Who whoulda thunk that the first place I'd hear about this new technological advance would be from across the pond?
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2003/tc20030415_3555_tc109.htm
The article is from about 4 years ago, so I probably should have heard about this long before now. Better late than never though, so I'm still going to talk about it.
Apparently, Oxford, despite their rowers being all smaller than Cambridge's, won an extremely close race, and then attributed their success to OmegaWave. OmegaWave being a "high-tech diagnostic tool that monitors an individual's cardiac, energy, central nervous, and hormonal systems" (Black, 2003). I won't go into great detail, I'll let ya'll read the aticle youselves, but the primary appeal of OmegaWave definitely seemes to be that it takes a lot of the guesswork out of how hard coaches can push their athletes. That is, until the software falters, and someone gets hurt. Personally, I think this product is still a great idea; had my high school used it, I may have been saved from a 3-night stay in the hospital my senior year.
The other cool product is the DartTrainer, which is a much simpler software that runs on any laptop hooked up to a digital camera. All it does is digitally record an athlete's movements, so the coach can then go back and watch it in slo-mo instant replay to see what's going wrong. Pretty cool.
The big issue I see with both of these products is that it may increase the gap between the haves and have-nots. Cost is clearly not an issue here, UF can buy whatever it wants; but at a smaller school like West Florida or Campbell (in North Carolina), the budget may not allow for an expense like this. With that said, they're both pure genius.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Dont feel bad hoss, I havent heard of these two "inventions" either until I read that article. The omegaWave technology sounds like a great idea, but it could definitely leave athletes with some explaining to do. Lets be honest, we've all "taken practices off". Whether its issues is school, your personal life, etc. you just dont always feel like practicing. Without this system, nobody else notices besides thinkingyou have just had an off day at practice. If you were hooked up to the OmegaWave, your coach would inquire about the intensity your bringing that day etc. I dont know...It just seems a little odd to me. Yes, if everybody is giving their all, the system is a great way to make sure nobody gets hurt or overheated.
Although this system sounds like a great idea, I dont think its another situation of "have and havenots". I have a friend who golfed in high school and his dad used to take VHS tapes of his swing. They were able to slow it down and look at what he was doing wrong. Although the DartTrainer is obviously much more high tech, this process of looking at your own movements in slow motion can be done many other ways.
I too have not heard of either of these inventions. The idea of the OmegaWave is a great one, but like you said...until it falters. I feel as if you can compare this kind of technology to a post that Pick put up in the earlier weeks about a pill that monitors body temps of athletes. In theory, I think the idea is a good one. But when team doctors are relying on items like the OmegaWave people can really get hurt if they fail.
The DartTrainer is a great way to improve athletes techniques. It is simple and can be very beneficial to not only the coaches but the players as well. If they can use this software at home, it's almost as if they are practicing on their own.
I can see how this can be a major budget item for schools. Yes, schools that have more money are able to afford things such as the items listed above. But that's what separates schools. Some schools have indoor practice facilities, their own buildings, and their own weight room. Some schools have to share all of these things because of they aren't generating a large amount of revenue. That's just how it is.
Post a Comment