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Contents
- Introduction
- What does STATSport measure?
- Is STATSport only for football?
- What does the research say about STATSport?
- How easy is it to use STATSport?
- What data do users have access to on STATSport?
- What data do the coaches have access to on STATSport?
- Third Party Integrations
- STATSport Pricing
- Important considerations when using STATSport
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- References

Introduction
There are many different global positioning system (GPS) options that can be used across sports performance to track, monitor, and gather data on athletes. For more general information on GPS, please read GPS Wearables Part 1, and GPS Wearables Part 2.
STATSports (1), alongside Catapult (2), are popular choices used in a sporting setting but predominantly well-known and used frequently in football. The main purpose of data capture through both STATSport and Catapult is to help aid and enhance player and/or team performance. Various metrics can be measured during a training session or competitive game in which data analysts can examine the data and compare and contrast it to the individual or across the team setting for one or multiple sessions.
In some cases, it can be used to compare an individual to their own personal best and create a bank of data to create an average or it can be used to compare teammates or positions to one another. It can look to monitor the load and intensities players may have placed upon them from regular training and games therefore helping as an injury prevention strategy too.
What does STATSport measure?
All GPS trackers in a sports performance setting will likely measure or capture similar data. There will be some differences pending on the brand or company in question. Refer to the appendices to learn the extensive list of what STATSports metrics are measured alongside the definitions for each one.
Is STATSports only for football?
No, the STATSports Apex system currently provides a platform for football, basketball, rugby, athletics, American football, hockey, and cricket. Some of the most elite sporting teams in the world utilise STATsports such as PSG, Arsenal, USA National teams, England Rugby, Miami Dolphins, England Football Association, Brazil Football Association, SA Rugby and so many more.

What does the research say about STATSport?
Various research studies have been conducted to determine the validity of the Apex pods created by STATSports (3, 4, 5). A specific study guided by Beato, and colleagues investigated the validity of the STATSports Apex 10 and 18 Hz pods in comparison to a Stalker ATS Radar Gun (considered gold standard) to measure distance and peak speed. The study which used 20 university students within its sample, completed a 20 m sprint, 400 m run, and a 128.5 circuit made up of various movements across multiple directions. The primary findings of this study supported the validity of both Apex models because the STATSports Alex (10 and 18 Hz) reported a small degree of error of around 1 – 2 % compared to the criterion distances during the trials (3). For context, the bias (%) was measured against that where poor equated to >10%, moderate between 5 -10 %, and good indicated and < 5 % (6).
With every study conducted or research completed, limitations will naturally occur. In this case, this precise research examined sport-specific movements but mostly against linear trials, which in a team sport setting can be rare given the multidirectional movements often required. However, the conclusion of the study dictated that both units can be used with confidence to measure these specific variables during training and match play. As a practitioner it is important to look into research that has been conducted on any GPS device to determine its reliability and validity in the field and find that works best for the squad and MDT.

How easy is it to use STATSport?
The athlete will wear a vest or sports bra which contains a pouch at the back for a small tracking device to fit into. The FIFA-approved GPS tracker has one button to turn on, and off, and to sync sessions with a phone, iPad, or laptop. Once the tracker is set up with all relevant personal details, goals, and is fully charged, it is ready to go! Simply hit the button once to turn the device on and place it into your vest with the button facing outwards.
It may take some time in the initial sessions or games to pick up the GPS, but once you hear a beep three times simultaneously, this indicates the tracker is on and starting to collect data. Once your session has finished, simply hold the button on the tracker until it beeps and shuts down.
To check out the stats for a session, simply hold the button to turn the tracker back on and hit the ‘sync’ button on your app. It will take a few minutes to upload the data and the app will request some additional information from the user. Data needed is as follows: input whether it was a game or training session, position played, start time and end time.
What data do users have access to on STATSport?
As an individual athlete, the data on the app will be presented across three categories: volume, speed, and cardio. The user can toggle the various categories at the top of their app.
The volume will provide data on:
- Total Distance
- Heatmap
- High Speed Running
- High Intensity Distance
- Distance Per Minute
Speed will provide data on:
- Max Speed
- Sprints
- Accelerations & Decelerations
- Step Balance
*Cardio will provide data on:
- Max HR
- Average HR
- Red Zone
*Can only be provided if the athlete wears the HR monitor.
Figure 1.0 represents an example of the volume tab on an iPhone setting showing HID. Like most metrics, it will provide the data from the specific session or game completed (far left) but also provide comparisons against ‘Your Community’ and ‘Pro Benchmark’.
‘Your Community’ refers to the benchmark set when initially setting up your profile. This will be based on your sport, age, and the position selected.
‘Pro Benchmark’ refers to the person, level, or team indicated when first setting up your profile. There are many options for you to compare your scores and data against, whether it be Phil Foden or Katie McCabe, or looking at general pro men /women or equally, international levels.
Figure 1. Example data of High Intensity Distance
What data do the coaches have access to on STATSport?
Whether an athlete utilises the data alone or as part of the squad, they will have access to the same information regarding their details and data. If part of a wider squad, the information will likewise be linked to the coach’s series platform that STATSports offers. The coaches and/or analysts have full access to every member of the squad and their corresponding data for any training session or game where they can manipulate comparisons to positions or other areas they wish to link or view.
Figure 2.0 provides an example of a specific game comparing four different players looking at only total distance (TD) matched to high-intensity distance (HID). Not only can you see the data on the dashboard, but it can also be exported via a PDF or CSV file.
Figure 2.Example of Coaches Dashboard comparing four players from a specific game.
The data transferred to a CSV file will be player name, squad name, date of game, opposition, drill name (relates to first half, second half, total), TD, HSR, distance per min, max speed, HID, number of sprints, sprint distance, acceleration, deceleration, and calories. In the event the squad have HR monitors linked up, this information will be pulled across as well. There is a lot of data that can be captured and explored through GPS analysis, which can certainly make data analysis overwhelming. To use GPS data as an advantage, regularly using features such as Power BI, or data visualisation tools can aid in consistent messages and easier communication within the coaching staff.
Third-Party Integrations
The Apex Athlete, to date, has one third-party integration which is with Apple Health. This connection between the software allows sessions to be shared alongside calories and total distance. It is an easy integration to set up and requires the user to go onto the ‘more’ section within the app and proceed to ‘connected apps’ to link together. Catapult on the other hand has designed an integration which combines data and analysis into one. This feature connects the athlete’s performance alongside the data capture so insights can be taken at any movement during a game or match. A final example of a newer GPS sports tracking device, Playerdata, which does not have any current third-party applications as it stands allows the user to utilise all data within the app.
STATSport Pricing
STATSports pricing depends, like all GPS companies, on the package the user or club intends to purchase. As an individual athlete, you can pick up a vest, pod, and access to the app for typically around £199.99 (as of Sept 2023). The one-time fee allows the athlete to utilise the app and pod as much as they like to capture their data. Various bundles are available where additional vests/branded Arsenal vests or other sporting clothes are included for a higher price.
The APEX is a one-time fee for an individual user where no monthly subscription or additional costs are included. To fit an entire squad, you will need to speak with a representative from STATSports for them to provide guidance on what they offer and what the final charge would be. When purchasing APEX devices for an entire squad, this promotes the use of the APEX Coach Series which is an online software system that allows practitioners to track all player’s data in one place.
On the other end of the spectrum, Playerdata will cost an individual user £120.00 per year (as of Sept 2023) which similar to STATSport, provides access to the EDGE unit, sports vest, and app. As a final comparison, Catapult, provide payment through subscription. Catapult One, provide a yearly subscription which allows access to the Catapult One pod, vest, and the app. The app does not only provide insight into personal performance data but contains a valuable library of in-season, out-of-season, training, and recovery videos designed by elite coaches for the user. The cost of the Catapult One starter kit for 12 months is £159.99 (as of Sept 2023) and like STATSports, has the potential for multiple purchases for a squad, providing a detailed dashboard on all data collected. Other advanced pods can be purchased through Catapult, known as the Vector S7 and Vector T7 which report data for outdoor and indoor solutions, respectively.
When selecting the right GPS for yourself or an entire squad, it is important to find the right match. This may depend on the metrics you want to investigate, the budget you have or simply down to whether you get ongoing support. Research around the key areas is important to help determine the options that are presented to find a suitable fit for you and/or your team.
Important considerations when using STATSport
How to Make the Data as Accurate as Possible?
Some of the metrics measured will likely need to be adapted to the individual to receive the most reliable and valid data possible, especially if working at the non-elite level. For example, across a squad of 25 football players, each will have a different top speed and therefore varying average speeds during high- speed and top-end speed movements. If the data collected is based on all 25 players hitting high-speed running over 5.5m/s, then some will breeze past this in data terms, while others may struggle and look like they have not put the relevant work in. An example demonstrated below explores the profiles of two different athletes.
Table 1. Example data only and on the basis that STATSports is set up with the same metrics for both athletes.
Metrics | Athlete A | Athlete B |
---|---|---|
Position | CAM | CAM |
Top Speed | 7.59 m/s | 6.11 m/s |
High-Speed Running | 309 | 119 |
No. Sprints | 16 | 3 |
What does this data tell us?
Firstly, as an analyst wearing a critical thinking hat is crucial to understand what the data means and more importantly, how this informs any training, games or strategies moving forward. For instance, just because ‘Athlete A’ records better data to look at, does not necessarily equate to them having a better performance. ‘Athlete B’ may have created more assists, goal opportunities or involvements, and/or better-passing statistics throughout the game, as an example. The data collected provides an insight into that athlete and the load put on their body and helps to see where improvements can potentially be made. In this case with the data above, ‘Athlete B’, was set to the same benchmark as 5.5m/s to record any HSR with 6.0m/s per sprint made.
The table shows that if ‘Athlete B’ has a max speed of 6.11m/s as their best score, the likelihood of completing this every single sprint is low and therefore will spit out fewer HSR yards and a lower count in sprints which can provide the objective data view that they did not work as hard as ‘Athlete A’. ‘Athlete A’ on the other hand has a much higher top speed so any running movement where they cover between 5.5m/s and their top speed is counted.
Some professional clubs may keep the metrics consistent across the board for the entire squad regardless of personal bests or position. Others may adapt certain metrics to get a more accurate reading for each athlete. Often at the non-elite level, it makes sense to adapt these metrics to best suit the athlete in question. The software for STATSport allows you to amend the ‘Sprint Speed Entry’ so it does not need to be set at 5.5m/s and can be amended to suit the athlete in a more individualised approach.
Amending start and end times
When inputting a new session and entering the relevant data, the start and end times must be as accurate as possible. If you do not provide these, then the data represented for a specific session will be everything from the moment it connects to the moment the device is switched off. If you do not wish to use the warm-up, cool-down, or any periods in between (such as half-time) then these timings need to be adapted as the practitioner sees fit. In some cases, certain practitioners utilise the entire time the device picks up, even if it includes additional time away from the 90-minute duration of a football match, as it still represents the entire load a player has placed upon them, game-specific data or not.
Conclusion
GPS tracking devices are becoming a staple within an elite sporting environment to help get that extra edge on opposition and inform training strategies, while best serving the athletes with load monitoring. Despite STATSports and Catapult leading the way specifically in football, both companies have branched off and entered different sporting environments, with the latter covering a bigger pool of sports. STATSports tracks and provides data on 16 different metrics that are split between the categories of volume, speed, and cardio. Numerous studies have shown that STATSports Apex 10 and 18 Hz show high consistency regarding validity that can be used in both a training and game setting. The pods are extremely easy to use, where one button can turn the device on, and off and sync the sessions directly to a phone or tablet.
The insight provided allows an athlete, or wider coaching staff, to capture the data to help optimise performance and enhance recovery. STATSports provides insight into a lot of data points so as a practitioner it is extremely important to know what data to look for and how to use this to inform future training, sessions, or games. The data can be extracted and used across multiple visualisation tools, such as Power BI, to condense, highlight or reflect specific data.

Appendix
Accelerations
A single score of the number of accelerations completed over 3m/s2 during a session or game.
Average Heart Rate
This metric can only be reported if the athlete wears a BLE or Magnetic heart rate monitor at the same time as their tracker The average heart rate score throughout the session or game is recorded in Beats Per Minute (BPM).
Calories
A total count of the number of calories perceived to have been burnt during the session completed.
STATSports offers a live session which can look at these additional metrics below:
- Current Heart Rate The current heart rate a person is reporting at that specific time.
- Current Speed The speed a person is moving at in m/s, km/h, or mph.
Catapult, for example, measures 14 different metrics (Top Speed, Distance Per Minute, Power Score, Work Ratio, Max Acceleration, Max Deceleration, Player Load/Min, Heart Rate Max, Heart Rate Load/Min, Sprint Distance/Min, Sprints/Min, Accelerations/Min, Decelerations/Min, Time in Red Zone) some of which are similar to STATSports, and some like ‘Power Score’ and ‘Work Ratio’ are different. In this case, the Power Score relates to the power output used per KG of weight and is used to gauge the intensity of training drills where a high work rate in a small area may occur. Work Ratio is shown as a percentage of the total time an athlete was performing some type of activity or work where it is higher than a speed of 1.5 m/s.
Decelerations
A single score of the number of decelerations completed over 3m/s2 during a session or game.
Distance Per Minute
This is the amount of distance you cover divided by the duration of a session. For example, if you cover 7.6 miles during 90 minutes then the distance per minute would equate to 148.6 yards covered per minute. Typically, the fitter the athlete the more distance per minute that they can cover consistently.
High Speed Running (HSR)
Refers to the distance an athlete covers over 5.5m/s (19.8km/h).
High-Intensity Distance (HID)
This reports the amount of HSR distance completed while accelerating and decelerating.
Intensity
This is a feature that needs to be unlocked but aims to help determine what type of intensity the session or game was for an individual. It considers the High-Intensity Distance (HID) and the total distance covered. This metric is determined by intensity bands as noted below:
Very High = >/= 30%
High = 24-29.9%
Moderate = 18-23.9%
Low = 12-17.99%
Very Low = 0-11.9%
The higher the intensity the more load a player is likely to have had on them during a given session. This metric can help inform recovery and training strategies.
Maximum Heart Rate
This metric can only be reported if the athlete wears a BLE or Magnetic heart rate monitor at the same time as their tracker. The single number of the highest your heart rate goes during a session or game is measured in Beats Per Minute (BPM).
Max Speed
One single score of the maximum speed you reached throughout your session or game.
No. of Sprints
The number of sprints an athlete covers in a session or game. To record a sprint, the athlete must hold this specific speed for above 1 second.
Sprint Distance
The amount of distance covered when sprinting.
Step Balance
Relates to running style and picks up any imbalances that may occur between your right and left leg. Often you want to record a 50:50 step balance but in the event the scores deviate quite significantly (+/- 2 either side) this could pertain to a historical injury or potential injury threat.
Time in Red Zone
This reports the amount of time an athlete spends at or above 85% of their maximum HR value.
For example, an athlete aged 28 will have a Max HR of 192 which indicates their time in the red zone is any time spent at or over 163bpm.
Total Distance
This refers to the total distance an athlete will cover during a session or game.
- STATSports. [ONLINE] Available at <STATSpots.com>. [Link]
- Catapult. [ONLINE] Available at <www.catapult.com>. [Link]
- Beato, M., Coratella, G. Stiff, A., Lacono A.D. (2018). ‘The Validity and Between- Unit Variability of GNSS Units (STATSports Apex 10 and 18 Hz) for Measuring Distance and Peak Speed in Team Sports.’ Frontiers in Physiology, 9. [Link]
- Beato, M., Devereux, G., Stiff, A. (2018) ‘Validity and Reliability of Global System Units (STATSPorts Viper) for Measuring Distance and Peak Speeds in Sports’, Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 32(10), pp.2831-2837. [Link]
- Beato, M., de Keijzer, K.L. (2019) ‘The Inter-Unit and Inter-Model Reliability of GNSS STATSports Alex and Viper Units in Measuring Peak Speed Over 5, 10, 15, 20 and 20 Meters’, Biology of Sport, 36(4), pp. 317-321. [Link]
- Hopkins, W.G., Marshall, S.W., Batterham, A.M., and Hanin, J. (2009) ‘Progressive Statistics for Studies in Sports Medicine and Exercise Science’. Medical Science Sports Exercise, 41, pp. 3-13. [Link]
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