Post 3: Technology, From Good to Great
The world of sport is forever changing. Strategies, game plans, athletes and skills are always advancing to help teams to reach success. Rugby is no different. A huge trend that has been on the rise for a few years now is technology. Technology and athletes are quite similar in the fact they are always developing to be better, faster and stronger. Now, technology is helping athletes to achieve higher levels of fitness, nutrition, and goals.
With the presence of technology rugby athletes are able to track their workouts through GPS data. They wear a sports bra with an extra pocket between the back-shoulder blades for the small GPS unit to be placed. This allows coaches, strength and conditioning, and athletic therapists to monitor the “load” on an athlete. It can help to hit goals of speed and conditioning to develop the physical ability of a player. The units can also be used to control an athlete that is coming back from an injury. It can be a major setback if a rehabbing player comes back or does too much too quickly, so coaches are able develop a return to play protocol for the athlete to follow, in hopes that easing back into on-field play will be successful.
Another way technology is progressing the sport of rugby is through video analysis and review. The ability to watch a training session or a game almost immediately can make a huge impact for player development. It can allow players to communicate what they saw, the play should have happened, or why something did or did not work. Video analysis is also so key because it allows teams to start watching the play of opposing teams. It starts the planning of certain game plans against different teams based on the way they play. It can also help an athlete individually to evolve in the smallest of ways, be able to see the way their body was turned at a moment or the placement of their hands can take them from good to great, from great to amazing. Yes, all of these are amazing to help athletes who have already made the national team but it the development of technology and video analysis allows for video to be available for developing athletes. Watching rugby is a huge way to learn rugby. It allows developing athletes to critique or discuss with other coaches or in an academy of what they see on the field and what they see available in terms of gaps to run through or who’s person was who’s to tackle.
From just a few examples of how technology is advancing the sport or rugby you can see how huge of an impact it can make in an athlete’s sporting life and development. Since a lot of people, especially athletes are visual learners and it offers the ability to see numbers, plays and different scenarios. In my eyes being in the world of rugby at its highest level I see the benefits that technology played in my game and am so grateful it was available to our team when it was.
