Developing the Next Generation with Protern.io
Protern might be making waves on the World Cup circuit but it is not just for elite athletes. We connected with two development team coaches to find out how junior racing teams are using Protern to help develop their athletes.
We had the chance to talk with Frederick Thomas, head coach of Schneesport Mittelland/Nordwestschweiz regional program in Switzerland, and former Whistler Mountain Ski Club coach Mark Tilston, now head coach of the men’s Canadian Alpine Ski Team.
One of the main features of Protern is the capacity to build and measure quantriqs, a term used to refer to quantifiable metrics or specific segments created within a run.
At all levels this feature helps athletes and coaches make adjustments in order to improve. More specifically at the junior level, where athletes are still learning how to analyze their runs, Protern has the potential to help them clearly see where they have skied well and where they can improve.
This fits within clear performance comparison, where athletes can visualize where time or speed changes across the course.
“One thing I have noticed is how engaged the athletes were with the data Protern gave them access to. They would change their strategies in order to see how this would affect their performance,” stated Thomas. “This is important in maintaining a high level of motivation for the athletes.”
“I’m keen to explore scenarios in which athletes try out different tactics and try to predict how each tactic will affect their speed or section time,” Thomas added. “I am hoping this will help them develop a better understanding of which tactics to adapt in different situations depending on pitch and course setting.”
From a coaching perspective, Protern has benefits beyond the data itself. It offers a straightforward timing system that is lightweight and practical for programs without elite-level resources.
“The ease of use of such a light and simple system for many trainers who don’t have the same resources as at elite level seems very useful to me,” says Thomas.
Tilston shared many of Thomas’ sentiments. “The total time is very interesting; however, it is the ability to see where speed and time are lost.”
This ability to see where performance changes aligns with video and GPS athlete data linked together, helping athletes connect what they feel with what the data shows.
Tilston further explained that for his older development racers Protern could serve as a valuable tool for tracking volume and, if paired with other metrics, could help indicate workload.
“Were they to become commonplace it would make an incredible opportunity to actually monitor the tasks performed on snow and compare to development in the medium to long term,” says Tilston.
Like in any sport, there are different views about how much skiing is the right amount. An exciting potential use for Protern is to use its data to help determine more accurate ski-specific training time for different age groups.
Racing teams are looking forward to exploring these broader development possibilities as the new training season gets underway.
To understand how this fits into daily capture and review on the hill, see How Protern Works or talk to us.
