How UVA’s Varsity Squash Teams Replicate Game Demands with Firstbeat

The University of Virginia has been using Firstbeat Sports with its men’s and women’s squash teams since the start of the 2021/22 season. In the last several years, the coaching staff has developed their understanding of the system and refined how they use it to support training and performance.

In this interview, Mark Allen, Head Coach, Men’s & Women’s Varsity Squash Teams, explains how he and Assistant Coach, Rodrigo Porras, integrate Firstbeat into the players’ daily routines, and how the system informs coaching decisions and drives player buy-in.

How Firstbeat Shapes Daily Training

The players wear Firstbeat sensors for every practice and all individual workouts. Mark and the coaching staff use the data to monitor total training volume and give feedback on practice intensity, pushing players to train at game intensity as often as possible.

Mark explains, “Firstbeat provides a huge amount of data. As coaches, we monitor almost all of it, but for players, we keep it simple. We focus them on two key metrics, Training Volume (Equivalent Games Played), and Training Intensity (Minutes > 80%).

Equivalent Games Played (EGP) is the TRIMP load a player burns in a typical game. It’s individual-specific, based on real match data, and is influenced the most by their playing level, but also by their fitness and playing style.

Players finish most practices when they hit their individual EGP target—so not everyone finishes at the same time. This lets us train together as a team while personalizing workload.

We also hold “make-up” practices on the weekend. These are additional practices that players are required to attend if they are under their total EGP target for the week – unless they are under due to injury or illness.

In addition to knowing the TRIMP burned per game, we also track how much time each player spends in the 80% and 90% heart rate zones. We monitor this live during practice. If someone is under their target time, especially if they’re an outlier, we can make immediate adjustments. Sometimes it’s as simple as me stepping into the court or switching their practice partner.”

Using Firstbeat to Support Coaching Decisions

Mark believes Firstbeat has enabled the coaching staff to manage training volume much more effectively. Previously, this was nearly impossible with players attending different sessions under different coaches, often adding their own individual training on top. Absences due to classes, exams, illness, or injury created even more variability.

“Without Firstbeat, assessing individual physical effort was difficult to assess with a high degree of confidence,” explains Mark. “As a result, we’d often go into key matches with a mix, some players well-prepared, others overtrained or undertrained. It was very hit or miss.”

As a result of using Firstbeat, the coaching staff are able to monitor individual volume accurately, adjust workloads in real time, and make informed team training and team selection decisions based on data.

“We’re far more confident that most players are hitting the right volume in training—and peaking for matches. And when they’re not, we know it,” comments Mark.

Communication and Player Buy-In

Mark believes that less is more when it comes to communicating data, and has seen player engagement increase significantly since they simplified the data, condensing it down to two focus points.

“As coaches, we still dive deeper into the numbers, but when we present too much to the players, it dilutes the impact of the two metrics we really want them focused on,” says Mark.

Mark’s next goal is to get players to self-monitor over the winter break, a challenge that will require full buy-in from them. He explains:

“Our season is split in two, with a four-week gap over exams and Christmas. Historically, this is when we’ve seen the biggest drop-off in physical conditioning, despite it being mid-season. While NCAA rules prevent us from monitoring training during the break, players can self-track. And this year, I think we’ve got stronger buy-in for Firstbeat than ever before, so I’m hoping that this could be the season we finally maintain conditioning levels through the break.”

Breaking New Ground: Managing Rest and Recovery

One of the biggest changes the team has made is how they manage rest periods between drills and practices. When the coaching staff wants a session to replicate match conditions, the length of the rest is just as important as player effort and the intensity of the drills. Mark says:

“We now time every break precisely, usually with an app and alarm, to hold both coaches and players accountable. When we have two or three coaches. coaching 13 athletes at the same time, there is always something noticed, technical or tactical, that you feel a strong need to stop and point out, but those interruptions drastically reduce the overall physical demands of practice.”

Since reviewing the Firstbeat data, Mark was surprised to see how long some unintentional breaks actually were. He explains: “What I thought were 30–60 second pauses were often over 4 minutes! That allowed players to fully recover in a way that almost never happens in an actual match.

Now, we keep in-session coaching concise and deliver most feedback without stopping the drill, or only deliver it within the planned breaks. And anything that requires longer explanation—video playback, demos, detailed corrections—is saved for after practice or handled in separate one-on-one sessions.

We’ve made other changes too, but this shift has had the most surprising and significant impact on our training.”

With Firstbeat Sports, UVA’s squash program has moved from guesswork to precision-driven training, empowering coaches and players alike. By monitoring effort, intensity, and rest, the team ensures personalized training, peak performance, and smarter recovery.