Road to Australia/New Zealand: This Is How Swedish National Player Amanda Ilestedt Plans to Get an “Extra Edge” Through Data
Paris Saint-Germain (and future Arsenal London) defender Amanda Ilestedt doesn’t want to leave anything to chance: Before she joins the Swedish national team on July 8, she is undergoing individual training preparation. The training control is based on sports data analytics that will be provided by a KINEXON player tracker. Get insights into her training strategy and follow her journey all the way to Australia/New Zealand.
Her resume speaks for itself:
- Silver medal winner at the 2021 Olympics (Tokyo)
- French Cup winner in 2022
- German champion in 2021
- Multiple Swedish championships
- Swedish Defender of the Year 2021
She also takes her football training very seriously. She is always looking for ways to improve, as she gets set to make her third World Cup appearance with Sweden this summer.
llestedt was on the Swedish women’s team that finished in 3rd place in 2019. Knowing her team was so close to winning it all four years ago, she wants nothing more than to see her team improve this time around.
Experienced (And Familiar) Football Training Expert to Help Ilestedt
So, to prepare for this year’s event in Australia and New Zealand, llestedt is turning to her partner Rainer Mueller and KINEXON Sports for help. Mueller is an experienced player, having stints with Erfurt, Babelsberg, Magdeburg, Meppen, who is now a well-respected coach, trainer, and sports scientist. That’s where KINEXON comes in.
Mueller will compile sports data from KINEXON PERFORM GPS Pro. It’s a player tracking device that Amanda will wear during her individual training in the next weeks. Mueller will then analyze the data to develop insights that he can put into action in future training.
“We are both very passionate about sports. The goal is (for Amanda) to enter team training at a high level, (and now) there is a greater emphasis on football speed.”
Why Ilestedt Chose KINEXON
The couple will work with René Prüßner, who leads KINEXON’s sports science team and will be supported by Jana Hubel. They will help analyze the data and the couple’s routines, combining his (Prüßner’s) expertise with Mueller’s.
“One major advantage is that I have the experience and education (M.A. Sports Science) to utilize data in training,” Mueller said.
Mueller chose to work with KINEXON because of the chance to use a mobile, cloud-based system that provides live data (and the possibility to train anywhere without any infrastructure or internet connection needed if only post data is needed).
“We hope to gain an extra edge in our training with Kinexon. The aim is to quickly approach the demands of the game. Running loads in the forest are relatively easy to track in terms of distance and speed. However, since we are now focusing more on football-specific training, data is important. We want to track accelerations, speeds, and high intensity running distances to professionalize our training and plan it more effectively.”
Follow Amanda’s Road to Australia and New Zealand
Amanda, Rainer, as well as KINEXON Sports Scientists Jana and René will share some findings and information about the training regiments and personal insights, in this blog. We’ll continue to track “Amanda’s Road to Australia and New Zealand” and share her story.
Want to know more about the player tracking and performance analysis solution Amanda Ilestedt and Rainer Mueller are working with? Download the free brochure here!
Performance and Progress Evaluation by KINEXON
Throughout Amanda’s preparation, we observed a clear plan and execution based on the collected data. Week one commenced with basic endurance sessions, progressively adding more intense exercises such as football-related sprints, changes of direction, and intervals.
Gradually, technical and tactical exercises were incorporated to simulate specific game situations.From a sports science standpoint, this approach serves several purposes: to condition the body for the required strain, enhance stability in the knees and ankles – crucial for women athletes – and improve Amanda’s VO2max, boosting her endurance during matches.
What Player Tracking by KINEXON Can Do for Women Athletes
In 2022, KINEXON launched an initiative to support professionalization in women’s sports in the areas of training and load management and sports data analysis.
It includes a dashboard with features specifically designed to meet the needs of women athletes.
One example: With KINEXON’s so-called “cycle-oriented demand planner” coaches can easily monitor and control the workload of women athletes based on individual menstrual cycle and well-being. This guide explains how it works.
New Ways to Reduce Injury Risks
Studies show that all four phases of the menstrual cycle can impact the performance of women athletes. It can affect everything from injury risk to movement during a game or practice.
In fact, women athletes are up to six times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than men.
Learn more about KINEXON’s Women’s Initiative and the need for individualized sports analytics for women athletes here.
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