In-Situ PFv profiling in sub-elite Gaelic football: validation, comparison with isolated sprints, minimum data load requirements, and exploring "real-time" monitoring potential

Author : Eamon McGleenan

Abstract : In-game performance monitoring is of growing interest to sports science practitioners. This study presents a proof-of-concept methodology capable of tracking, on average, a 6.4% reduction in ballistic power (PB) during competitive matches. The study investigated the linearity of in-situ PFv profiles in 34 sub-elite Gaelic footballers (aged 26.08 ± 6.84 years), compared in-situ profiles to isolated sprint-derived profiles, determined minimum data requirements for reliable profiling, and explored the utility of in-game monitoring. Linearity was comparable to previous studies, with Fv profile R² values of 0.929 ± 0.110 for match data and 0.949 ± 0.105 for training data. Consistent, systematic differences were observed between in-situ and isolated profiles using Cohen’s d. Acceleration (A0; 1.00 ≤ d ≤ 1.93) was significantly higher in-situ, while maximum power (Pmax; -1.02 ≤ d ≤ -1.36) and the Fv offset (dFv; -0.90 ≤ d ≤ -1.09) were significantly lower, highlighting that the two profiles are not interchangeable. Maximum speeds (S0) exhibited context-dependent variance, being larger in matches than in isolated sprints (8.56 ± 0.31 m/s versus 8.33 ± 0.34 m/s; d = +0.74), but lower in training (8.04 ± 0.25 m/s; d = -1.29, p < 0.001). Minimum data load was determined using two methods: the time required for R² to reach 0.9 (12 minutes) and the geometric knee of the R² versus data load curve (7 minutes). Using these sliding windows, PB showed average reductions of 6.4% and 4.9%, respectively, across a full game. These findings suggest that PFv profiling may offer a practical, scalable method for in-situ performance monitoring in team sports

Keywords : Fatigue, proof-of-concept, in-situ, real-time monitoring, PFv profiling.

Conference Name : International Conference on Integration of IoT and Smart Systems in Sports Engineering (ICIISSE-26)

Conference Place : Porto, Portugal

Conference Date : 19th Jun 2026