# The Development and Evaluation of a Training Monitoring System for Amateur Rugby Union
## 3 Results  
### Evaluation of the Training Monitoring System  
#### 3.1.1 Coach Interview  
Six S&C coaches completed the semi-structured interview and survey, resulting in a response rate of 86%. All teams followed a similar typical weekly training schedule, whereby they completed a collective resistance training session on Mondays, a collective field-training session on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a match on a Saturday, and individual resistance training interspersed during the week. When asked if they had any TMS in place in previous seasons, only coach 6 replied yes, stating that they had _\"a leaders group and they used to give me RPEs after every session which I would use for my tracking and monitoring across the team\"_. The thematic analysis of the S&C coaches' opinions of the effectiveness of the TMS resulted in six distinct higher order themes outlined in Table 2. The four most prominent themes were: training prescription and design, injury risk reduction, usefulness of pre-session measures, and usefulness of sRPE (all with four coach responses). Six distinct higher order themes were identified from the thematic analysis of the S&C coaches' description of what challenges and issues they met while using the TMS (Table 3). The three most prominent themes were: Lack of player compliance, data inconsistency, and match-day challenges (all with six coach responses). In terms of introducing the system and getting compliance from the players, all six S&C coaches stated that they found the presentation successfully outlined the purpose and potential benefits of the TMS and demonstrated how to use it. All six S&C coaches stated they thought most players understood the benefits of using the system and did not think how the system was introduced had a major impact on the lack of compliance and consistency of the players. When asked during the interview if they would use the system again if it was available in future seasons, two coaches stated that they would use it again, two coaches stated they would use it again if they felt that they could get compliance from all the players, and two coaches stated that they likely would not use it again due to the work involved in getting players to use the system. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l} \hline \hline
**Section** & **Example Prompts** \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Coach and team profile} & _Was this your first season with the team?_ \\  & _Were there any training monitoring practices in place prior to this season?_ \\  & _What was the team’s typical weekly training schedule?_ \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Coach and player system use} & _What were your methods of introducing the system to the team?_ \\  & _How did you attempt to ensure compliance from players?_ \\  & _What were you hoping to get out of using the system?_ \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{System uptake and effectiveness} & _How effective was the training monitoring system in terms of (1) enhancing_ \\  & _player performance (2) reducing injury risk and (3) training load prescription_ \\  & _and training design?_ \\  & _How useful did you find the pre-session measures in terms of (1), (2) and_ \\  & _(3) above?_ \\  & _How useful were the post-session measures in terms of (1), (2) and (3) above?_ \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Coach’s use of the data} & _ Did the data influence your training practice and prescription?_ \\  & _How was information fed back to the players?_ \\  & _Did you have the support from other coaching staff?_ \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Challenges met and changes recommended} & _What challenges or problems did you meet using the system?_ \\  & _What do you think was the extent of burden placed on you and the players?_ \\  & _What changes to the system do you think are needed?_ \\  & _Would you use the system again next season?_ \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Structure of semi-structured interview guide and examples of prompts used in interviews with strength and conditioning coaches.