FC Groningen have integrated STATSports athlete monitoring technology across their club – into both training and matchday environments, allowing  the Dutch club to embed objective insights across various departments from 1st team performance and academy, to medical, while also informing their playing style.

Reliable Live Data, Anywhere On The Pitch

Using STATSports Sonra iPad app, paired with a Smart Beacon, Groningen’s performance  staff can receive live data from anywhere on the pitch.

Acting as a signal amplifier, the Beacon ensures seamless connectivity across the entire training ground or stadium, allowing data to be uploaded and accessed instantly. This removes the risk of dropouts or blind spots, allowing the likes of First Team Physical Trainer Jacco van Olst, to access uninterrupted datasets during sessions and matches.

“It is very reassuring for us to know that the reliability between the live data and the actual data is simply 100%”

This reliability allows coaches and performance staff to monitor sessions in real time, weather training objectives are adjusted in advance or on the fly, coaches can see if players are meeting required outputs, such as running intensity or workload, and make adjustments in real time.

“We can already make adjustments during training, or that we have to come up with additional runs or exercises after”.

This approach allows sessions to remain dynamic instead of reviewing performance retrospectively, coaches can increase or reduce demands in the moment, ensuring training intensity aligns with the intended outcome of the session.

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Supporting Load Monitoring Decisions with Live Thresholds

On matchdays & during training, live insights play a crucial role in player management for Groningen. With this live connection in place, FC Groningen can monitor sessions against physical targets.

“Whether or not pre-set goals were achieved at the end of training, we can already see if we need to make adjustments during training”.

The performance data will highlight whether players are operating within optimal thresholds or moving into red zones, helping coaches decide whether to maintain intensity in training or make substitutions during matches.

Benchmarking Academy Players Using Physical Data

STATSports data supports individual player development through long term benchmarking.

By constantly collecting physical data, FC Groningen can build detailed performance profiles. For example, using first team striker Thom Van Bergen’s outputs, they can compare u17, u19 & u21 stikers and inform their training plans going forward, and how their physical outputs progress over time.

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Using Physical Data To Inform Their Playing Style

With a playing style built on sustained intensity, FC Groningen rely on the objective data to manage load, reduce injury risk and maintain performance across congested schedules.

“We want to have intensity in our game, and we want to maintain it for a long time, preferably multiple times in a week”.

By using reliable GPS data on a consistent basis, it brings an element of continuity and sets a benchmark for what coaches expect in their team’s performance levels.

For Groningen, this might involve a specific number of High Intensity Distance metres, or number of sprints, accelerations or decelerations.

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A System Embedded Across The Club

Beyond performance, STATSports has become a cornerstone of the club’s medical and rehabilitation process. Physiotherapists have direct access to fitness metrics, enabling them to understand where injuries originated and how best to guide players back to  peak condition.

“We can no longer do without the STATSports system, both for fitness and rehabilitation.”

The shared data allows injured players to be guided back towards the physical demands of competition, with clear reference points for when they are ready to return, to suit Groningen’s intense style of play.

Values are monitored throughout the process, ensuring progress is measured and controlled at each stage.

By using the same system across performance and medical departments, FC Groningen ensure continuity between training, matches and rehabilitation.

For FC Groningen, STATSports has become more than a performance tool, it is a central part of how the club supports its playing values. From live decision making to long term development and rehabilitation. The system supports their ability to train, compete and recover with consistency.