What a Coaching Platform of the Future Looks Like
About the author: Reto Brändli is a Swiss coach to professional triathletes including Imogen Simmonds and Anne Reischmann, running coaching at a performance lab spun out of Zurich’s technical institute.
The coaching platform of the future needs to be much more than a place to store training plans and track completed sessions. It should become an interactive environment where training data, athlete feedback, communication and context come together to create a much more complete picture of the athlete. A platform should not simply tell an athlete what to do — it should help both coach and athlete understand what is happening and, more importantly, why.
Patterns, not isolated numbers
Instead of looking at isolated numbers, coaches should be able to identify meaningful patterns, changes and potential issues as they emerge.
Technology as the enabler
Most importantly, the platform should strengthen the relationship between coach and athlete rather than create another layer between them. Communication should become more natural, continuous and meaningful, with the right information available at the right time. augo will support this process by helping coaches make sense of large amounts of data, identify relevant patterns and focus their attention where it matters most. It can also help athletes better understand their training and become more engaged in the process. But technology should remain the enabler — the coach remains responsible for the relationship, the decisions and the human understanding of the athlete.
An intelligent coaching environment
The platform of the future therefore won’t just be a digital training diary; it will be an intelligent coaching environment that connects people, data and decisions. This is the direction we believe coaching is heading, and it is the vision we are building with augo.