GPSports

<div style='color:#000;font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;'>Tracking players' training is the secret behind Sydney's new stamina</div>(Dec 21 16:57) <img style="float: right;" src="http://www.gpsports.com/gpsports_website/Craig_Duncan_Sydneyfc.jpg" alt="Craig Duncan Sydney FC" width="420" height="304" />SYDNEY FC players might say self-belief and character are the reasons for their uncanny streak of comebacks this season, but the truth almost certainly resides inside the laptop of Dr Craig Duncan.
The club's high performance chief is credited by Sky Blues insiders with putting together a fitness program designed not only to minimise injuries, but also to make the Sky Blues physically the strongest team in the competition.
The statistics prove how Sydney have been able to maintain their performance in the second half while other teams wilt. Incredibly, 11 of their 14 goals this season have been scored in the 58th minute or later. With eight games in 36 days to come, every advantage will be needed.
The devil is in the detail - or the data, to be exact. Duncan collects and analyses thousands of pieces of information from his players in training via GPSports GPS tracking devices.
The coaching staff are so trusting in his methods that he can halt training if the players' loads are too high. Conversely, he'll let them know if they aren't going hard enough.
''The coaching staff all understand the importance of what I'm trying to do and we all work together,'' he said yesterday. ''I'm lucky to be at a club where everyone, from the head coach to the physio, is pulling in the same direction and accept this is the best way to go. We're able to tailor sessions according to predetermined modelling and, so far, it's going really well.''
Duncan's methods are not just admired internally. He has attracted offers from big-spending AFL clubs and recently addressed a medical forum in London attended by some of the world's biggest sports teams.
He is openly sceptical about the use of ''strength and conditioning'' coaches as peripheral figures, saying coaches must embrace proper medical staff as part of their planning.
''I'm not interested in making us the fittest team in the A-League. I'm looking at creating a team which measures itself, fitness-wise, on an international scale,'' he said.
Duncan oversaw performance reviews with the players and coaches at the end of last season and one of his key recommendations was that the club had to raise their levels of fitness if they were to bridge the gap on the league's top teams.
The efforts of his research are bearing fruit. With 11 games gone, Sydney have already come from behind three times to win - something they managed once in the previous two seasons under Vitezslav Lavicka.
The proof was evident on Saturday in Newcastle, where the Jets led 1-0 and looked destined to win until the Sky Blues ended up running right over their opponents, who were spent both physically and mentally.
One of the biggest fans of Duncan's methods is marquee player Nicky Carle. After suffering a horror year with injury last season, Carle sat down with Duncan to work out a program to get him back to his best.
''The program he put me on actually started before pre-season and it put me in perfect stead for that,'' he said. ''The set-up Sydney have at the moment - in terms of science, medicine, rehab and coaches working together - is second to none.'' <hr> <div style='color:#000;font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;'>NRL Preseason pain brining Cowboys together</div>(Dec 19 16:12) <img style="float: right;" title="Wayne Ulugia" src="http://www.gpsports.com/gpsports_website/Qld_Cowboys_2011.jpg" alt="QLD Cowboys" width="300" height="433" />Taking One for the Team!
(Cowboy Wayne Ulugia pushes through the pain barrier at the Palmetum) 
The mental and physical war this NRL pre-season goes well beyond the individual for the North Queensland Cowboys.
While the pain etched on each player's face may look like a solitary battle, high performance manager, Paul Bowman's gruelling torture sessions extend to far more than just testing their fitness and resilience.
It is building a team first, individual second mentality that the Cowboys hope can take them to their maiden premiership.
"I enjoy the way they battle through it, no so much the hurt, but the special effort they make to lift others," Bowman says.
Never was that more evident when Nth Queensland's squad assembled at the Townsville Palmetum on Friday.
Ahead of the players were seven 650m runs, each separated by a four minute break before they set off again. <hr> <div style='color:#000;font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;'>The secret of RVP’s goals </div>(Dec 18 16:46) <h2 class="padding-bottom-7" style="font-size: 1.05em; line-height: 1.05em;"><img style="float: right;" src="http://www.gpsports.com/gpsports_website/RVP.jpg" alt="Robin Van Persie - Arsenal Player" width="197" height="256" />ROBIN VAN PERSIE insists he is staying injury-free — thanks to computers.</h2>
The Premier League's leading marksman faces Manchester City tomorrow looking for the strike that will equal Thierry Henry's Arsenal record of 34 Premier League goals in a calendar year.
Alan Shearer is the all-time leader on 36.
The injury-jinxed Emirates star is loving the fact he has remained fit throughout the season to help Arsenal overcome their early-season nightmare.
Arsene Wenger is one of an increasing number of manager who uses GPSports, a system which gives detailed analysis of a players contribution and work-rate during a game.
Van Persie said: "I can play three matches every week and last year I did that many times.
"But sometimes, I have to take a step back as I did against Olympique Marseille in November.
"In the phase before that, I'd played a lot and from the measurement results it showed that I had to rest.
"The trainer wanted me to start the match but at the last moment decided to go along with the results of the GPS system and that was that I could play for a half hour.
"And a couple of days later against West Brom I benefited from that."
Four days after the goalless draw with Marseille — in which Van Persie played for 28 minutes — he scored in the 3-0 win over West Brom and is now top of the charts with 15 strikes this season.
He said: "Ultimately, I've been fit now for more than a year and have played in every Premier League match.
"Because of that folk are now seeing that, after all, there is more to me than they thought.
"Of course I understand that there are still some people who are still sceptical about my injuries but when you look closely how they occurred then it's another story.
"The conclusion is that I couldn't have prevented them.
"That's why it's unfair and misplaced that they say that I was responsible but that's how it is in the top sport." <hr> <div style='color:#000;font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;'>Plan to use GPS technology in NRL footballs to track forward passes</div>(Sep 13 18:10) CRICKET has its Eagle Eye, Snickometer and Hot Spot. Tennis has Hawk-Eye. Swimming has electronic sensors in the pool, athletics has photo finishes. Rugby league has got its video referees to judge offside, foul play, grounding of the football and just about everything else - except for forward passes. Now one of Australia's leading sports technology companies, GPSports Systems, is developing cutting-edge software that will ensure an <img style="float: right;" src="http://www.gpsports.com/gpsports_website/Balltracker2.jpg" alt="" width="294" height="165" />accurate ruling on forward passes from next season. It works like this ... a micro chip and battery (the size of small finger nail) is included in the layering of Steeden footballs for NRL use only. A signal is sent via satellite to computer grid in the video referee's box within a quarter of a second. A computer alarm or beep will sound if the ball is propelled forward from a player's hands - not for passes that have been directed backwards but float forward. The video referees will alert on-field officials in a process that takes just a few seconds and will not interfere or slow down the run of play. GPSports System spokesman Damien Hawes declined to go into great detail about his invention because the company is still in the process of getting a patent on the device. However, he did say: "I can confirm we'll have a positional system for the football that will get down to a centimetre for accuracy and reliability of where the ball moves on the field. Our staff have been working on it for some time because it has to be robust enough to handle kicking, passing, impact in tackles and players falling on it. "It's something we will take to the NRL during the off-season. "There is no question it will help on the adjudication of forward passes." Referees boss Bill Harrigan concedes at least six tries have been allowed this season from forward passes and that others have been called back from legitimate passes. One blatant miss - when Robbie Farah passed 1m forward to Blake Ayshford in Gosford last Friday night - cost Manly the game and possibly a $100,000 bonus that comes with the minor premiership. "Considering the number of tries scored, it's a small percentage, " Harrigan said. "But if anyone can show us technology that is going to help our guys, I'm all for it. Umpires and referees in other sports like cricket and tennis are getting help all the time." Channel 9 has welcomed the innovation and wants it to be part of their television broadcasts next season. "It would be a fantastic thing for television," said Nine's sports technology guru Brad McNamara. "It will tell you exactly what angle the ball leaves a player's hands within a quarter of a second. The fans will love it and it will take enormous pressure off referees." A spokesperson for Steeden, whose footballs are made in India, said manufacturing a football with a sensor was a possibility and said the company looked forward to having talks with GPS experts. "It's definitely something we could look in to," brand and marketing manager Leah Curtis said. "It's something that could be included in the layering of the ball. The mechanics would have to ensure it didn't affect the performance of the football." Harrigan said he was looking forward to being shown the new technology that could be trialled in the All Stars match in February and other pre-season matches."If this sort of technology was available and it takes pressure off the referees, I'd be all for it," he said. "If it can happen without impacting on the continuity of the game, it's something I'd love to look at." NRL boss David Gallop said of the plan: "If it works then we would consider it - tracking devices used in cricket and tennis are terrific. Anything that is going to help our game and help our referees is worth looking at." <hr> <div style='color:#000;font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;'>NRL football with GPS passes fan test</div>(Sep 13 04:49) THE NRL is under pressure to adopt GPS microchip technology after fans and some NRL coaches threw their support behind the revolutionary idea yesterday. More than two thirds of fans in a Daily Telegraph online poll yesterday said the idea should be implemented by the NRL to eradicate referee blunders on forward passes. The Telegraph yesterday revealed GPSports Systems are developing technology capable of ensuring more accurate referee decisions by inserting a small microchip and battery inside Steeden footballs. <img style="float: right;" src="http://www.gpsports.com/gpsports_website/Balltracker3.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" /> In a strong sign of approval from fans, 1010 voters of the total 1517 respondents in the online poll said it was a good idea, following recent blatantly incorrect referee decisions, including Tigers captain Robbie Farah's forward pass to Blake Ayshford last Friday - which ultimately cost Manly the game. Knights coach Rick Stone and Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan support the idea. Stone said the NRL has to consider using the technology from the opening round of the 2012 season. "Anything that is going to give us more consistency in decisions has to be looked at," Stone said yesterday. "We've got to look at the technology if it's going to give us the right decisions. "Every coach has had a decision go against them and every coach has had a decision go their way, so it's probably evened itself out in the end. Referees can't always be in the right decision. This might be able to help them." Flanagan said his support for the idea is conditional on the technology only being used by video referee's ruling on potential tries. Flanagan also raised the idea of NRL coaches being given "challenges" to use video reviews if they believe referees have made an incorrect call. A similar system is used in cricket and tennis. The technology can obviously help, but I'm just concerned we might have to wait too long to get a decision," Flanagan said. "If someone throws a forward pass and the referee has to wait a couple seconds before making a ruling, a lot can happen in that time. But if play is already stopped then let the technology be available to the video ref. If they can get that right, I think it could be good for the game." <hr>