Trackable Metrics Used in Sports Coaching
Essential GPS tracking devices are currently used in sports coaching to monitor athletes’ distance travelled and speed during a training session. These measurements are seen as reliable metrics of an athlete’s workload (Malone et al., 2017). Furthermore, more precise data describing an athlete’s sprint speed and time it takes to recover after a sprint allows a coach to prepare individualised training plans or game strategy that takes an individual athlete’s performance into account (Conners et al., 2018). This shows that an app utilising the GPS capability available in most smartphones can be profitable to BEA19 Technologies without the need to source or develop specialised hardware.
Other metrics that are relevant in the field of athletics and can be tracked by more specialised wearable devices include heart rate, temperature, breathing rate, and the body and individual joints’ positioning in a 3D space. While these measurements are possible, more complex devices and solutions implementing these are not as common (Goldberg, 2016). These measurements can be used to monitor a user’s performance in more detail, developing a more comprehensive model of their fatigue and recovery periods (Conners et al., 2018).
Furthermore, this information can be crucial to ensure an athlete’s health and well-being by detecting signs of stress or training overload and adjusting his or her regimen accordingly (Jones, Marshall, and Denison, 2016). These findings point to the value of an integrated hardware/software solution intended to be used by sports coaches.
Analysis of the External Macro and Micro Environment
When considering entering into the sporting goods and coaching sector, the legal demographic, economic, social, and technological factors of the environment need to be considered. In 2017, 23% of the population of England actively participated in sporting activities and an additional 19% actively participated in fitness activities (Audickas, 2017, p. 5). This suggests that a significant portion of the population may be interested in novel coaching and athletic goods.
It should be noted, however, that although overall sports participation in the country is increasing, it is shifting away from team sports and into individual sports (Harris, Nichols, and Taylor, 2017). Furthermore, association football is a significant part of UK’s culture (Gibbons, 2017). These factors ensure that interest and participation in the sport is likely to stay high. From a legal and economic standpoint, the UK offers a lucrative market despite the recent uncertainty brought about by Brexit. Few regulations exist regarding the sale of sporting goods.
The customers for tracking devices to be used in athletics and sports coaching may be individual athletes as well as teams and clubs. There is interest in applying this new technology in coaching for a wide range of sports at every level up to elite Olympic-level teams and individuals. However, the field of wearable fitness tracking devices and software is highly competitive, with solutions ranging from common fitness bracelets and smartphone apps to comprehensive professional team monitoring systems such as the Polar TeamPro.
Recommendations to BEA19 Technologies Ltd.
Entering the highly competitive field of tracking devices and software for use in athletics and coaching is a risky proposition. Although there are few legal or economic barriers to entry, and the potential customers’ interest and participation in sports and athletics is high, it is a competitive field. As such, comprehensive research is required into the existing competing solutions, novel technology as well as the potential customers’ demands to develop a product with a unique competitive advantage.
Furthermore, the diversity of potential users — from individuals interested in general fitness to professional team coaches and clubs — suggests that developing a range of products for different niches and marketing them appropriately is the key to entering this highly competitive field. Considering the influence of elite sports, securing the endorsement of some teams or individuals participating at this level can also create a significant marketing advantage.
Reference List
Audickas, L. (2017). ‘Sport participation in England’. House of Commons Library Briefing Paper no. CBP 8181. London: House of Commons Library. Web.
Conners, R. T. et al. (2018). ‘Coaching and technology: live team monitoring to improve training and safety’, Strategies, 31(5), pp. 15-20. Web.
Gibbons, T. (2016). English national identity and football fan culture: who are ya? Abington: Routledge.
Goldberg, B. (2016). ‘intelligent tutoring gets physical: coaching the physical learner by modeling the physical world’, in Schmorrow, D., and Fidopiastis, C. (eds.) Foundations of Augmented Cognition: Neuroergonomics and Operational Neuroscience. AC 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 9744. Cham: Springer, pp. 13-22. Web.
Harris, S., Nichols, G. and Taylor, M. (2017) ‘Bowling even more alone: trends towards individual participation in sport’, European Sport Management Quarterly. Informa UK Limited, 17(3), pp. 290–311. Web.
Jones, L., Marshall, P., and Denison, J. (2016). ‘Health and well-being implications surrounding the use of wearable GPS devices in professional rugby league: a Foucauldian disciplinary analysis of the normalised use of a common surveillance aid’, Performance Enhancement & Health, 5(2), pp. 38-46. Web.
Malone, J. J. et al. (2017). ‘Unpacking the black box: applications and considerations for using GPS devices in sport’, International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 12(Suppl 2), pp. S2-18-S2-26. Web.