Hi everyone,
This is Matt Danaher, CEO of PlayerPulse, with a major update for all of our players and coaches out there.
We're incredibly excited to announce the launch of our new player app TODAY on both the Google Play and Apple App Store. For those who are still using SoccerPulse, that platform will no longer be available, and you will be prompted to transition to PlayerPulse.
For those who are currently using PlayerPulse, your players will have the OPTION to move over to the new platform in the next two weeks.
From the coaches perspective, we have THREE new metrics we are rolling out (2 of which are available whether your players are on the new app or not). These should not only enhance the remainder of your season
What's Changing: Readiness Score 2.0
Until now, readiness has been calculated entirely from the wellness report. Sleep, energy, soreness, mood, stress, and the other subjective markers that players subjectively logged every day
That's changing, and with good reason. Readiness will now be calculated from both wellness and training load.
The reason why is both simple and complex: two players can fill out an identical wellness report on a given morning, and be walking into very different physical situations. One player may be returning from injury with no prior training history, the other may have just wrapped up a full week of training with their team. Wellness alone cannot tell us how “READY” that player is for match day, but incorporating training load can.
By combining what a player feels is in the tank, with what a player has actually done, readiness becomes a much more honest reflection of where they stand relative to what they are about to compete in.
And this is just the next step. In upcoming versions, readiness will also give users the ability to incorporate biometric data as the source for training load, pulling in objective physiological signals to round out the picture even further.
Introducing Robustness
Along with readiness comes a new measure called ROBUSTNESS. This is a measure of what a player is able to handle in their next training session, without pushing them into the overtraining zone.
This is based on their current load ratio, their chronic load, and their acute load, and is broken down into a range of RPE and minutes, perfect for coaches who are building out their sessions and need to know what a player can / cannot do to be ready for the weekend.
Cue the New Player App
This update to readiness score isn't just a backend change, it's paired with our release of the completely rebuilt Player App.
The new app is available as a standalone purchase for players who do not have an organization currently using PlayerPulse,, and it's free for any organization that has already purchased player seats.
If your org is already on PlayerPulse, you’re covered.
A few of the biggest additions to the player app include the following:
Confidence Score
Not a measure of how confident a player is going into a game, but how confident PlayerPulse is of the data we are presenting to both player and coach.
When a player submits an RPE, a 'confidence' value is assigned to it. This is based on the time of submission (and if it had to be modified/edited by the coach). The closer to the end of the event, the higher the value. If a player forgets to enter an RPE for an event, their confidence score will drop. This is because we don't know if the player participated in that event, and for how long.
The more (and more consistently) the players use the platform, the higher their confidence score grows.
Observer Mode
For the first time since SoccerPulse, parents and guardians can get a window into what their player is actually experiencing on and off the field. Training load, wellness trends, and recovery status, all in one place.
It's built for families who want to understand and support their athlete's workload, not just hear about it after the fact.
In the coming weeks, observer mode will also allow for parents to input their athlete’s changes in height, alerting coaches when a young player may be going through a growth spurt.
Observer mode is OPTIONAL - and not required for players under 18
Apple Health Integration
The new app connects directly to Apple Health, automatically syncing:
- Hours slept
- Heart rate variability (HRV)
- Workouts and events logged on your device with objective data
This is also the first building block toward the planned biometric-informed readiness score mentioned above — the more data readiness can draw from, the sharper it gets.
We continue to support Beyond Pulse as well for players and teams who have sync'd their accounts (remember - BP tokens expire after 3 months, so your players may need to re-authenticate if you are seeing gaps in the data).
Coming in the following weeks: support for Catapult, WHOOP, and other wearable platforms, so athletes using different tools can plug that data in too.
Updated Pricing
The player app is available for individual purchase at $84.99 through our website and $99.99 through in app purchase in the Apple and Google Play Store. There are also monthly plans available for players who want to try it before they make a year commitment.
With the addition of more wearables, features, and ways to stay healthy, we are increasing our enterprise cost from $36 per year to $40 per year.
However, if you are a legacy team or organization using PlayerPulse, your pricing will not go up a cent! We will be offering upgradable plans in the near future with ways to incorporate AI into your coaching design and squad management.
We are also excited to roll out our Organization Partnership program, which allows orgs to utilize the coach dashboard in the platform COMPLETELY FREE with a significant discount on the individual subscriptions for their players.
Revenue share is also available for interested programs.
What This Means for You
If you're a current PlayerPulse user, the good news is simple: there's nothing to set up, and nothing to lose.
- Download the new Player App from the App Store when it goes live
- Log in with your current PlayerPulse credentials
- All of your existing data syncs automatically
Your history, your trends, your individual training, everything carries over. You'll just be seeing a more complete version of your readiness going forward.
If you are a player or parent and are new to the PlayerPulse ecosystem, but want to try the app for the first time, you can!
The Bigger Picture
Our goal has always been to give coaches the information they need at a glance to make key decisions to keep players available.
Now that readiness can be utilized standalone without a team, it’s our hope that parents and players use the information provided in the app to reduce their risk of picking up an avoidable, non-contact injury.
Players and coaches, update your app TODAY to see it in action.
FAQ
Will my historical readiness data change or be recalculated? No. Past readiness scores reflect the data available at the time they were calculated. Going forward, new scores will include training load as well.
Do I need to create a new account? No. Log in to the new Player App with your existing PlayerPulse credentials — your account and data carry over automatically.
What if my organization hasn't purchased player seats yet?
The new Player App is available as a standalone purchase for individual players and families. Think of teams as a plugin that makes the experience better, and if your org does not currently use PlayerPulse, you can add your coaches email so they can receive updates about your training load and readiness . For organizations that already purchased seats, the new app is completely free.
If you are an organization that would like to use PlayerPulse for free, contact us for how our Partnership Program can help, and even earn your club revenue.
Do I have to use Observer Mode?
No — it's optional. Players control what's visible, and Observer Mode is there for families who want that added visibility into training load, wellness, and recovery. However, if you want to use the messaging feature with your team coach, and you are under 18, you MUST have an observer set up to send/receive messages. This is done specifically to protect minors and keep our product SafeSport compliant.
Which wearables are supported right now?
Apple Health and Google Fit are both supported at launch, syncing sleep, HRV, and workouts, as well as our current support for Beyond Pulse. Catapult, WHOOP, and additional integrations are coming in the following weeks.
Will biometric data replace wellness and training load in the readiness score?
No — it will be added alongside them, not replace them. The goal is a more complete score, not a different one.
I'm a parent of a player, how can I get started if our organization doesn't use PlayerPulse?
You can buy the Player app standalone on our website with an individual license or family plan. Individual licenses are $84.99 per year (or $8.99 per month) and family plans include 4 licenses for the price of 3.