From Data to Court – Using Firstbeat in Women’s Basketball to Optimize Training and Recovery

In the world of competitive sports, every advantage counts. For women athletes, whose training needs and recovery patterns often differ from their male counterparts, understanding the intricacies of internal load and recovery is crucial.

In this interview, Chris Köller, Athletic Strength and Conditioning Coach at BC Pharmaserv Marburg, a women’s first-division basketball team in Germany, talks to us about how he got started with Firstbeat and how he uses it with his athletes.

Chris Köller’s Coaching Journey

Chris’ background in strength and conditioning coaching began as a young basketball player when he was looking for ways to improve his own performance. After completing his sports studies at university in Germany, he began working in the high school education system, before transitioning into full-time coaching for the Marburg basketball team where he has worked for the last six seasons.

Initially, Chris began by working with both the men’s and women’s teams but now works exclusively with the women’s team which includes a roster of international players from countries such as the US and Canada in addition to several national European players from Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

Athlete-Centered Coaching – Why Chris Chose Firstbeat

Chris has only been using Firstbeat for one season – a decision that came from the coaching team’s passion to continually improve their way of working and get to know their athletes better. He says:

“Every year I’ve been working with the head coach we always sit together after the season and think about how we can improve and how we can get to know our athletes in a better way. Last year we had a little trouble with ACL injuries, so we’re always thinking about injury prevention.

I went to a clinic for strength and athletic coaches for the men’s side and got talking a little bit with Dominic from Vechta who introduced Firstbeat to me.

After watching his webinar I thought that Firstbeat could be something that could really help us, especially since we have players who are not completely professional –  they go to college, they go to school, and some of them play on more than one team. So we thought this is something we could manage in a better way if we had a tool like Firstbeat.”

Introducing Firstbeat to the Team

Chris credits transparency as a crucial factor when it comes to getting the players on board with a new system like Firstbeat. He explains:

“With the players, when we started, we just handed the sensors out and told them we’re going to wear them during every on-court session. At first, the players worried that if they got ‘bad data’ they would get subbed out, so I explained to them that it’s just a tool we’re using.

For example, we had one player, coming back from injury, and when we had her sit out of practice or do an individual practice with me instead, we explained to the team why we were doing it, we were trying to be safe – it’s not like she had a bad practice.

So we tried to communicate a lot with the data at the beginning when all the players were coming up to me all the time asking – ‘is my data good, why am I in the red always?’

One thing that I really like is that Firstbeat is a conversation starter for me to get into a deeper dialogue with my players – you get into a little conversation and get more information out of the players than you probably normally would.

I had one player whose numbers were through the roof and I was thinking why were her numbers so high? She’s a youth player who has just moved up to the women’s team. She did an individual workout she’d never done before plus her friends were in the gym to watch her. Firstbeat showed me how these stressors were affecting her that I hadn’t really thought about.

It’s a good thing to monitor your internal training, load, it was something we couldn’t really grasp  before. The numbers show in the players’ data how external factors play into everything we do.

How Chris Uses Firstbeat with the Team

Chris uses Firstbeat with his players during every on-court training session and the players also wear the sensors during matches too.

“The sensors are kept at the gym in our locker room, the players just take them out and wear them, and then after the practice they put them back in the case and I download the data and talk about it with the head coach. Sometimes before the practice, the coach will want to know how high he can go with the numbers that day, and we’ve had some practices where we stopped early because of the Firstbeat numbers.

During games, it’s a different story. The players wear the sensors and I give my opinion if I think a player might need to rest a little bit. I tell the assistant head coach, who tells the head coach and then it’s up to them whether they want to sub a player out or not – I just give them my opinion.”

When it comes to Firstbeat metrics, the coaching team compares the TRIMP numbers, Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio, and EPOC. According to Chris, the players are also very interested in learning about their calorie loss in games and practices. He says,

“I can tell them to fuel up and if they see the high TRIMP numbers, I tell them they need to focus on their recovery the next day and they’ve got to get their nutrition right. They can see all the calories they burn, and especially on the women’s side they can’t handle a calorie deficit in the same way as men.

So it’s important to show players that they need to eat properly, especially after games, but also before games and during the week.”

The Importance of Internal Load Monitoring

Chris believes that monitoring internal load is helpful for injury prevention and to help plan practices better. Additionally, for those players who play for multiple teams, using Firstbeat is particularly useful. He explains,

“For the players who play for two teams, it’s a chance for us to get feedback on how the training load is for them with the other team and if they need a rest or if we can squeeze in another training session.”

Important Factors to Consider When Training Women Athletes

Having coached both the men’s and women’s teams, Chris believes certain factors should be taken into consideration when coaching women – such as the menstrual cycle and a greater risk of ACL injuries.

“Especially on the women’s side, we have seen how the monthly cycle affects the (Firstbeat) numbers. We are open when it comes to this, and try to keep a focus on it, especially in the on-court sessions.

If you don’t work with a women’s team, you probably wouldn’t even notice it that much, but it does reflect in our work and helps us decide whether to schedule individual workouts or not.

And if the numbers are high, it’s a good way to approach a player and ask them how they are feeling. It makes it so easy for me to approach a topic that some coaches might not be comfortable with. The players might then tell me they didn’t sleep well because they had cramps – so it helps to initiate that conversation.

On the women’s side, ACL tears are probably the number one injury, compared to the men’s side where it’s usually something like an ankle sprain. So this is something that we really have to deal with and be aware of – if you look at the league or national team, there are so many players who have suffered an ACL tear before.

Last year we had two players with ACL injuries and our ACL injuries have always correlated with the monthly cycle too. It’s always difficult in team sports if you have 15 players during practice, but you can keep these things in mind and work with the individuals.”

Bringing Players Back from Injuries with Firstbeat

When it comes to bringing players back from injuries, Chris believes having data on players before they were injured can be useful.

“If you have a player you worked with before they were injured you already know their numbers before the injury, so I know how high her numbers are for a regular team practice.

Usually, players start with me doing individual workouts and then do some conditioning work as well. We try to get the TRIMP numbers as close as possible to the team practice numbers from before the injury.

With the two players injured last year, I did not have any numbers, so we took an average out of the team practice we had and tried to move up as close to it as possible. So far it’s worked out pretty well.

And then, of course, the Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio should always be in a sweet spot. To have players join team practices for a week in order to play.”

Looking to the Future

Two years ago the team started a rebuilding process with new players, working with younger players and developing them over a longer period.

After spending the last season getting started with Firstbeat, Chris is optimistic about embracing the Firstbeat data further next season, with plans to upgrade to the Premium subscription and utilize Movement Load.

“I’m excited to use Movement Load with the premium version and see how that plays in. I did use the Quick Recovery Test a couple of times this season but this is something I hope to use more next season as well. When you start, it’s a lot of data, so it’s a step-by-step process moving my way up.”

Download our Firstbeat training load guide for basketball coaches to learn more about the Firstbeat metrics Chris talked about.

Inside the guide you’ll also get a copy of our men’s and women’s basketball reference values so you can see where your players are at compared to other professional teams!