Topend Sports News Alert #10
Bringing you the latest news in sport, science, fitness and nutrition
Welcome to another newsletter from Topend Sports, the ultimate sport and science resource online. As this is the last e-news for the year I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing you all again in the new year.
I have gone with a theme for this newsletter, and it is all about the use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in sports. We are all familiar with using GPS on our smart phones or car GPS units to help with directions. In the world of sports, GPS has numerous other applications.
On the sporting field players are wearing units which track their every move, which the coaching staff can later analyze. Individual athletes can also use a GPS to log their training distances and courses. At the end of a training session or the end of a day they can see the route, speed and distance traveled.
In the News
Smart Balls: A company is looking at producing footballs with a small GPS tracking device embedded inside. These "smart" balls have lots of potential applications. Such a device was investigated by FIFA to determine if soccer balls passed over the goal line. The tracking device can also record a number of statistics during a match or training. It can measure time in possession, how fast the ball moves and also analyze the style of play.
GPS Analysts Employed: A clear sign that sporting clubs think that GPS is a very important part of the coaching program, the Port Adelaide Australian football team has employed a full-time dedicated GPS analyst. For many clubs, the players are getting every movement monitored in every game and training session by GPS. With all that data being collected, it is important for it to be processed and analyzed by an expert.
GPS and the Cooper Fitness Test
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