Tips and Tricks for Collecting and Analyzing your Data
- Find a system that works for you. Make sure you have a method to record and assess data in a way that is valuable for you and your athletes.
- Try not to over-test! Work on skills rather than testing where athletes are at all the time. I am much more concerned with skill development and fun! I also don’t start recording testing until they are 14 years old.
- Always question what your goal is by completing each test. Will precision testing each practice make you a better shooter? Maybe to a certain point, but it is not the most sport specific test out there. What are you trying to achieve by testing this?
- Chart where your team is as a whole. Where does your group need to improve?
- When assessing this, be critical of what actually needs to improve in which order. I always have, and will always continue to prioritize ski speed before shooting. Therefore, I expect to see lower shooting averages than the “ideal” at a young age as that is not my focus. I am completely okay with that as shooting can progress much more drastically at a later stage than ski speeds can.
- Remember that the standards are set quite high, matching international expectations. The point of the ladder or “level up” style is to encourage athletes to work to improve, and see where they compare to the rest of the world.
- Lastly, being successful or unsuccessful at any particular standard does not mean you are a future Olympian or that it is hopeless for you to continue in the sport. Biathlon has many, many variables! This is just another tool in the tool belt to find what is best to improve in to help increase overall success.
*Note about any data standards. As the world of sport is always changing, so are our standards! If you notice anything needs an adjustment or change, please let me know what your thoughts are. I consider these documents to be a continuous working project as I collect more data and collaborate with more coaches.
Shooting Standards By Age
Ski Speed Data
In order to calculate ski speed in a race, you need a way to calculate out the range time. This formula is a decent averaging system to calculate out the range timing and then . This idea was originally given to me by Geret Coyne. I’ve adjusted the charts and formulas for my own use and hope you can do the same. Remember these calculations are set roughly for the average IBU or WC Racer. Some parts of the formulas may need to be adjusted if you are trying to get perfect calculations on club level athletes.
Calculating Ski Speed https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/135Wc2CQBPCLiQ6FXsu-c4gl8URTuY3i74dLYC6Wd1Ho/edit?usp=sharing
Ski Speeds
Updated Ski Speeds coming soon.
For comparison, here are the standards set out by Biathlon Canada as well.
