Build, Don’t Rebuild: Turning Performance Data into Better Coaching Decisions

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a performance practitioner is that having more information doesn’t guarantee better decisions. The real value comes from understanding the information, placing it in context, communicating it clearly, and deciding if it actually requires an intervention.

Earlier in my career, particularly in college, I spent a significant amount of time directly interpreting GPS and sports science data. That helped shape how I think about performance information today.

Moving into a professional environment shifted that process. Now, I work within a larger performance system where sports scientists analyze the data and communicate what they see.

My responsibility is to take that information, connect it to what I see as a coach, and help turn it into something that helps the athlete. That has reinforced a simple principle for me: build, don’t rebuild.

Learning the Language of a New System

Joining a new organization means learning how that environment communicates.

Metrics might look familiar, but the language and decision-making process can differ. My early responsibility was to listen, learn, and understand how information flows through the department. That required taking what I knew and expanding it, not replacing it.

For example, a metric like high-speed running was already familiar to me, but entering a new environment meant learning how that information was interpreted and communicated within a different system.

In one setting, I may have looked at the number primarily in relation to the athlete’s previous exposures or positional demands. In a new system, that same metric might be discussed alongside the structure of the week, the intent of the practice, individual thresholds, and what the sports scientist is seeing across multiple data points.

The metric itself did not necessarily change, but the language and context around it did.

My responsibility was to listen, understand how the information was being framed, and then connect that back to the athlete and the training plan.

That’s where build, don’t rebuild becomes as much about the practitioner as it is about the athlete.

Context Before Conclusion

One principle guides me: context before conclusion.

A GPS number can tell us that something happened, but not automatically what to do. Before deciding, I consider who the athlete is, what the goal of the session was, where we are in the week or season, and what we’re trying to build long-term.

The question isn’t simply, “what does the data say?” A better question is, “what does this mean for this athlete, right now?”

From Following the Program to Individualizing Within It

When I first arrived with the Colts, I was generally training a position group within the structure of the established program.

Early on, I was careful about making adjustments. If I thought something needed to change, I made sure to speak with the athlete and my supervisor before adjusting. That was important because I was still learning the system, learning the athletes, and understanding how all the information fit together.

Over time, through the off-season, training camp, and into the season, that has evolved.

As relationships with the athletes grew, and my understanding of our sports science process developed, I became more comfortable making individualized adjustments within the overall plan. The key phrase is within the plan.

It’s not about creating a new program every time new information appears. It’s about asking whether a small, meaningful adjustment can help the athlete continue progressing, while protecting the foundation we’re building.

The Smallest Useful Adjustment

When new information comes in, it can be tempting to react immediately. I try to resist that impulse and focus on the smallest useful adjustment.

Sometimes that might be a volume modification, a different exercise variation, a slight shift in exposure, or simply a conversation.

Other times, the right decision is to just stay the course. No single data point makes the decision for me.

The goal is to integrate all available inputs into a contextual coaching decision.

For example, if an athlete accumulated more high-intensity running than expected during practice and also communicated that his lower body felt more fatigued than normal, I would not automatically remove the strength work we had planned.

Instead, I might keep the primary intent of the session while reducing total volume, adjusting the loading, or selecting an exercise variation that allows us to continue developing strength without adding unnecessary stress.

The foundation of the program stays intact; the dose changes based on the information available.

Communication Turns Information Into Action

Data becomes useful when it’s translated into a conversation the athlete understands.

An athlete doesn’t necessarily need the number; they need to know what we’re trying to do and why it helps them. That requires trust and ongoing communication.

That conversation may be as simple as telling an athlete, “You got more work on the field today than we originally anticipated, so we’re going to keep the strength stimulus but pull back some of the volume.”

The athlete does not necessarily need a full GPS report to understand the decision.

What matters is that he understands the why behind the adjustment and knows that the change is still moving him toward the same goal.

In practice, my process looks like this: receive, interpret, contextualize, decide, adjust, communicate, reassess.

That last step ensures the intervention becomes feedback for the next decision.

Better Information, Better Coaching

GPS and sports science don’t replace coaching. They can, when used well, make coaching more informed.

The goal isn’t to collect the most data or to make the most changes. The goal is to help the athlete feel better, move better, perform better, and continue progressing.

For me, that also means continuing to grow as a practitioner. Listening, learning and building on what I know.

Build, don’t rebuild.