From GPS vest to player passport

ONCE, BEFORE YOU START

Set up your squad

1. 1

   Get written permission

   Every player, and a parent or guardian for players under 18, signs that the academy may record GPS data and share it with verified scouts on ATHLETE-XCEL. Keep the signed forms at the academy.
2. 2

   Add your players

   In ATHLETE-XCEL go to Squad. Players with an email address get a call-up. Players without email: use Add players your academy manages and fill in their full name, date of birth and position.
3. 3

   Give each vest a name

   In the Action Tracer app, give each vest a short name, like Vest 1 to Vest 11, and write the same number on the vest itself. If a player always wears the same vest, you can also use the player's name. Fewer vests than players? Fill in Vest settings on your club home. The app then shows who is next to wear a vest, and streaks and awards follow each player's turn.
4. 4

   Use the same settings on every phone

   If more than one phone is used, check that the settings in the Action Tracer app are the same on all of them. ATHLETE-XCEL calculates its own numbers from the raw session files, so these are fair to compare between players either way.

EACH SESSION

Record

1. 5

   Charge the tracker

   Charge it fully the day before. A tracker that runs empty during the session loses the rest of the data.
2. 6

   Wear it tight

   The vest sits tight on the body, under the shirt, with the tracker in its pocket. A loose vest moves around and gives wrong speeds.
3. 7

   Choose the pitch

   At the start of every training or match, select the pitch you play on in the Action Tracer app: go to Settings → MapManage. The first time at a new pitch, choose Create new map and follow the steps in the app. After that it is saved: next time choose Map list and pick the pitch.
4. 8

   Wait for GPS before you start

   Start recording outside, away from buildings, a few minutes before the warm-up, so the tracker has a GPS signal when play starts.
5. 9

   Stop and sync

   After the session, stop the recording and sync the tracker in the Action Tracer app.

AFTER THE SESSION

Upload to ATHLETE-XCEL

1. 10

   Export the files

   In the Action Tracer app, export the session of each player. The raw session files work best (names like TempRawHistory_…); the Excel files (.xlsx) work too. Save them on the phone or computer you upload from.Using GPS vests of another brand? Export the session from that app as an Excel or CSV file, with one row per player. ATHLETE-XCEL recognises the columns, and you can check them before you import.
2. 11

   Upload all files of one session at once

   In ATHLETE-XCEL go to Matches, choose Match Performance or Training Performance, and select all player files of that session together. Use one kind of file per upload: raw files or Excel files, not both.
3. 12

   Check and import

   Under Who wore which vest?, pick the player for each vest. The app remembers this, so next time you only change the vests that went to someone else. Check the date, then press Import data. The numbers appear on each player's passport as “confirmed by the club”.
4. 13

   Look back on the training

   Sessions uploaded as training show on the Training page: who took part, how much they ran, and a short note per training day. If a player suddenly runs much more than usual, you see a warning there and on your club home. Your assistant coach or physio can help: invite them under Squad → Staff.
5. 14

   Keep the data trustworthy

   Sessions from the raw Action Tracer GPS files are the most trusted: ATHLETE-XCEL calculates the numbers itself. Each file can only be uploaded once. Sessions with numbers a vest cannot produce wait for a review by our team. Club uploads count for scouts, rankings and awards, and so do the matches from raw GPS files that players with their own vest upload themselves. Tables players make themselves only stay in their own overview.Filmed the match with Veo or another camera? Open the player from your Squad page and add the link and the key numbers under Video analysis. They are shown apart from the GPS data and never change scores, rankings or awards.

If something is wrong

A player is missing in the vest list

Only players in your squad can be picked. Add the player on your Squad page first, then upload again.

Data went to the wrong player

Press Undo (see below), pick the right player for that vest and upload again.

Wrong file, wrong date or wrong category

On the Matches page, under “Your uploads this week”, press Undo and upload again. This works for 7 days.

A file cannot be read

Export it again from the Action Tracer app and choose it again.

Very short session or strange speeds

The tracker had no GPS signal at the start, or the vest was loose. Check the vest and wait for the signal next time.

Anything else

Press the Feedback button at the bottom right of any page in ATHLETE-XCEL and tell us what happened. We read every message.