Kempeleen Kiri (KeKi) is a general sports club from Kempele, founded in 1915, whose sports include also the Finnish baseball which is the national sport in Finland. The club's activities are exceptionally high-quality and long-term both at the junior and adult levels. The chairman of the club and one of the responsible coaches tell how and why the club uses a digital coaching tool.
Kempeleen Kiri wants to be profiled as a club with strong junior activities. KeKi has both girls' and boys' junior teams in all age groups. At KeKi, athletes are coached comprehensively and goal-oriented. To support this, the club uses the Qridi Sport coaching tool app. It has been implemented e.g. in the everyday life of KeKi's oldest boy juniors. Erno Hautamäki, responsible coach for junior boys aged U18 and U16, is excited about the Qridi Sport coaching application and its possibilities to help coaches support athletes.
"We have been using Qridi Sport since the beginning of the year and we have found that it supports our competitive athlete path well. We have recorded all test results in Qridi, so it is easy for the athletes to monitor their own development. In addition, we have used a coaching app in our theme this season, i.e. growing into a comprehensive life as an athlete. The players have answered a short training readiness index survey every day, in which they evaluate their own sleep and recovery. In this way, we involve the players and teach them to analyze their own feelings. At the same time, we get to monitor the workload of training," says Hautamäki.
The use of game videos is an important part of modern sports. Making use of them easily is an essential part of tactical coaching. In addition, videos are used as part of the players' development, because they allow the players to receive more individualized feedback from the coaches about their own performances.
Erno Hautamäki sees the utilization and analysis of game videos as an important part of a high-quality coaching tool. "Qridi Sport's new video tool, on the other hand, offers a good tool for analyzing games and sharing player-specific feedback. This very well supports individual player development and our goal to have more players raised by KeKi in the men's professional team in the future as well," summarizes responsible coach Hautamäki.
At KeKi, high-quality development work has been done for years, where long-term success is at the heart of what they do. In recent years, the club has entered the adult major league level in both women's and men's teams.
"In order to be successful at the major league level in the long term, the junior work has to be in order. In recent years, we have invested in this one step at a time, both in terms of conditions and coaching. Our cooperation with Qridi is specifically related to this development of operations. Digital tools are part of today's everyday life and they can also bring new dimensions to top baseball. With Qridi Sport, our coaches can collect and share information much easier than before, as well as communicate with team members," says Juha-Matti Ranta, chairman of Kempeleen Kiri's baseball division.
At Kempeleen Kiri, it is well known that success is based on uncompromising work and continuous development. "You need passion as well as the desire and ability to learn to be the top club in the country. As a club, Kempeleen Kiri wants to represent the best aspects of Finnish baseball and offer wonderful experiences to both players and spectators," sums up chairman Ranta.
More information about the club's activities:
https://www.kempeleenkiri.fi/pesis/
More information about the Qridi Sport coaching app:
Toni Eskola
Images:
Miska Peltoniemi ja Lassi Karvonen