<![CDATA[Wearable technology offers new opportunities for school-based sport programs to obtain objective information on athletes’ physiological responses and training loads. This study aimed to describe the use of wearable technology for monitoring badminton athlete performance in an extracurricular program at a senior high school in Bengkulu City during 2024, focusing on the types of data used, coaches’ interpretation practices, benefits for training decisions, and implementation constraints. A descriptive qualitative case-study design was employed. Data were collected through observations of training sessions, semi-structured interviews with coaches, a physical education teacher, and athletes, and review of training records containing heart-rate responses, activity duration, estimated training load, and movement-related indicators. Thematic analysis generated four main themes: objectifying training load, individualizing training programs, supporting recovery evaluation, and strengthening data literacy. Wearable devices helped coaches identify inter-athlete variation and supported decisions concerning training intensity and recovery; however, sensor accuracy, limited device availability, inconsistent use, and uneven capacity to interpret data remained important barriers. The findings indicate that wearable technology is most useful when device-generated information is integrated with technical observation, coach-athlete communication, and sound principles of training periodization rather than being treated as the sole basis for performance evaluation.]]>
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