Brentford FC begin pre-season testing at the GSK Human Performance Lab

To enable them to get the edge over their rivals, pre-season testing at the GSK HPL occurred over two days consisting of cognitive and physiological assessments, taken in pairs. Computer based tasks formed the majority of their time in the cognition lab, whilst a thorough warm up, swiftly followed by a jump test, lactate threshold and V̇O₂max test, turned the thinking into action.

The relationship between Brentford FC and the GSK HPL started with injured players working with the lab’s scientists in order to provide some objective testing data for the club. Now, it’s evolved to a level where the whole squad is screened on a number of test days during the season. 

This allows Matt Springham, Brentford FC’s Head of Sport Science and Strength and Conditioning, to understand the levels of fitness of his players, which directly informs what type of training is done at different stages of the season.

Brentford Football Club and the GSK Human Performance Lab are located within walking distance of each other. As Matt explains, “Facilities of this nature are very few and far between, so to have one this close to us is a huge advantage. There are a number of academic institutions which have laboratory based equipment but very few are built and designed to cater for large groups of players. It’s got a great blend of performance sport in a clinical structure, definitely something our players wouldn’t have seen at prior clubs”. 

What’s more, from speaking to the players you can tell that they have a genuine interest in the data which is all fed back to them individually. They’re aware that the physical demands of the sport are increasing every year, so in line with that, they understand that they need to improve as well. No matter how much Andre Grey and team mates are unenthused when faced with a V̇O₂max test, they each give one hundred percent knowing that information gathered on days like this only helps them to operate at the best of their ability. 

The cognition tests provide a different sort of value, however arguably more important within a subject that’s grabbed plenty of headlines in the past. Led by the lab’s Cognition Lead, Dr Barry O’Neill, the players were being screened by the GSK HPL scientists in order to understand the day-to-day brain function of each individual player. This is done in case a head injury occurs, enabling Matt and the GSK HPL scientists to use the information from the tests to objectively plan a safe return to play decision.