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Armando: Dolphins turn to technology to monitor injuries

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Every morning before the sun rises, the Dolphins’ strength and conditioning staff loads a GPS unit about one-third the size of a man’s palm into a shirt pocket 56 of the team’s players will wear beneath their jerseys at practice that day.

The players call the little units “jockeys” because the pockets are located on their upper back and that’s where the units ride.
But these little electronic gadgets aren’t meant to be a burden. They’re being used by the Dolphins to monitor and measure hundreds of streams of physiological data the players will provide as they go through a typical practice at the team’s training facility.
Strength and conditioning coach Darren Krein, strength and conditioning assistant coach Dave Puloka and sports science analyst Dave Regan will eventually collect the units from each player, download data such as velocity, acceleration, load or stress, distance, lift rate, metabolic power, output, and wattage — not to mention about a hundred other factors they’re not even putting to use yet — and do all this for a couple of simple reasons:
The Dolphins want to limit injuries.

The Dolphins want to cut down the time players are forced to be out once they’re injured.
And the team is exploring this avenue with the hope the science can offer some advantage opponents might not enjoy, which could help fatten the win column.
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And while the science is not close to being perfected, the Dolphins are doing what they can to be at the forefront of the technology as it develops.
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But embracing the new technology is a tool the team is trying to employ with the idea that, hey, every little advantage can help.

“I think it definitely can help you win but at the end of the day it really boils down to having the right players and execution,” Krein said. “For us it’s a tool in the toolbox. It’s not going to make or break us, but it gives us the opportunity to maybe get that little extra five percent or two percent out of guys that you’re hoping for.”
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http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/05/4273715/armando-salguero-miami-dolphins.html



Doesn't look like it's helping limit injuries so far.
 
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Interesting I wonder if any other team is doing this
 
This is the future. Full marks for the team embracing technology. I understand that the cycling teams in the Tour De France analyze everything in monitoring the condition of their athletes in the event.
We shouldn't be scared of technology, this will be an advantage to us when we learn how to use it properly.
 
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That little bit about wanting to be at the forefront of technology as it develops sounds good.
 
Miami Dolphins turn to technology to monitor player injuries

Every morning before the sun rises, the Dolphins’ strength and conditioning staff loads a GPS unit about one-third the size of a man’s palm into a shirt pocket 56 of the team’s players will wear beneath their jerseys at practice that day.The players call the little units “jockeys” because the pockets are located on their upper back and that’s where the units ride.
But these little electronic gadgets aren’t meant to be a burden. They’re being used by the Dolphins to monitor and measure hundreds of streams of physiological data the players will provide as they go through a typical practice at the team’s training facility.
Strength and conditioning coach Darren Krein, strength and conditioning assistant coach Dave Puloka and sports science analyst Dave Regan will eventually collect the units from each player, download data such as velocity, acceleration, load or stress, distance, lift rate, metabolic power, output, and wattage — not to mention about a hundred other factors they’re not even putting to use yet — and do all this for simple reasons:
The Dolphins want to limit injuries.
The Dolphins want to cut down the time players are forced to be out once they’re injured.
And the team is exploring this avenue with the hope the science can offer some advantage opponents might not enjoy, which could help fatten the win column.
Injuries are obviously the priority. Healthy teams win more than teams putting their reserves on the field.
Predicting injuries
So the Dolphins would love to be able to predict when players are going to get injured so they can prevent those as accurately as possible.
“It’s kind of getting to that point, and we’d like to come up with a prediction model to prevent injuries,” Krein, the former University of Miami standout turned NFL coach said. “That’s the thought process behind it. If you understand what happens prior to an injury, generally it’s from volume — too much volume.
“If that’s it, hopefully we can pull a guy back before he gets to that point.”
Forecasting injuries? No, it is not luck or magic. It is science.
And while the science is not close to being perfected, the Dolphins are doing what they can to be at the forefront of the technology as it develops.
“We haven’t got it all figured out,” Puloka said. “We’re still in the early stages. But we’ve got some very smart people in the building that are helping us with the data. We know we’re going in the right direction. We’re making strides every day. But it’s probably going to take a little bit before we get to it because essentially what we’re trying to do is predict injuries. We’re not there yet.”
So where are they now?
The Dolphins are one of 11 NFL teams employing the units made by Catapult Sports from Australia.
And the team is using the information harvested from each player after each practice to determine significant issues such as when players should be resting or perhaps when they might be able to take more work or perhaps when rest periods, known as teaching periods, need to be inserted into the practice.
“One day we had a discussion about, ‘hey, this player has gotten his player loads or his volume or his max speeds’ and it’s something I’m a little bit trying to get used to, and I’m looking to make solid decisions based on some of the information those guys give us,” coach Joe Philbin said.
“We try to adjust our practice based on what we know,” Krein said. “It’s a comprehensive way of getting more information on the players. Getting a better understanding about what the stresses of practice are.
“For us, as coaches, we can look at it and talk to the guys and ask them, ‘How was practice?’ But this helps to validate what you might have expected, and sometimes it opens your eyes to there being a lot more to it than you think.”
Philbin is fighting the narrative that he’s a milquetoast kind of guy unwilling to try new things. That’s not the case here.
“Coach Philbin has been outstanding. He’s a guy that I think trusts us and allows us to come with ideas that I think could be considered outside the box,” Puloka said. “He listens to us.”
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Did we see some of this with the World Cup? As players would sub in and out it would show the distance ran, etc. Quite irrelevant stats for soccer really (homeboy could have been just running around with his head cut off) but was curious.
 
Sons of Shula said:
Did we see some of this with the World Cup? As players would sub in and out it would show the distance ran, etc. Quite irrelevant stats for soccer really (homeboy could have been just running around with his head cut off) but was curious.
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Don't think it's irrelevant for soccer as Germany was the team that accumulated the most mileage in the games and they scored the most goals and won the World Cup. Same with Spain four years ago.

I agree, the positioning is also important but you don't win consistently if you don't move.
 
Thus stuff isnt very new. Its been widely used in rugby for about 3 years now. It does appear to be very useful though. I haven't heard it being used in rugby as an injury prevention tool, its mostly used for performance analysis and to overlay on game video, afaik.
 
Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, bought 5% of Catapult Sports, the Australian company, that has developed the products. The device was developed by the Australian Institute of Sports, which is an Australian Federal Government funded program for the best sports men and women in the country. It is interesting to note that they are working with many universities all over the world. The company, Catapult Sports, generated sales of over $20M (Australian Dollars) last year and is projecting over $100M this year as the product grows in a variety of different sports. I was interested to see that the devices can monitor and track the sleep habits of the sportsmen and women. So instead of the coach asking if the player had a good night's sleep, the system will be able to monitor precisely those players who did and those who didn't.
Eg if player X was up all night with a sick child or maybe worrying about his game so much that he couldn't sleep or maybe extended sexual endurance, it is all tracked in the system.
Sounds like we will learn a lot more about these devices and how they are to be used. There is the risk of Big Brother monitoring everything.

Examples of the sports teams using the product, below:

NFL
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Miami Dolphins
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
St. Louis Rams

BASKETBALL
San Antonio Spurs
New York Knicks
Houston Rockets
Dallas Mavericks
Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors
Great Britain Basketball
BG Göttingen
NCAA
Florida State University
University of Alabama
University of Oregon
University of North Carolina
University of Kentucky
Louisiana State University
University of Notre Dame
University of Minnesota
University of California-Berkeley
United States Military Academy
Baylor University
Old Dominion University
East Tennessee State University
University of Central Florida
University of South Florida

NATIONAL TEAMS
Welsh Rugby Union
United States Women’s Soccer
Australia Men’s Soccer
Colombia Men’s Football
United States Biathlon
Australia Women’s Hockey
Great Britain Men’s Basketball
Argentina Women’s Hockey
USA Field Hockey
Australia Men’s Rowing
Cricket Australia
Great Britain Men’s Rowing
Australia Men’s Hockey
Scotland Rugby
Great Britain Waterskiing
Argentina Men’s Hockey
United States Men’s Soccer
United States Men’s Rowing
English Women’s Football
Australia Women’s Soccer
Canada Women’s Soccer
Great Britain Gymnastics
Swedish National Football
Australia Women’s Rowing
Canada Men’s Soccer
United States Rugby
Norway Men’s Rowing
France National Handball Team
Norway Women’s Rowing
United States Women’s Rowing
Great Britain Women’s Rowing
Japan Men’s Rowing
Japan Women’s Rowing
Spain Men’s Rowing
Spain Women’s Rowing

NHL
Buffalo Sabres
Philadelphia Flyers

RESEARCH CENTERS
Auckland University of Technology
East Tennessee State University
Australian Catholic University
Bond University
British Columbia University
BG Trauma Hospital Hamburg
Canada Sports Innovation Center
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Carey Grammar
Chengdu Sport University
COSMED (Italy)
Deakin University
DSTO
DSTL
Durham University
Edge Hill University
Edinburgh Napier University
Gatorade Sports Science Institute
Gdansk University of P.E and Sport
German Sport University Cologne
Glyndŵr University
Griffith University
Kyokko Bussan
James Cook University
La Trobe University
Lancashire University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Lifemax
Loughborough University
Melbourne Grammar
Napier University
National Sports Academy Sofia
NICTA
Northumbria University
Northwest University
RMIT
Salesian College
Singapore Sports School
Southampton Solent University
Staffordshire University
St. Joseph’s Nudgee College
St. Joseph’s College
Swansea University
Swedish Institute of Computer Science
Swedish School of Sport/Health
Teesside University
Teikyo University
United States Special Forces
Universidad del País Vasco EHU
University of Adelaide
University of Ballarat
University of Birmingham
University of Brighton
University of British Columbia
University of Calgary
University of Central Lancashire
University of Chichester
University of Connecticut
University of Copenhagen
University of Dundee
University of Glamorgan
University of Glasgow
University of Hull
University of Lithuania
University of Newcastle
University of Pittsburg
University of Queensland
University of South Australia
University of Stirling
University of Sunderland
University of Sunshine Coast
University of Technology Sydney
University of Waikato
University of Wales
University of Wollongong
Victoria University
West Lancashire College
York College
York St. John University

FIELD HOCKEY
Argentina Men’s hockey
Argentina Women’s hockey
New Zealand Black Sticks
USA Field Hockey
Australia Men’s hockey
Australia Women’s hockey
Queensland hockey

NETBALL
New Zealand Silver Ferns

CRICKET
Australian Cricket team
England Cricket team

FOOTBALL (SOCCER)
AC Milan
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Olympique de Marseille
Wigan Athletic FC
AZ Alkmaar
Udinese Calcio
Real Sociedad de San Sebastián
Hannover 96
Al Jazira Club
Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse
Sweden Men’s Football
Calcio Catania
FA of Finland
FC Twente
Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo
Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg
İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor
Bollklubben Häcken
Blackburn Rovers FC
United States Women’s Soccer
FC Dynamo Kyiv
Newcastle United FC
Australian Men’s Team
Aston Villa FC
Leicester City FC
RNK Split
English Women’s Team
Seattle Sounders
Granada CF
Stoke City FC
Reading FC
Leeds United FC
United States Men’s Team
West Bromwich Albion FC
Hull City AFC
University of North Carolina Women
Canadian Soccer Team
Bolton Wanderers FC
Australian Women’s Team
West Ham United FC
Djurgårdens IF Fotboll
Ulster Gaelic Football
Hammarby Idrottsförening
Rangers
Melbourne Victory
Peterborough United FC
Middlesborough FC
Saracens FC
Canadian Women’s Team
Birmingham City FC
Colombian Men’s Team
Sunderland AFC
Milton Keynes Dons FC
West Ham Academy
Reading Academy

RUGBY UNION
British & Irish Lions
RC Toulonnais
Leinster Rugby
Munster Rugby
Canterbury Crusaders
Grenoble Rugby
Welsh Rugby Union
Cardiff Blues RC
Newport Gwent Dragons RC
Ospreys RC
ASM Clermont Auvergne
Scarlets RC
Scottish Rugby Union
Montpellier Hérault Rugby
Northampton Saints
Melbourne Rebels
Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin
Bristol Rugby
Edinburgh Rugby
Glasgow Warriors
Kyuden Voltex
United States Rugby
Canada Women’s Rugby

RUGBY LEAGUE
Brisbane Broncos
Melbourne Storm
Parramatta Eels
Canberra Raiders
Cronulla Sharks
 
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I don't understand. If New England isn't using it, how can it possibly be any good?
 
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