Our athletic trainer came to Camden Kay, one of our analytics managers, and me in the fall of 2019 asking if we could assist in collecting Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scores for our players. Athletes report a score based on the scale below, and that number is multiplied by the duration of practice, in minutes. Our goal was to have a better understanding of each individual player’s workload, and while the system has its flaws due to a large amount of subjectivity, it was a useful aid to our athletic trainer and coaching staff throughout the year.
How We Collect RPE Scores
We knew that getting every player’s RPE on a regular basis would be difficult for a few reasons. Maybe there was the unavoidable of guys coming to practice late or leaving early due to class. Maybe it was players ignoring the importance. In order to collect as much data as possible, we initially collected RPE’s by hand with a pen and clipboard. We would then transfer all the recorded data to a spreadsheet after practice and give our athletic trainer and coaches a weekly report. This proved to be tedious and we were not using it to the fullest with weekly reports, instead of daily updates. While recording scores manually was great to ensure we collected as many as possible, we eventually decided it would be best to create a Google Form that was sent daily.
The Google Form would be sent out to the players within 30 minutes of a practice or game ending. The form includes various questions to find out how long the athlete practiced or played that day and how they felt afterwards, including the reporting of any specific injury. All responses would be imported to a spreadsheet for our athletic trainer and staff to review.
Compliance with filling out the form is as important as you make it. There were multiple times when the staff had to remind the players of how vital this was. In addition to sending out the link every day, Cam had a great idea of creating a QR code to post in the locker room for the players to use as they exited practice, in case they did not see or forgot about the text.
How We Used RPE Scores
If our staff looked over the RPE scores and felt they were too high or increasing too rapidly from day to day, they would take that into consideration when creating the practice plan. If a particular player had high scores and needed a lighter day in the weight room, that would be another consideration. This has been especially useful in managing the workload of two-way players.
While large spikes in RPE could typically be avoided, upticks in temperatures as well class difficulty increasing throughout the semester led to increases in scores. Those uncontrollable circumstances can affect a player’s score just as much as a hard practice.
A player’s scores are an additional tool to help maximize and understand their performance. If their scores are too high but their effort does not align, that can help the staff understand that maybe he is not getting enough sleep or eating properly. Or maybe his scores are low, and he can be pushed more. It’s also possible that they are doing everything right and there is the harsh reality that the player is just not good enough.
While the RPE scores are useful on a day-to-day basis, it is possible that they will be most useful a few years down the road. For example, while it would be difficult to point directly to RPE scores in a player’s freshman year as the sole cause of a senior season injury, the long-term goal would be to prevent a manageable injury from occurring and maximizing each player’s training economy over the course of their career.
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