A mine of information: can sports analytics provide wisdom from your data?

This paper explores the notion that the availability and analysis of large datasets has the capacity to improve practice and change the nature of science in the sport and exercise setting. The increasing use of data and information technology in sport is giving rise to this change. Websites hold large data repositories and the development of wearable technology, mobile phone applications and related instruments for monitoring physical activity, training and competition, provide large data sets of extensive and detailed measurements. Innovative approaches conceived to exploit more fully these large datasets could provide a basis for more objective evaluation of coaching strategies and new approaches to how science is conducted. The emergence of a new discipline, sports analytics, could help overcome some of the challenges involved in obtaining knowledge and wisdom from these large datasets. Examples of where large datasets have been analyzed, to evaluate the career development of elite cyclists, and to characterize and optimize the training load of well-trained runners are discussed. Careful verification of large datasets is time consuming and imperative before useful conclusions can be drawn. Consequently, it is recommended that prospective studies are preferred to retrospective analyses of data. It is concluded that rigorous analysis of large datasets could enhance our knowledge in the sport and exercise sciences, inform competitive strategies, and allow innovative new research and findings.