NFL Gearing Up to Use GPS Tracking on Player
29 Sep 2015When it comes to advanced statistics, the NFL is ramping up its game by evaluating the use of GPS tracking for its players. These GPS tracking devices are about the size of a thin flip phone and are positioned in the middle of the back of an athlete, typically underneath a compression shirt.
Once the biometric sensor comes to life, each movement the athletes make, each muscle twitch, and every heartbeat are tracked and turned into numbers which arms teams with data about the athlete’s potential, performance, and health.
It’s thought to be the next logical step in information collection for the biggest and most profitable professional sport worldwide, where this type of data is both precious and lucrative. The statistician’s dream is professional football where numbers have a big impact on coaching decisions, fantasy leagues, bets and a deep connection between the game and fans.
The NFL can now collect information at an extraordinary level, thanks to the newly introduced GPS trackers. Teams are now leaning on data and technology for not only preventing and rehabilitating injuries, but also for preventing them, which is ultimately the end result goal of the trackers.
The front offices can use the collected data when evaluating potential trades and contracts as well as the athletic trainers and coaches can decide how hard they are going to push players in games and practices.
Testing on the GPS trackers began a year ago and to this date, there are 32 NFL teams that use some sort of GPS tracking.These trackers will be placed under each player’s shoulder pads and will provide live-tracking movement during the entire game.
The minute a player puts his shoulder pads on, the NFL can begin tracking them inside the tunnel and out on the game field. Once in play, the player is tracked and their speed, movement and route traveled is measured.
For now, the majority of the information gathered through the technology is being held so the NFL can determine if the technology is being used fairly and is properly integrated into the game. However, for now, the information collected through the trackers is being used by the statistic geeks for analysis, however, in the future, it might just end up as a regular part of training regimens and injury and strategy analysis.
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