Data Trackers

They are not 'wired' for sound, they are 'wired' for movement.

Or, maybe, one would be more accurate to describe several University of Memphis football players as being wirelessly 'wired' for movement.

For the second consecutive season, selected Tigers are having their on-field practice movements being tracked by UofM professor Dr. Daniel Greenwood's staff. Greenwood is the Human Performance Center Director for the UofM School of Health Studies.

Greenwood and his staff are tracking "the workload" of 12 members of the team using GPS (Global Positioning System) devices designed by the Australian-based Catapult company, which created wearable technology to collect data.

The company was founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2006. Its mission is to build and improve the performances of athletes and teams at all levels of athletic competition.

Greenwood said multiple NCAA college football programs are taking advantage of the technology.

For the Tigers, the wearable devices track how much the players (six on offense, six on defense) do on the practice field during the week. The devices are not worn in games.

"We are tracking the amount of distance they cover and the speed they move to cover that distance," Greenwood said. "We are also counting their accelerations, their maximum speeds, and how (intense) their accelerations and decelerations are.

"(In essence), we are getting an all-encompassing understanding of how much work they do on the field each day."

Greenwood said the devices are not worn during games because "the demands on game day are a little bit different than when they are training; so we only track their training data."
Greenwood said the data he's collecting is being used to supplement, or complement, the coaching staff's thoughts on what's occurring in practice.

"We are giving them some numbersto either support, or deny, their intuition," he said. "What that means is we are still letting the coaches decide how hard they work week after week, or after that session, to say, 'Yes, you are spot with that' or what you thought was hard that particular day wasn't as hard as you thought it was."

Greenwood calls his work an "external checks and balances" system for the coaching staff.

All the data collected ultimately is presented to the football strength staff, led by Noah Franklin, in his first season as Director of Athletic Performance.

"They are a great asset to us," Franklin said. "They are very helpful in breaking down the data and presenting it to us in a way we can use it and educate the guys and enhance the training based off the data."

Among the Tigers wearing the devices is quarterback Brady White. White said someone from the strength and conditioning staff usually has the device prepped and ready to attach before a practice. A staff member collects the GPS device after practice.

"It is interesting and a big part of the sport," White said. "I think every team in the NFL uses the same type of system. It is important. I think it's a key factor. The higher you go in a sport, it's the little things that matter. And making sure you take care of your body and recover properly is big."

Greenwood said schools frequently have access to the data, but may not understand how to interpret it and use it effectively.

"They'll print out the generic reports, but don't really know what to do with the data," he said. "We spend time discussing (with the football staff) what do you want to know?

"What we got back from them was, 'We are pretty good with this stuff and administering the workload, we'd like to (see the data to confirm) what we're doing.' It gives them some extra confidence."

Greenwood said having the 2019 season to refer to was a great resource entering this season. And it was a blessing for Franklin, who originally joined the program in January 2012 and rejoined the staff in July 2015 after several other opportunities, including a stint with the NFL's Raiders.

"What was super, super valuable this year was we had all of the comparable data from last year," Greenwood said. "And because we had a good season last year (American Athletic Conference title, Goodyear Cotton Bowl appearance) we had some really specific metrics that Coach Noah wanted (to aid in preparation for the 2020 season).

"For example, in the summer they do a lot of acceleration work and not a lot of deceleration work. This year one of Coach Noah's (priorities) was to add more deceleration work throughout, especially the back end of the summer, to be more prepared for camp."

White, who expects to explore a career in the sport, understands the value of using every bit of technology available.

"It's something that may seem very small, but if you want to be competitive it helps in the process," he said. "And it does contribute to success on the field."

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