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Say Goodbye to 3 Hours of Testing: How to Map a Whole Squad’s Sprinting Mechanics in Just 15 Minutes
- Jun 8
- 4 min read
Elite sport increasingly demands objective data, but data is only valuable if it arrives quickly enough to influence decisions.
For years, sprint biomechanics has existed in a world largely separate from the realities of elite team sport.
While coaches understand the importance of sprint performance and the biomechanics behind it, access to meaningful biomechanical insight has traditionally been limited to specialist laboratories, expensive equipment, and time-consuming testing protocols.
By the time the data arrived, the training week (and the time to make a decision) had often moved on.
Nowadays however, that gap between sports science and coaching practice is beginning to close.
Using biomechanical data extracted from video, coaches can now assess an entire squad's sprinting mechanics during a normal training session and receive objective data and insights within minutes.
The result is a workflow that finally matches the pace of elite sport.
The Problem With Lab-Based Sprint Analysis
Historically, obtaining detailed biomechanical sprint data has involved significant compromises.
Laboratory-based sprint analysis provides high-quality information but comes with practical limitations. Athletes must travel off-site and perform in an environment completely different to that of training and competition, testing is typically conducted one player at a time, and specialist operators are required to collect and interpret the data.
"Sprint analysis used to be a laborious challenge. It was too time-consuming to analyse every player, we couldn’t do the entire squad. So we had to just pick and choose which players to work with." - Jonathan Ward, Athletics Performance Coach @ Bristol Bears
Marker-based motion capture systems offer even greater accuracy, reliability, and precision, but their use in team sport environments is often unrealistic. Athletes must be fitted with markers, testing protocols are highly controlled, and data processing can take days or weeks. For clubs managing squads of 25 or more athletes, scaling these approaches is virtually impossible.
The consequence is that many coaches are forced to rely on subjective observation or basic timing metrics when making decisions around sprint development.
This creates another challenge. Most team sport coaches are not sprinting specialists.
Even when biomechanical reports are available, interpreting complex datasets and translating them into actionable interventions can be difficult without dedicated expertise.
As a result, there has historically been a disconnect between the sophistication of biomechanical analysis and the speed of decision-making required in professional sport.
How to Capture Squad-Wide Sprint Data in Minutes
The good news is that times (and technology) are changing.
With Forceteck SprintAI, coaches can capture lab-grade sprint mechanics directly from video footage recorded on an iPhone or iPad, without wearables, markers, or specialist equipment. The platform is specifically designed for real-world sporting environments, enabling biomechanical analysis to take place on the training pitch rather than in a laboratory.
The workflow is deliberately simple.
A coach positions a consumer device like an iPhone, iPad, or GoPro, pitch-side, athletes complete their sprint efforts as part of a normal training session, and the videos are automatically uploaded for analysis.
Rather than testing athletes individually in a controlled environment, large groups of players can sprint past the camera one by one as part of existing training activities; no specialist biomechanist is required. Existing performance staff, S&C coaches, or rehabilitation practitioners can operate the system themselves.
Most importantly, there is no processing bottleneck.
Each video is automatically analysed, with results typically available in less than three minutes. Instead of waiting days or weeks for reports, coaches receive objective biomechanical data before the session has even finished.
This means sprint analysis can fit seamlessly into:
Pre-season physical profiling
Weekly monitoring sessions
Mid-week speed development blocks
Return-to-play assessments
Post-match performance reviews
We built Forceteck to deliver insights at the speed required by elite sport environments. Rather than examining one athlete at a time, coaches can build a complete biomechanical profile of an entire squad during a single session, capturing traditional sprint metrics such as:
Spatiotemporal metrics (Stride length, step frequency, ground contact time, and flight time)
Joint angle values at key events (touchdown, toe off, max vertical position, midstance)
Force production capabilities
Injury risk indicators / holistic mechanics assessment scores (SMAS)
Asymmetry indicators
Plus, our technology analyses advanced biomechanical characteristics and translates them into three simple coaching scores:
ENGINE (reflecting the athlete's physical capabilities)
DRIVER (representing sprint technique and movement efficiency)
TYRE (indicating leg stiffness and force transmission characteristics)
Together, these indicators help coaches understand not just how fast an athlete is, but why.
Two players may run identical sprint times while exhibiting completely different mechanical profiles. One athlete may achieve speed through superior force production, while another relies on technical efficiency. SprintAI can give guidance about what exercises might be the most appropriate to target identified weaknesses, allowing interventions to become significantly more targeted.
"Forceteck is a really powerful tool that underpins everything we do because it gives us a clear understanding of why our athletes achieve what they achieve and what we need to do to make them better." - Michael Muckelt, Starts & Strength and Conditioning Coach, British Skeleton
S&C coaches may identify athletes who need to work on their force-production capabilities, while technical coaches focus on athletes whose sprint mechanics are limiting performance despite strong physical capacities.
Medical and rehabilitation staff can simultaneously monitor asymmetry trends and movement quality markers to support injury risk management and return-to-play decision-making.
All that data can then be exported and shared across departments, ensuring a consistent evidence base for performance discussions.
"Forceteck's data allows you to be far more precise. You can adapt exercises and field-based drills based on what the athlete actually needs, not just what you think they need." - Sam Scott, Owner & Founder of SSc Performance
Bringing Sprint Biomechanics Into Everyday Coaching
Elite sport increasingly demands objective data, but data is only valuable if it arrives quickly enough to influence decisions.
The traditional model of sprint biomechanics has often failed that test. Expensive laboratory assessments, specialist operators, and lengthy reporting timelines simply do not align with the realities of modern performance environments.
But when a full squad can be profiled during a normal training session and analysed within minutes, sprint mechanics become a practical, scalable, and actionable coaching tool rather than a specialist research exercise.
Want to learn more about how Forceteck can map your entire squad’s sprint mechanics in a single training session? Watch this 2-minute demo, or reach out to the Forceteck team to schedule a pitch-side trial today.
