I am a PhD candidate in the Predictive Sports Analytics Group at Queen's University Belfast, working in collaboration with STATSports on sensor-derived performance metrics, validity testing, and applied fatigue monitoring. I hold an MSc in Medical Physics and have over six years of Python experience, with additional proficiency in SQL, R, Tableau, and Power BI. Professionally, I work as a GPS data analyst and U18 performance coach with Tullysaran GAC, where I built end-to-end data pipelines for processing wearable sensor data and contributed to the club's historic promotion to senior status. I am a first-author researcher and hold a GAA Athletic Development certification. My background spans applied sports science, software engineering, and mathematics teaching, underpinned by a lifelong passion for sport and evidence-based performance optimisation.
Working with my local GAA club, O’Connell’s Tullysaran GAC, where I’ve played my whole life, I developed an end-to-end performance data pipeline using STATSports Apex Pro units to monitor player speed, acceleration, directional changes, and heart rate data.
Processed through Python and visualised in Tableau, the system enabled the management and coaching team to individualise training programmes and make more informed tactical decisions on match days.
This work contributed to the team winning the Armagh Intermediate Football League and securing promotion to senior football for the first time in the club’s 135-year history.
Huge thanks to the management team; Pauric McGlone, Ciaran O’Riordan, and Mickey Coogan, as well as our S&C coaches, Caolan Harvey and Ciaran Campbell, for their support throughout the year.
View the open-source GPS processing pipeline
An interactive companion to our research paper (under review) on deriving force-velocity profiles from in-situ GPS data. The guide walks practitioners through the methodology, from Butterworth filtering and acceleration-speed envelope extraction through to in-match fatigue monitoring using sliding-window ballistic power.
Includes a browser-based interactive tool that replicates the paper's figures from any raw STATSports CSV — all processing runs locally with nothing uploaded. Built to help S&C coaches and sport scientists implement PFv profiling in their own day-to-day workflows without additional testing equipment.
Presented research on applying GPS tracking and data analytics to Gaelic Games coaching, covering evidence-based approaches to structuring the weekly training microcycle for club teams.
If you're a performance coach looking to integrate data analytics into your programme, interested in exploring new applications for wearable sensors, or a researcher in a related field; I'm always open to new collaborations. Feel free to reach out.
Email: emcgleenan04@qub.ac.uk
Office: Main Physics Building, University Rd, Belfast BT7 1NN