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If you ask a player from the Sydney FC Sky Blues what the secret to their success this season is, they might tell you it’s the players’ determination to be the very best.  If you ask the team’s doctor, he’ll likely credit GPS tracking devices used in the athletes’ training.

Dr. Craig Duncan collects information during each training session thanks to the devices worn by players which transmit data back to his laptop, allowing him to make adjustments to each individual’s training program for the day.  If there is one player who appears to be overworked, he can see this and end their training for the day.  If there is a player not working as hard as they should the problem is highlighted, allowing the coaches to push that player a bit harder.

The doctor appreciates that everyone on the coaching staff is supportive of this program.  “The coaching staff all understands the importance of what I’m trying to do and we all work together.  I’m lucky to be at a club where everyone, from the head coach to the physio, is pulling in the same direction and accept this is the best way to go.  We’re able to tailor sessions according to predetermined modeling and, so far, it’s going really well.”

And it isn’t just the team iteslf that sees the importance of what Dr. Duncan is doing.  He was recently the main speaker at a medical forum in London where the world’s top sports teams happened to be gathered, and has also received lucrative offers from other AFL clubs.

Dr. Duncan stresses the importance of medical staff being part of a successful training program, rather than the traditional “strength and conditioning” coaches most teams rely on.  “I’m not interested in making us the fittest team in the A-League.  I’m looking at creating a team which measures itself, fitness-wise, on an international scale.”  It was Duncan himself who felt Sydney needed to step up their game in the area of fitness in the first place, a result of player performance reviews and discussions with coaches.

After 11 games, it is evident his program is paying off.  Three out of the 11 games saw Sydney coming from behind to claim victory, unlike the last two seasons where they could only boast of one comeback.  Not even a week ago, they were down 1-0 until they came out of nowhere to take over and win the match, blindsiding their tired opponents.

And what do the players think of all this?  One of the Sky Blues, Nicky Carle, says, “The set up Sydney has at the moment – in terms of science, medicine, rehab, and coaches working together – is second to none.”

Photo Courtesy of TheBuffaFamily through Flickr Creative Commons

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Since its start in 1967, the Super Bowl has grown to an astonishing popularity. Every year, millions of frenzied sports fans gather around their television sets to experience the excitement of this long-awaited match-up between the NFL’s top teams. The most popular yearly broadcast on television, the Super Bowl causes companies to line up for commercial space and churches to cancel their services so that members can watch the game. Today, the event has become so huge that GPS tracking is now a necessary aspect of the game’s organization.

With tens of thousands of fans piling into the stadium for Super Bowl game day, the event is nothing less than a mob scene. In the midst of the crowd, getting players and officials into the stadium can be a challenge of gargantuan proportions. To make the process easier, GPS trackers are now installed in vehicles carrying team members, game day officials, and VIPs. Utilizing this technology makes it possible for NFL staff to monitor the entrance of key individuals and to keep traffic flow moving properly.

The use of GPS also allows NFL staff to keep track of the location of vehicles en route to the stadium. In the event that a bus breaks down or a limousine gets stuck in traffic, the schedule can be easily adjusted given the instant feedback provided by GPS coordinates. If assistance is needed, officials know exactly where to go. Using the information provided by perfectly synced satellite systems, a tiny box installed in a vehicle can transmit the car’s precise location at all times.

For years, technology-savvy organizations have been using GPS technology to streamline transportation and scheduling. Today, it is used for everything from train schedules to child safety, with raving reviews. However, it is only recently that the sports arena has come to consider this noteworthy application. And why not? If a tracker can be used to monitor the location of a vehicle, it makes sense to use it on a team bus or on a VIP limousine.

Gone are the days of worrying about popular players getting mobbed by adoring fans on their way to the big game. Traveling in carefully monitored vehicles, Super Bowl athletes will safely arrive at their destination, having been ushered into the stadium on a precisely timed schedule. Thus, GPS tracking has become an essential aspect of football’s most time-honored tradition.

Article Written by Greg Bartlett

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GPS tracking at the Super Bowl? No, it’s not to keep players running in the right direction. And it’s not to help fans find their seats in a crowded stadium. These may be worthy applications, but it’s actually to help security keep things running safely and smoothly. A lot of important people travel to the Super Bowl, and it is vitally important for security personnel to get them inside the secure areas without hassle. In additions to the teams, the NFL has to worry about game officials and VIP guests. It’s difficult to estimate arrival times accurately enough, especially if there are any delays due to traffic or vehicle issues. If someone is running late, unknown problems can cause some stress and concern.

GPS fleet tracking is making the logistics of the Super Bowl easier. With a system like this, each vehicle in a fleet is equipped with a GPS tracking device. Then each vehicle’s global coordinates can be read by a satellite. Communication from device to satellite to computer allows staff to follow the movements of each vehicle, see their estimated arrival time without any need for human calculation, and adjust schedules as needed.

Following a recent news conference, Frank Supovitz, the NFL senior vice president, shared how NFL staff is using fleet management technology to keep their gears oiled. Vehicles with tracking devices include team buses, officials’ vehicles, and VIPs’ cars. The location of each vehicle is shown on a video screen that staff watches. Other staff members are kept updated about vehicles’ progress through text messages from the system. When someone is near arrival, security and other involved personnel can be ready to greet them. If a vehicle is delayed, security and staff can adjust their schedules without a driver having to call in. If there’s any kind of problem, such as a vehicle breakdown, its location can be pinpointed by GPS and help can be sent directly.

Many companies are finding the benefits of fleet tracking, not just the NFL. The savings from time management cannot be counted. Other advantages include cutting travel costs, such as fuel costs, reducing vehicle emissions, and coordinating routes. Also, employees can be held more accountable to work efficiently and not run personal errands using a company vehicle or while on company time. Like the NFL, you can keep your business running safely and smoothly with GPS technology too.

Article Written by Greg Bartlett

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By Greg Bartlett

Football is a game where tensions can run extremely high. Did he catch that ball before it hit the ground? Was that referee making the right decision there? How many times have you actually stood up during a game and thrown your remote at the television screen? If only there was a way of accurately determining exactly where the ball was and the players were in relation to each other.

As far away as it is possible to be from a football field, orbiting the upper atmosphere about the planet are twenty to thirty satellites. These satellites continuously send signals down to Earth which are accurately time stamped to many hundredths of a second and give a very accurate positional signal. Passive receivers on Earth which can pick up these signals are able to accurately determine where they themselves are in real-time by comparing the signals from at least four of these satellites and triangulating their co-ordinates.

These types of technologies have greatly benefited both football team training and coaching. During games this technology is useful to assist referees in their decision-making. Recently a national team was having big problems with their players’ speeds. Can you believe these guys were actually running too fast? During the match, the players need to achieve a certain proportion of optimal running speeds and save the spurts of speed for the plays. These guys were throwing themselves around so fast that they were tired out in the first half. They were losing every single game!

The coach and the manager had had enough. They invested in some equipment with tiny GPS receivers. The gloves had little receivers and even the ball had a well padded receiver embedded inside. This is unlike cricket, where you can get away with a camera in the stumps. This fast-paced game needs accurate speed tracking. Their gloves can send a signal to a central monitor and player direction and speed can be determined as well as whether they have made contact with the ball.

It was invaluable for the team to see how much time they were wasting and how much energy they could save by slowing themselves down and thinking about what they should be doing to get into position. Well, after a couple of weeks of doing this that team has gone from strength to strength. Live GPS tracking technology at its sporting best!

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A professor at CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania is trying to improve the accuracy of officiating football according to Wired News.

Dr. Priya Narasimhan believes through GPS and an accelerometer she can electronically measure the position of the football within millimeters of the yard line where the ball is down. If successful, this could eliminate the need to bring out the measurement chains and prevent many reviews under the hood by the referees. It could be one less reason to throw that challenge flag.

The technology may also enable live data on ball handling grips, trajectories, speed, and ball cradling. Special gloves are embedded with 15 wireless touch sensors that can measure correct hand positioning on the ball. A GPS chip inside the football sends data every second which is accurate up to 30 feet.

Dr. Narasimhan’s engineering team is just in the beginning stages of development and they will likely have improvements to make as they go along. They hope to eventually utilize this technology in the NFL.

On the field and off the field, this technology could revolutionize football. It could improve training on the practice field performance on game day. You can only imagine how much time this would save during a game. The fumbles can be a tough decision. With 15 players stacked up, no official can see when the ball came out, if the player was down before the ball came out, and who recovered it.

Some could argue that our current rules of football lack technology to the extent that nearly half of the ref call should be unofficial. On the other hand, it often appears there is some favoritism playing into some of these decisions. If a tracking device can improve accuracy and help enforce the rules, I think the implementation of this technology is in everyone’s best interest.

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