Modern sport often comes down to the details. Every training, match & recovery day is calculated – at KRC Genk, STATSports informs this process.
From the academy to the first team, the club uses GPS data as a part of their planning process – monitoring and optimising every aspect of physical performance, led by Glenn Vanryckeghem and Arnaud Serruys heading up Genk’s performance staff.
Serruys, Physical Coach and Sports Scientist, explains
“The system is fast, reliable, and fits our workflow very well.
It’s a very efficient tool, we waste less time on administration, and can focus more deeply on coaching our players.”.
Real Time Training Decisions
At the centre of Genk’s performance is STATSports’ 100% accurate live data on Sonra.
During sessions each player wears an Apex 2.0 unit, which calculates all metrics directly on the device.
This ensures that coaches can trust the accuracy of the data in real time, no laptops or iPads are needed to process information after the fact.
“Because the data is calculated by the unit in real time, we are 100% sure the data is correct and we can adjust training with full confidence.”
Metrics are instantly visible on Sonra, with prioritised metrics available on Sonra’s custom live thresholds dashboard, which identify each player’s pre-set workload goals using a RAG system – informing the on pitch decision making process.
“During training, I see what’s happening live on the iPad. The effort the players are putting in is clearly visible with colour codes: green, red, and orange”.
Coaches can see who has met their pre-set objectives and which players need additional work.
This might then inform how coaches modify drill intensity, adjust recovery periods, or adding extra drills to meet the pre-planned training goals.
This ensures that sessions are both efficient and aligned with the specific demands of match play, allowing each session to be highly efficient & targeted.
“The thresholds allow us to make immediate adjustments.
That’s the difference between just training, and training very effficiently”
Sonra Cloud’s role within KRC Genk
Player Data Storage
Not the flashiest feature, but certainly one of the most impactful.
In the past, a lot of coaching time was taken up by managin data – exporting from one platform to another, finding the right data sets across different platforms.
Genk’s player data is now run centrally, all on one system with Cloud.
API connections with the club’s data now ensures that everything runs as it should, without any room for missing data, or time spent looking for data or exporting it.
“In the past, we had to export data to use them elsewhere. Now, everything runs automatically in one central system.
API connections with our own system make things run smoothly with no errors.”
Pre-Session Planning
When it comes on pitch activity, pre-session planning is a part of the daily workflow for Genk’s performance staff.
For each player, targets such as total distance, accelerations, decelerations, sprint count, and exercise intensity are defined in advance.
“In the Sonra Cloud, we plan the session down to the last detail.
Which players are in it, Which exercises, What training objectives are linked to the training or to each exercise
The training objective is clear to everyone. It’s tangible and visible, so we know exactly what we want each player to achieve”.
By having data all in one place, readily available and consistent, it means this process is consistent for every session – whether at H.Essers Training Centre, or abroad for training.
Post-Session Analysis
Post-session, drill data is quickly transferred to Sonra Cloud, where the system recognises exercises and visualises the performance data.
Within minutes, staff can see the data they saw live in-session, alongside previous session data, allowing them to see where they sit in the context of a gameweek or a specific block.
“Our starting point is the objective of the session.
Sonra Cloud recognises the live captured drills and immediately generates visualisations, so that we can analyse the training together.”
Previously for Genk, this kind of data often had to be exported to separate systems, introducing potential errors and slowing workflows.
Now, with a centralised system and API connections to Genk’s internal platform, everything runs automatically, ensuring efficiency and accuracy across all levels of the club.
Developing Academy Prospects
For KRC Genk, the ultimate goal is to develop players capable of performing at first team level.
By using the same STATSports system from U16s to the first team, data continuity is maintained throughout a player’s pathway.
“Our ultimate goal is to enable as many players as possible to progress to the first team.
That’s why we use the same system from the U16s to the first team.”
Academy graduates such as Koska Retsas, Josué Congolo, and Auguste Wannemaker bring their performance data with them when transitioning to the senior squad from the academy, providing coaches with a complete, immediate overview of each player’s readiness and history.
“When academy players step into the senior environment, they arrive with their data. We immediately have a complete overview of their development journey.
STATSports acts as a bridge between data and practice, and between our academy and first team.”
For KRC Genk, STATSports is more than a tool it is a bridge between data and practice.
By centralising planning, monitoring, and analysis, coaches spend less time on administration and more time guiding players and delivering targeted, evidence based training. From academy sessions to first team match preparation, the system creates a seamless environment for performance, accountability, and progression.
“It’s simply a very efficient tool. We spend less time on administration, which allows us to better guide our players and conduct more in depth analysis.”
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