Portumna GAA is one of Galway’s most successful hurling clubs, including multiple county titles and All-Ireland Senior Club Championship wins. The club has embraced modern performance monitoring to maintain its competitive edge and ensure players are prepared for every game.
Transparency for Coaches & Players
When Portumna introduced STATSports into their set up last year, the impact was immediate.
Every player wears an Apex unit during training, which collects data on things like distance covered, high speed running, and sprint efforts. This information is automatically sent back to the coaching staff, giving them a clear picture of each player’s workload.
“When I heard we took this on this last year, I said, oh, they can’t hide. There’s no hiding place from this because you wear your unit. It comes back to the management, they see it, publish it to the group.”
This level of visibility means there’s no guesswork in training. Coaches can see exactly how much each player has run, how intensely they’ve worked, and whether they’re meeting their personal targets.
For players, it encourages accountability because everyone knows their effort is being measured, and the results are visible to the whole team.
This transparency fosters a culture where players push themselves while staying safe.
Tracking Physical Progression Over Time
STATSports GPS allows Portumna’s coaching staff to track performance trends over weeks, months and even years.
When using the Apex Tracker they can consistently measure metrics such as sprint distance, high-speed running, and total workload, coaches can see how players are improving over time.
One of hurling’s all-time greats, clubman Joe Canning knows what elite standards look like.
Canning highlighted how essential GPS technology has become in modern training, noting that it gives players and coaches a level of insight that simply wasn’t possible before.
“The data shows everything, you can see progression then obviously and you can track that year on year which is… without GPS you won’t be able to do that.”
Tracking progress in this way allows coaches to identify areas where players may need more focus, whether that’s building endurance, increasing sprint speed, or managing recovery.
The data also helps prevent overtraining by showing when someone is approaching their limits, ensuring that each player can improve safely and effectively.
Managing Player Load With GPS Data
One of the most important benefits Portumna has seen is a reduction in injuries.
By monitoring workloads, coaches can adjust training sessions to match each player’s current capacity. If a player is nearing their limit for the week, the session can be modified so they remain effective but avoid overloading their body. According to the coaching team, it has had a tangible impact.
“Yeah, injuries have gone down immensely since we started using it. Like we can change up our whole training session to see in the metrics or over the end we dived off the pace.”
This ability to modify training on the fly ensures players remain healthy while still developing their fitness and performance. It’s a tool that helps coaches manage the fine balance between pushing players to improve and protecting them from unnecessary strain.
A Coach-Friendly System
One of the reasons STATSports works so well for Portumna is how quickly the data can be downloaded post session & put to use.
Coaches can review key metrics in seconds and identify areas where training needs adjusting. This immediacy is especially useful for an amateur team, where coaching staff may have limited time but still want sessions to be effective.
“It only takes 10 or 15 seconds and then it’s that. He’ll have all that up now tonight and I’ll read it. You know, we’ll probably an area where we might have to do something to change tonight.”
By providing such fast feedback, STATSports allows coaches to make evidence-based decisions, rather than relying on memory or guesswork.
This ensures every session is tailored to the squad’s needs and helps maximize the benefits of each training opportunity – without someone having to sit for hours waiting on data to download.
Setting a Strong Culture
Beyond performance improvements, STATSports has also strengthened the team culture at Portumna.
The combination of transparency, accountability and friendly competition has brought a new level of engagement to the group. Players are more aware of their effort, motivated to improve, and better able to support one another through data-informed insights.
Even in an amateur environment, this small competitive element has made a significant difference in engagement and effort.
“Sean, the manager sends in top five performers every week so it’s good to be able to compare yourself against the other lads and see where you are and try and beat them I suppose.”
For Portumna, it has become an integral part of how the team trains, communicates, and grows together.
“It really has added to the competitive element of the group. There’s that accountability and that kind of culture brought into it. It has really brought us to another level again.”
By using performance metrics in a practical, accessible way, the club has created an environment where players can improve safely, coaches can make informed decisions, and the whole squad benefits from smarter, data-informed training.
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