In line with their reputation of being both an innovative and leading edge organization, the New York Giants were one of the first National Football Leagues to engage the services of Gabbett Performance Solutions. During this period (2016), the use of wearable technology and athlete monitoring were in a stage of relative infancy. Tim’s role involved walking front office and performance/medicine staff through the strengths and limitations of wearable technology and how it could be used in a practical way to enhance performance and minimize the negative effects of training. Since consulting to the New York Giants, Tim has also been involved in the publication of ‘coach-friendly’ research papers (with Head Athletic Trainer, Steve Kennelly) designed to help practitioners navigate the athlete monitoring “minefield”.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tim Gabbett at his presentation to the New York Football Giants on monitoring training loads for injury prevention and performance. Much like his data, Tim was well prepared and organized in his presentation. He conveyed his message in a clear and concise format. We gained valuable insight on many performance variables including the training-performance relationship, external loads vs. internal response, training loads and injury, and pre-season to in-season loads. What was particularly interesting to us was his research on acute to chronic loads and its effect on training. We were able to use his ratios as a guide to help us determine injury risk during the season providing another ‘piece of the puzzle’ in reducing injury risk. Following the presentation, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Tim on an editorial he had written titled “If overuse injury is a ‘training load error’ should undertraining be viewed as ‘criminal’?” Again, his knowledge and expertise in this area was outstanding, and it was a real pleasure to work with him and share ideas. I have found that Tim is passionate about his work, and will continue to advance his field for the betterment of all athletes and sports performance professionals.
Steve Kennelly, Head Athletic Trainer New York Football Giants
