The last 15 years have seen an incredibly rapid development of (micro)technology in the field4. Player tracking has become one of the most important components of load monitoring in team sports5. Most professional teams use GPS or alternative tracking systems on a regular basis (e.g. Prozone®, TRACAB®, Inmotio®). Training load reports are now generated within moments following each training session and have become a key element in programming both team and individual training sessions. This manuscript is the first of a two-part article about training load monitoring in team sports. In this first part, we describe the current and ever-evolving challenges that practitioners face when monitoring their athletes` training load and health status. We then offer some thoughts on building a framework that may improve current models in an applied setting. The second part provides some guidance on how to improve data visualisation and increase coaching staff `buy-in`, which may, in turn, improve their ability to make informed decisions.
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