# The Development and Evaluation of a Training Monitoring System for Amateur Rugby Union
## 4 Discussion
### The Player Compliance--Coach Feedback Loop  
The greatest challenge for S&C coaches may be getting initial and then continued compliance from players to ensure consistent data. All six coaches found the introductory presentation successfully demonstrated the purpose, potential benefits, and functionality of the system. It appears that, for it to be effective, players need to see value in using the monitoring system to the extent that it offsets the burden of using it. Two coaches suggested that lack of compliance was due to the team having a history of relatively low injury rates and players not being regularly required to play or train in a fatigued state, and therefore may not see the worth in using a system. However, [PERSON] et al. [46] found that the main reason for poor compliance from players was lack of feedback on their data and training modifications founded on said data. A limiting factor highlighted by all six coaches was the lack of consistency in the training data gathered, which resulted in difficulty supplying feedback to the players and adjusting the training prescription and design based on the data. Players rated the regularity of both receiving feedback on their data and the coaches using their data poorly, scoring 2.8/5 and 2.3/5, respectively. In fact, 10 players specifically highlighted the lack of feedback and lack of data use being a considerable deterrent to them using the system, with one player reporting he _\"would like more feedback on the data collected and this to be discussed very quickly as part of our training\"_ while another stated he _\"didn't really know if the monitoring system was looked at by rugby coaches\"_. Coaches also rated the regularity of their feedback (\(2.0\pm 0.6\)) and data use (\(2.0\pm 0.6\)) quite poorly. This causes a quagmire, whereby in order for S&C coaches to act on data it must be consistent, but players must receive regular feedback and perceive that their data is being acted upon in order to give it consistently. The success of a TMS is largely based on its ability and opportunity to lead to the implementation of change in practices and the delivery of feedback to players and other coaches is critical to achieving this [6]. To combat this disconnect, S&C coaches should consider outlining the issue when introducing their TMS and then scheduling regular collective feedback sessions throughout the season that show evidence of how the data is being used. The consensus statement on monitoring athlete TL by [PERSON] et al. [48] states that, for a TMS to be successful, a clear feedback loop that provides educational information to athletes needs to be established along with regular intervention if special circumstances arise. Additionally, an online system such as that used in the current study may be improved upon if the data analysis was real-time instantaneous within the software to allow S&C coaches to make in-time decisions on the data and feedback to players. Due to the challenge of achieving consistent data, future research should examine methods of addressing missing TL data and possible data imputation methods.