CURVA vs Traditional S&C Coaching
CURVA Coach
Progress Tracking
CURVA App
via Spreadsheets
Normal S&C Coach
Cost
£££
£3000+
Feedback
Instant
Weekly/ Monthly
Access
24/7
by Appointment
Challenge: The Part-Time Player Problem
Royal Holloway University is known for its academic excellence, and its rugby club is no exception, competing at a high level in BUCS rugby. However, their S&C programme faced a major challenge common to many university clubs: a part-time coaching staff and a squad of players with demanding and unpredictable academic schedules.
The coaches, often volunteers or recent graduates, lacked the hours in the week to create bespoke, individualised S&C plans for a large squad. At the same time, the players' commitments to lectures, essays, and part-time jobs meant they couldn't always attend group gym sessions. This led to inconsistent training, sub-optimal physical development, and a reliance on generic plans that didn't account for individual needs. The club needed a solution that was professional, flexible, and could be managed remotely.
Solution: CURVA Coach AI
To solve this dual challenge of time-poor coaches and busy athletes, Royal Holloway partnered with CURVA. The club's S&C lead implemented the CURVA Coach AI platform, providing every player with their own access to the app.
The CURVA Coach AI became the backbone of their S&C programme. Players completed a simple onboarding process and entered their personal goals and current physical data into the app. The AI then generated a custom S&C plan for each player, accessible on their phone, allowing them to train around their academic commitments.
The CURVA Coach AI's key features for Royal Holloway:
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Player Autonomy: The AI provided a professional training plan that players could follow independently, whether in the university gym, a local gym, or at home.
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Centralised Coaching Oversight: Coaches were given a powerful dashboard to monitor every player's progress and compliance without needing to be physically present. They could see who was training and what they were focusing on.
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Professional Programming: The club gained access to elite-level S&C programming without needing to hire a full-time, professional S&C coach.
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Performance Tracking: The app's tracking features allowed coaches to easily monitor key performance metrics, ensuring players were progressing safely and effectively.
CURVA ATHLETES
5 Star App Store Ratings
Increased Training Adherence
With a plan they can access anytime, anywhere, players are now consistently hitting their S&C targets. The flexibility of the CURVA app means that training fits around their demanding university lives, leading to higher rates of compliance and improved results.
Cohesive and Motivated Squad
The shared experience of using the app has created a more cohesive squad, with players able to track and compare their progress. This friendly competition and sense of accountability has led to increased motivation and a stronger team spirit.
Improved On-Pitch Performance
The ultimate benefit has been a noticeable improvement in on-pitch performance. With a stronger, faster, and more robust squad, the team is now more competitive, able to push harder in the later stages of a match.
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A Professional Edge
CURVA has provided Royal Holloway with a professional advantage. They can now offer a highly sophisticated, data-driven S&C programme that rivals the offerings of larger, more established clubs with bigger budgets. This has also become a key selling point for recruiting new players.
Conclusion: The Future of Student Sport is AI-Powered
Royal Holloway's success story is a powerful testament to why AI-powered coaching is essential for the future of student-level sports. The traditional model, where a small coaching staff must manage the programming for dozens of athletes with unpredictable schedules, is simply not sustainable or scalable.
AI-coaching provides the solution by removing the biggest bottleneck for coaches: time-consuming, administrative tasks. It allows coaches to return to their core purpose: mentoring, teaching technique, and building team culture. For athletes, AI-coaching democratises access to elite-level programming, ensuring every player, regardless of their position or ability, receives a personalised plan tailored to their unique needs.
By embracing this technology, universities can elevate their entire sports program, leading to a safer, more engaged, and higher-performing generation of athletes.