Using Heart Rate Data to Plan and Deliver Pre-Season in Elite Soccer

Wednesday 17th June 2026 @ 14:00 UK BST, 15:00 CEST, 16:00 EEST

Every coach knows that pre-season is vital. It sets the tone for the rest of the campaign and provides a crucial opportunity to build the physical, psychological, and technical foundations that underpin elite in-season performance.

In this webinar, Dr. Patrick Orme, Head of Performance at Swansea City AFC, explains how Firstbeat Sports technology and internal load data are used within an elite football environment to guide training decisions, monitor player responses, and manage load progression throughout pre-season. The discussion covers off-season preparation, fitness testing, heart rate monitoring, training load management, individualization strategies, recovery assessment, and practical applications for decision-making in professional football.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction & webinar overview
02:24 Swansea City’s pre-season performance framework
06:50 Off-season preparation & player monitoring
09:15 Pre-season testing and fitness assessment
12:34 Internal vs external load monitoring
19:06 Building and progressing training load through pre-season
21:06 Using Firstbeat data for daily monitoring
27:37 Turning data into coaching decisions
30:48 Individualizing training and managing returning players
33:04 Recovery monitoring and readiness assessment
36:20 Q&A: Testing strategies and benchmarking players
40:10 Fitness testing methods and practical considerations
44:15 Key heart rate metrics for practitioners
47:27 Final thoughts and webinar wrap-up