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Turn testing into better decisions.
A practical Excel dashboard and implementation guide for coaches, performance staffs and athletic departments tracking how athletes change over time.
MEASURE · INTERPRET · DISCUSS · ACT
BUILT BYPat Burgess, MS, CPSS, CSCS, RSCC
15+ years across youth development, professional sport, tactical performance, applied technology, education and human performance.
About Pat →THE PURPOSE
See the pattern—not just the score.
Testing is useful when it sharpens a decision. This dashboard brings jump, sprint, body-composition and movement-screen data into one team view, while preserving an individual profile for deeper review.
It is built to help a staff ask better questions: Is the change real? Was the protocol consistent? What else has changed? Does the result match what coaches and the athlete are seeing?
A dashboard organizes evidence. People still make the decision.FREE EXCEL DASHBOARD
One workbook.
Two levels of view.
Review the team at a glance, then move into the athlete profile when a result deserves context. The file includes de-identified example data so staff can see the intended workflow before replacing it with their own.
Download the dashboard ↓XLSX · DESIGNED FOR DESKTOP MICROSOFT EXCEL · FREE TO USEATHLETECMJ Δ%10 YD Δ%LEAN Δ
Player 01+8.4%+3.1%+1.8
Player 02−1.7%+1.2%+0.6
Player 03+4.9%−2.0%+2.1
CMJ CHANGE FROM BASELINE
Illustrative preview · use the workbook for live formulas and athlete profiles
WHAT IS INSIDE
A usable structure for a real staff.
The workbook separates raw entry, calculation and decision views so information stays organized as the season grows.
Team Dashboard
A single team view of each athlete’s latest, baseline and best results, plus change scores and group-level charts.
Athlete Profile
Select one athlete to review current values, baseline changes, testing history, trend charts and staff notes.
Testing Tabs
Structured entry tables for force-plate measures, body composition, timing gates and Functional Movement Screen results.
Calculation Layers
Formula and chart-support tabs connect raw entries to the dashboard. They are designed to work in the background.
IMPLEMENTATION
Build the process before collecting more data.
The value is not the number of tests. It is the consistency of collection, the quality of interpretation and the clarity of the next conversation.
Set up the roster
Replace the team placeholder, add each athlete once and use the exact same name or ID on every testing tab.
Standardize the test
Keep the warm-up, instructions, equipment, start position, surface, time of day and testing sequence as consistent as practical.
Enter raw results
Add dated results only to Roster, Force Plate, InBody, Timing Gates and FMS. Keep a clean master copy before entering team data.
Read the trend
Start with the team view, then open the athlete profile. Compare current, baseline and best values before reacting to one result.
Add human context
Discuss training load, travel, illness, growth, injury history and athlete feedback. Document what the staff decides and when to retest.
METRIC EXPLAINER
Know what each field can—and cannot—tell you.
Each measure is one piece of evidence. The interpretation column is where sport science becomes coaching practice.
MEASUREWHAT IT DESCRIBESHOW TO USE IT
CMJ height
A practical snapshot of countermovement-jump output.
Keep the protocol stable and read it beside jump strategy, power and the athlete’s recent context.
Peak power (W/kg)
Estimated power expressed relative to body mass.
A change can reflect output, body mass or both. Inspect the underlying values before drawing a conclusion.
RSI-Mod
Jump height relative to time to take off.
Adds a time-and-strategy lens that jump height alone can miss; it is not a stand-alone readiness score.
Asymmetry %
A side-to-side difference reported by the testing system.
Use it as a prompt to check technique, history and symptoms—not as an injury diagnosis or prediction.
Sprint splits
5-, 10- and 20-yard times, flying 10 and 5-10-5 change of direction.
Keep timing gates, start method, distances and surface consistent. Small changes may sit inside normal test error.
Body composition
Body mass, skeletal muscle mass, lean mass, body-fat estimate and total body water.
Standardize hydration, meals, exercise and time of day. Use developmentally appropriate language and protect athlete dignity.
FMS results
Movement-pattern scores with pain and asymmetry flags.
Treat the screen as descriptive. Pain needs the appropriate medical pathway; a total score should not be used to predict injury.
READING CHANGE SCORES
CMJ Δ%: positive means the latest jump is higher than baseline. 10-yard Δ%: positive also means improvement—the dashboard reverses the time-based calculation so a faster, lower sprint time reads as positive.
DECISION STANDARD
Use the signal.
Do not worship the number.
A result should open an investigation, not close one. Before changing a training plan, test the quality of the evidence and bring the right people into the conversation.
Verify
Was the test performed correctly, with the same equipment and protocol?
Compare
Is the change larger than the athlete’s normal day-to-day and test-to-test variation?
Contextualize
What do training load, travel, sleep, illness, growth, symptoms and athlete feedback add?
Decide together
Connect coaching, performance and medical roles; choose an action, retest window and owner.
FOR ATHLETIC DEPARTMENTS
Make the system safe, clear and scalable.
Even a simple workbook needs ownership. Set these standards before it becomes part of the department’s routine.
One source of truth
Name the person responsible for roster quality, imports, backups and version control.
One written protocol
Document setup, instructions, equipment and retest conditions for each measure.
One staff conversation
Choose when coaches, performance and medical staff review trends and record decisions.
Protect athlete data
Limit access, follow school policy and de-identify exports used outside the authorized staff.
Stay inside each role
Route pain, symptoms, injury, return-to-play and medical concerns to qualified health professionals.
Explain without labeling
Share what the result means, what it does not mean and what the staff plans to do next.
RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Why the dashboard is built around trends and context.
These sources support the collection standards and interpretation boundaries used in this guide. Select a title to review the published abstract or paper record.
01
Monitoring Athlete Training Loads: Consensus Statement
Bourdon et al. · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance · 2017Supports an integrated monitoring system, consistent methods and interpretation that combines data with practitioner judgment.
Review the research ↗02Alternative Countermovement-Jump Analysis to Quantify Acute Neuromuscular Fatigue
Gathercole et al. · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance · 2015Shows why time- and strategy-based jump measures can reveal change even when jump height appears stable.
Review the research ↗03Comparison of Jump and Sprint Field Tests to Detect Neuromuscular Fatigue
Gathercole et al. · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance · 2015Reinforces using sensitive field tests and multiple variables instead of placing the full decision on one number.
Review the research ↗04The Difference Is in the Start
Haugen, Tønnessen & Seiler · Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research · 2012Demonstrates that sprint start and timing procedures can create meaningful bias, making protocol consistency essential.
Review the research ↗05Sprint Running Performance Monitoring
Haugen & Buchheit · Sports Medicine · 2016Explains why environment, equipment, typical error and the size of a meaningful change belong in sprint interpretation.
Review the research ↗06Current Status of Body Composition Assessment in Sport
Ackland et al. · Sports Medicine · 2012Reviews the limits of body-composition methods and the need for standardized measurement and careful application.
Review the research ↗07Why Screening Tests to Predict Injury Do Not Work
Bahr · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2016Explains why screening results should not be converted into confident individual injury predictions or rigid clearance decisions.
Review the research ↗START WITH THE SYSTEM
Measure what can improve a decision.
Download the original workbook, keep a clean master copy and build your testing process around repeatability, context and athlete-centered communication.
This dashboard is an organizational and educational tool. It is not a diagnostic device, an injury-prediction model, return-to-play clearance or a medical record system. Testing and decisions should be individualized with appropriately qualified coaching, sport-science and medical professionals.