Why Your Charts & Graphs Could Be Slowing You Down

Author Teofe Ziemnicki is TeamBuildr's Head of Sport Science & Product Manager, as well as being an accomplished Strength & Conditioning Professional.

We’ve hit peak reconning. Are we over-manufacturing the way we present information? Sure, fancy things get clicks. Have we shouted into the void so far that we have convoluted the true understanding behind the reason for data visualization in our field? 

Sandbox environments are great, but if you show up without a pail, shovel, or stencil, you may find it hard to build anything worthwhile. You’ll end up with mounds of dirt and the same result as your starting point, surrounded by sand with nothing to show for your time spent. 

So, is there really a point to having 37 charts on the same screen that all flash in different directions and lead you to believe that everything is happening at the speed of nothing?

Let’s get back to the Basics. Your shovel, pail, stencil are questions, problem solving, appropriate solutions:  Who am I working with, what are THEY trying to accomplish, how much time do I have to help?

DO YOU REALLY NEED A DASHBOARD FOR THE TEAM THAT SKIPS EVERY OTHER LIFT BECAUSE THEY ARE “TOO TIRED” FROM PRACTICE?

The problem here is not the lack of data; it’s likely the lack of trust from the Head Coach that what goes on in the weight room, or in your presence, is not of value and more of an afterthought. Does your dashboard show the number of check-ins you’ve had with that coach and the athletes outside the walls of your iron palace? 

I am being a bit daft, but I think we’ve taken the advice from scenarios that allow this type of advanced data visualization, representation, and collection to be produced, almost entirely without context. I am NOT here to say there isn’t value in the collection, understanding, and presentation of data. I am here to offer a perspective that maybe people were led too far. The dashboard was the final piece, the culmination of conversations, hours of problem-solving for the scenarios, the need for a quick display of mutually understood language, agreed upon in a conversation that didn't involve you, the viewer, of the final form. In a reduced format, it’s not so dissimilar to “hey, I just finished this video game, here’s my save file so you can say you finished it too”.

We are, at the end of the day, responsible for the continued development of the athlete. That takes conversations, relationships, not just data, one might think to be infallible. I will give you an example. I started working with a team, one of my first teams ever. The first thing that was suggested to me was a quick analysis after my first 2 sessions with them. These are the highlights of that 1-page doc. 

• First time working with them will be the start of the Spring Semester - they are a Fall sport. 
• Team coming from whiteboard workouts. 
• Focus should be on attitude towards the weight room; they do not see the translation between what they are doing and what can be seen in performance. 
• Previously, they had no volunteers to stay for workouts in the summer, intending to increase performance for the season. 
• The coaching staff controls all conditioning. 

I was new, from the above, how likely would a team respond to me showing up with a chart and saying, “This is what we need to focus on”? They barely cared to listen to the workout that was listed. So what were my goals based on this? 

• Express my initial concern to the Head Coach about the lack of focus and attention to detail in the weight room. 
  • Suggest a “earn the team's way to the weight room” approach. 
  • This was done through an initial warm-up/game intro to the weight room. 
  • Needed approval and back from the Head Coach that if they couldn’t get through to the weight room, it was seen as a failure of the team to take value in our performance. – This was secured through conversations with the coach. Who then echoed the message. 

• Simple Performance Metrics.  Vertical, 10-yard, pro-agility times Pre and Post Spring Semester. 
  • OK, YOU CAUGHT ME. I USED A REPORT
• Goal to get at least 1 person to see enough value when they decide to stay for the summer. 
  • We had 3 stay that summer. 
• Conditioning was going to be the final nut to crack. This had been done by the staff for years, and not something I would have changed with a few dots on a chart. This would take quite a bit of value proven from the ability to change culture, showcase performance results through programming, and trust from the athletes. 

Data should come from problems, problems posed TO YOU by the team, coach, staff, and observations. There’s no need to manufacture problems to find a solution because there's a need to show a chart. In the end, we started talking about profiling, fatigue data, GPS, etc. But that was not Year 1; those problems were not the ones to solve day one. Your team may be different, but don’t get caught in the game of recreating other people’s problems to solve your situation.