What was once thought a distant dream is now our reality with wearable tech. These small watches, bands, and rings are able to tell us, and track, many of the things that we required a doctor to not too long ago. And that goes without mentioning all the other features that can help us optimize our health and performance.
So, how will wearable tech affect sports like football as we move forward? Will it have a profound impact like some people suspect, or is the hype overrated? Well, let’s find out. Here’s how wearable tech is changing the future of football.
The Opportunity to Optimize
First and foremost, wearable tech gives football players the ability to optimize. With wearable tech, everything is tracked. Whether it be heart rate, blood pressure, sleep, or even blood oxygen, all parameters of an athlete’s health can now be tracked at all times. This is much more significant than you may first imagine.
Having this data tracked constantly gives coaches and athletes key insights into what they can improve on and change. Moreover, it allows them to see if any changes they make are effective. For example, let’s say one player is struggling with sleep, averaging around five hours per night. A plan may be made to improve it—perhaps the coach will tell the player to go to bed earlier, get blackout blinds, and get up at the same time every day.
If these changes are successful, great. Problem solved. If not, it shows that the player is either not following the program or something else is the issue, perhaps stress.
This level of tracking has never been possible before. Every aspect of a football player’s life and performance can now be optimized to a T, enabling them to truly become the best they can be.
Every other aspect of football is now optimized—from smart solutions for football field maintenance to VAR and other referee technologies. It only makes sense that football players become optimized too.
Simple Programs
Another way that wearable tech affects football is by offering players simple programs to follow and keeping them accountable. Before, if a coach gave a player a program to follow, it could easily be forgotten about in a few days and have no effect. Now, the program is right there on their smartwatch—there are no excuses.
Many smartwatches and other tech gadgets are also able to distinguish whether or not an individual is actually following a program or not through heart rates and blood pressure, so it’s no longer possible to lie about following a program.
These fitness programs take all the hassle out of training and make it simpler than ever for both players and coaches, ensuring players doi what they need to do to improve. This means that the overall quality of players is improving, including better stamina and improved health.
In turn, this is making the skill gap smaller and smaller. This may be a downside for those who enjoy sports betting and want to enjoy a variety of types of bets—we may see odds getting closer and closer as time goes on.
Regardless, when it comes to the matches, it means better performances and more exciting games.
Saving Time and Money
Finally, wearable tech can save teams a huge amount of time and money. Not only does it simplify the logistics and management of clubs by making sure everyone is healthy and doing what they are supposed to be doing, but it cuts down on medical and rehabilitation costs, gives managers and coaches more time to focus elsewhere, and means fewer visits are required to specialist centers that monitor performance metrics like blood oxygen and heart rate.
Most popular smartwatches track many of the parameters players would go to specialist centers or medical institutions for, so there is no longer a need for a club to spend their resources in these areas.
These factors can all add up, giving clubs more resources to spend on purchasing new players and more time to focus on their current players. This will be especially beneficial for less wealthy teams who didn’t previously have the resources to get metrics tracked, leveling the playing field and giving them a chance against wealthy teams.
And that’s all without mentioning how cheap wearable devices can be—they could end up saving clubs millions of dollars.
So, are you excited about the impact wearable tech is likely going to have on football and other sports? With this technology, athletes can optimize their health and performance to a level that was previously not possible without intense supervision. That’s without factoring in all the other bells and whistles, like giving athletes simple programs to follow while holding them accountable.
The results? More exciting games, fewer injuries, and better health. There has never been a better time to be an athlete, or even a spectator for that matter. On top of offering more exciting matchups, anyone can use wearable tech to improve their health and fitness. It’s an interesting time to be alive.
