Rugby

The latest video in the Sports Data Decoded series deeply delves into how rugby has evolved over the past 60 years.

For decades, rugby was dominated by size and strength, with Six Nations players increasing in average weight by 24% between 1955 and 2015. But now, the game is shifting to a data-driven approach, where analytics and video insights give teams an edge.

📊 Key Insights:

• Players cover 6,000+ metres per game, reaching speeds of 9.4m/s.
• A scrum generates 16,000 newtons of force—comparable to an F1 car.
• 8 of the last 10 Six Nations Players of the Tournament have been below the average size, as teams prioritise data over bulk.
• Real-time video analysis using Catapult technology enables teams to adjust strategies mid-game and make smarter substitutions.

📺 Watch the video now:

Illustration 4: How Possession & xG Are Changing Premier League Tactics

The latest video in the Sports Data Decoded series explores how Premier League tactics have evolved, moving beyond possession dominance to a more data-driven approach to attacking football.

For years, teams with high possession percentages correlated closely with expected goals (xG), but recent trends suggest that clubs are finding new ways to create attacking threats—without controlling the ball.

With Catapult’s Pro Video, teams can:
✅ Analyze opponent tendencies in real time
✅ Pinpoint defensive weaknesses and exploit gaps
✅ Adapt strategies on the fly using performance insights

📊 Key Insights:

• The correlation between possession and xG has weakened since 2022.
• Some teams now create a high-attacking threat despite having lower possession.
• Clubs are using real-time tactical adjustments powered by data to break down opponents.
• Pro Video enables teams to deliver insights to bench tablets mid-game and refine strategies at halftime.

📺 Watch the video now:

Illustration 5: Closing the Research Gap in Women’s Football

The latest video in the Sports Data Decoded series highlights the critical need for women-specific sports science research and how data is transforming performance standards in the women’s game.

Despite clear biological and developmental differences, female footballers still train under methodologies largely designed for men. This lack of tailored research and training protocols has real consequences, with female players suffering non-contact ACL injuries 2.5 times more often than men.

📊 Key Insights:

• Only 6% of sports science studies focus exclusively on women, while 31% use only male participants.
• Girls reach their adolescent height spike two years earlier than boys, yet training programs rarely account for these differences.
• At the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Catapult collected player data across 27 matches, setting position-specific benchmarks for distance, speed, and intensity to help shape better training and injury prevention strategies.
• Catapult is collaborating with Loughborough University and West Ham Women to develop women-specific performance pathways and create data-backed training solutions for the women’s game.

With data-driven insights, tailored benchmarks, and ongoing research, women’s football is entering a new era of performance, injury prevention, and training optimization.

📺 Watch the video now:

📥 Download Catapult’s Women’s Football Benchmark Report to learn more about position-specific performance standards.