Be an Elite Coach, Build Elite Athletes

Things to develop your coaching and have a greater impact on your athletes. You define what your “elite” is!

By Isaac Leung, Athletic Skills

Hey reader,

Last week I recorded a great podcast with Jonty Norris, Head S&C at Sunderland and S&C coach for British Triathlon and he explains how you as Sports coaches, PE teachers and young practitioners can start to monitor their athletes.

How can you assess if your training is working? How do you know if your athletes are getting tired or not ready to train?

Stop guessing and start assessing.

See the full podcast episode here also if you would like to watch!

Athlete Monitoring Made Simple: Insights Every Coach Can Use

How do you know if your training is working? Without monitoring, you’re left guessing—and that could cost your athletes their performance.

Monitoring might sound like something reserved for elite-level teams, with GPS trackers and advanced tech, but it’s not about fancy tools. At its core, monitoring is about smarter decision-making—helping your athletes improve, avoiding burnout, and adapting training based on real feedback.

Jonty Norris, Head S&C Coach at Sunderland AFC, has worked across professional football, rugby league, and cricket. His experience shows that monitoring doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive to have a big impact. Here’s how you can start integrating it into your coaching.

Why Monitoring Matters

“Without monitoring, you have no idea whether you’re improving athletes, making them worse, or doing nothing at all,” says Jonty. Monitoring helps you evaluate whether your program is delivering results. It takes the guesswork out of coaching and allows you to make decisions based on evidence.

💡 Key Insight: Monitoring ensures your training is purposeful, not just busywork. It’s about making every session count.

Start Small: Focus on What Matters

One of the biggest mistakes coaches make is trying to track everything. Instead, Jonty recommends starting with one or two simple metrics that provide actionable insights.

• Subjective Measures: Ask athletes how they feel before or after training. A 1–10 fatigue scale or a simple “How’s your energy today?” can reveal a lot.

• Objective Measures: Use basic tools like sprint times or jump tests to track physical performance over time.

💡 Pro Tip: If you’re not prepared to act on the data, don’t collect it. Start with what’s meaningful and manageable.

Building Buy-In with Your Athletes

Even the best monitoring system will fail without athlete engagement. Athletes need to understand why monitoring is being done and how it benefits them.

Jonty shares an example from his time at Sunderland:

• By providing immediate feedback on jump tests, athletes could see how their performance compared to their baseline. This built trust and made them more invested in the process.

💡 Pro Tip: Always communicate the “why” behind monitoring. Show athletes how it connects to their performance goals to keep them engaged.

Keep It Simple: Subjective Monitoring Works

Sophisticated tools like GPS trackers and heart rate monitors are great but not always necessary. Jonty highlights that subjective data—how an athlete feels—often aligns closely with objective metrics like blood tests or performance scores.

For example:

• A quick check-in with athletes about soreness or fatigue can be just as effective as collecting advanced data.

• Use emoji-based scales or 1–10 ratings for younger athletes to make it simple and engaging.

💡 Pro Tip: Consistency is key. Tracking the same measures regularly helps you spot trends and make better decisions.

Adapt Monitoring to Your Environment

Whether you’re coaching grassroots players, youth athletes, or professionals, your monitoring system should fit your context:

• For Elite Teams: Combine subjective feedback with advanced tools like GPS and force plates for detailed analysis.

• For Youth Teams: Focus on relationships and communication. A quick pre-session chat about how players feel can provide invaluable insights.

• For Grassroots Players: Use simple methods like tracking sprint times or asking players to rate their energy levels.

💡 Pro Tip: Tailor your approach to the resources and athletes you have, not the ones you wish you had.

Red Flags and Coaching Adjustments

Monitoring isn’t about rigidly following data—it’s a conversation starter. If an athlete feels fatigued but performs well, dig deeper. If their performance drops despite feeling fresh, it’s time to investigate.

💡 Pro Tip: Use monitoring to ask better questions. For example, “What do you think affected your performance today?” This helps athletes reflect and improves your understanding as a coach.

A Coach’s Checklist for Simple Monitoring

Here’s how you can start monitoring your athletes effectively:

1. Pick 1–2 Metrics: Focus on what’s actionable—like fatigue levels or jump tests.

2. Communicate Clearly: Explain why monitoring matters and give athletes immediate feedback.

3. Be Consistent: Track the same metrics over time to identify trends.

4. Adapt to Your Environment: Use methods that suit your team’s level and resources.

5. Reflect and Refine: Regularly review your system to ensure it’s helping athletes improve.

Final Thoughts: Monitoring for Smarter Coaching

Monitoring doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. It’s about understanding your athletes better, making informed decisions, and helping them perform at their best. Whether you’re coaching kids in grassroots football or elite players in professional rugby, starting small and keeping it simple can make all the difference.

💬 Want to Learn More?
Join our COMMUNITY of 140+ UK-based coaches for daily tips, tools, and resources to transform your sessions. Reply with COMMUNITY to get a free 7 day trial to discover how monitoring can improve your athletes and elevate your coaching.

Let’s build smarter training environments together!

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Speak soon,

Isaac 🙂