Hi-tech heist by Jodi Richardson

Inside features

Hi-tech heist! How science is taking over football

Technology has appeared in every corner of the modern game, writes DR JODI RICHARDSON in the first of a two-part series.

ECHNOLOGY is as much a part of football now as the guernsey on a player’s back. The game has come a long way from the time when I went to the footy as a kid and tech-savvy spectators carried a transistor radio and an earpiece to keep up with scores in other matches. Some of these advances make it all the more difficult to imagine where it will take our game in the future. Football clubs are now technology meccas where some of Australia’s best sport scientists work to ensure that their club is at the forefront of new developments. So large is the scope of technology in football that one article simply won’t do it justice!

unit to see satellites near the horizon to get accurate results, and of course in Etihad – even when the roof is open – you can only see the ones right above you.” Holthouse has had discussions with the AFL and Etihad about providing an indoor tracking system, but there is no formal program to implement this. The sensors in the harness send live data to club staff on player distance, velocity, accelerations, decelerations and heart rate. Wireless technology and the development of tablet computers make the viewing and interpretation of this data simple and portable. Peter Burge, high performance manager at St Kilda (and 1998 Sports science Commonwealth Games long jump This is one department within football gold medalist) said the technology clubs that has embraced technology like was not just about collecting lots of no other. It is integral to every training data. session and every game, impacting on the The usefulness of any technology is way footballers are trained, monitored in the way the data is interpreted. and recovered. “One thing I’ve learnt is that there One inclusion said to have revolutionis a lot of sports science in football ised the game is the use of global posinow, a lot of data, a lot of numbers, tioning system (GPS) technology. but if you’re not using it for some Of the 18 AFL clubs, 16 use the Catapult purpose then it’s pointless collecting Minimax harnesses housing micro-techit,” Burge said. nology sensors including a GPS receiver. He said the GPS and heart rate Player movement is tracked by GPS data influenced the rotation of players satellites as long as there is a line of sight but emphasised that it was not an exact between the satellites and the player. science. GPS can’t be satisfactorily used at Etihad “The game is getting faster and we use Stadium as the line of sight is interrupted the GPS information to monitor the work by the stadium architecture. the players are doing,” he said. Footy IF 10 x 7.pdf 13/02/2012 “We 3:45:09 Shaun SEN Holthouse, CEO of Catapult alsoPMuse blood lactate testing to Sports, says: “It’s important for the GPS help us to understand more about player

MINIMAX: Latest technology.

throws everything out. “You need to know where the players’ limits are from a physiological testing perspective and understand what will be the best way to manage them during the game to maximise the team’s performance.” The future of GPS technology probably lies in extra physiological variables that can be included for measurement. GPSports, supplier of GPS technology to two AFL clubs, is working on being able to accurately measure parameters such as player lactic acid, core temperature, glucose and pH. This extra information will allow clubs to more accurately understand just how a player is coping with training and match demands. Technology is central to the monitoring of players in terms of how they are recovering after a game, their mood, sleep and other factors. St Kilda uses player monitoring software called Kinetic-Athlete, developed by Kinetic Performance Technology. This program streamlines athlete monitoring, team management, performance programs and communication between football staff. “At 8am every day, players are filling out their monitoring information using an iPhone app and within half an hour sports science staff will check on how the players are going and highlight any red flags that jump out. “The sooner the staff knows the better so we can have a conversation with the player and make any relevant adjustments

‘We also use blood lactate testing to help us to understand more about player limits, and assist us with decisions on individual rotations and optimal recovery.’ – PETER BURGE limits, and assist us with decisions on individual rotations and optimal recovery during games to perform at a higher intensity for longer durations. “You can’t get too cute with it as things can change very quickly. You can have a pre-planned rotation but a player might get injured in the first 10 minutes and this

CMY

Inside Football

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

to training.” Another technology used by the Saints is called GymAware, which enables strength and power measurement in the gym and is also developed by Kinetic Performance Technology. Once measured by the power tool, data is wirelessly transmitted to an iPad, iPhone or iPod. The information can then be directly uploaded to each player’s Kinetic-Athlete account. “If we’re doing a vertical jump test with the players, we use GymAware and force plates to measure power output, velocity and height,” said Burge. “We can give immediate feedback to players such as they jumped 34cm in 1.6 metres per second. This motivates players; they want to beat their result every time. In my experience, if you measure it, they will do it better.” Though it’s been around a while, the Dartfish Video Anaylsis Software has changed the way the game is reviewed. This software enables the easy capture and tagging of game footage. Footage can then be easily edited and replayed for review. Coaches can then conduct detailed analyses of team and opposition tactical choices, strategic patterns and areas for improvement. St Kilda also uses it for biomechanical analysis of running technique, posture and technique during lifts such as squats in the gym. Altitude training is a key area where technology means that clubs don’t have to travel to experience a high altitude environment.

St Kilda has an altitude room where the reduced oxygen (hypoxic) atmosphere of high altitude is replicated in a specially built room. Nitrogen is introduced into the environment within the facility to reduce the percentage of oxygen in the air. Players are monitored at all times via video. The benefits of altitude training include improved running economy and increased delivery of oxygen to muscle; both contribute to an athlete’s ability to sustain their performance for longer periods of time. When first used in AFL football, a wheelie bin filled with ice and water was what you had to look forward to either after a game or as part of your rehab program. Technology now makes this rather unpleasant experience for players a little more sophisticated although just as cold! Whether inbuilt or portable, ice baths are now temperature controlled and are usually set between 12 and 15 degrees. A number of studies on cold water immersion determined that it is effective in reducing delayed onset muscle soreness, hence is helpful for recovery. The team bonding aspect of group coldwater immersion at the beach is also a positive outcome of this recovery technique, which of course is technology free! A revolutionary technological recovery measure is the Alter G Anti-Gravity Treadmill. These futuristic looking machines enable an athlete to run without having to carry their full bodyweight – excellent for a player returning from surgery or injury and also allows healthy athletes to perform over-speed training and hill running with reduced body weight, minimising the risk of injury. A pressure-controlled chamber used to gently lift the user is how the unweighting is achieved.

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‘There have been ad particularly for hip vances in arthroscopy, s an of surgery to reshap d the introduction structures to limit th e abnormal hip e pro injury.’ – DR HUGH SEgression of

Medicine

When players start going down with injuries, it can really jeopardise a team’s finals chances. Over the years we have seen advances in medical technology that have influenced the way teams handle injuries and in many cases enabled players to continue to play or return to the field sooner than previously. Dr Hugh Seward, of the AFL Medical Officers Association, explains that some areas of medical technology have progressed more than others. “Advances in medical technology and the benefit for footballers can be categorised into injury prevention (where there are limited changes), more accurate diagnosis and reliable prediction of injury severity, and treatment to provide a faster recovery or less risk of the injury occurring again,” he said. Dr Seward comments that screening tools to predict injury risk and identify groups needing intervention to prevent injury use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound. An MRI scan requires the player to lie on a bed surrounded by a strong magnet. Signals from a radio wave antenna of varying magnetic fields are sent to the body and then back to the antenna. A computer then converts these signals into a picture. The MRI images show the injured joint or body part as a series of slices showing very clearly the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones so that an assessment can then be made.

We have picked the brains of John McCarthy, Brent Renouf and Brad Ebert on how other clubs go about their pre-seasons. – Matthew Primus, on Morning Glory

WARD

LOGGING IN: Jobe Watson has every stride measured and analysed on the training track.

In terms of injury prevention, MRI is used to screen for groin injury potential while ultrasound is used to assess pelvic muscle control. To diagnose problems in AFL players, Dr Seward explains that MRI has provided the greatest advance but is a double-edged sword. “The non-medical groups now place too much emphasis on the scan instead of the clinical judgment, while both need to be balanced,” he said. “Many clubs now have their own portable ultrasound machines to assess injuries immediately, or monitor a player’s progress, which has been beneficial.” The treatment of injuries provides some interesting examples of advances in technology. “There have been advances in arthroscopy, particularly for hips and the introduction of surgery to reshape abnormal hip structures to limit the progression of injury,” Dr Seward said. “Concussion monitoring with reaction time tests have been helpful to monitor recovery, but we are about to explore very high-tech MRI neuro-imaging to see if that can help predict severity and the

occasional high-risk subject. “There has also been work to explore ways to speed up soft-tissue repair and produce better repair, but this work is yet to prove definitive.” Stem cell use for cartilage damage or tendon injuries may prove beneficial in the future. Stem cells are a special type of cell with regenerative abilities.

Umpiring

Umpiring may not jump to mind as an area of footy for technology to influence in any significant way but quite the opposite is true. For one, technology has had a huge impact on the way the umpires and their coaches communicate. AFL Umpires manager Jeff Gieschen explains that communication is central to the way this department operates. “Our umpires are spread all across Australia. We’ve got umpires based in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Tasmania so communication with us is a real challenge,” he said. “Back 10-15 years ago that was more difficult but with the advent of the Inside Football

extranet, teleconferencing, Skype and email it has certainly brought our group closer together. “We have embraced technology to become more effective simply because of the distance all of our people are apart.” Umpires can log onto the Umpires Extranet which, among other things, gives them access to vision and instructions necessary for coaching purposes. The umpires also participate in major coaching sessions that can now be conducted via teleconference and Skype where AFL umpires across the country have access to the same game and instructional footage and comments from coaches in real time. Video or DVD sent via the postal service is a thing of the past. Coaching sessions are crucial to umpire development and it’s not hard to see that communications technology has only made the challenging job of umpires that bit easier. Pre-season coaching includes rule interpretation, standards of behaviour, technicalities of teamwork and positioning. “In-season major coaching sessions

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

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centre on a cross-section of different vision to show what we did well the previous weekend, umpire consistency in certain contest situations, and we also show a number of things we could have handled better,” Gieschen said. The umpire coaches have also benefited from advances in technology. When reviewing umpires in the past, they used to write down all their stats on a running sheet by watching the game and a TV monitor. If they were lucky they might get a replay on the broadcast. These days, they use computer software called SportsCode, which enables them to log and tag as they go, eliminating all writing and the looking back and forward between the game and the running sheet. Umpires need to be extremely fit to cope with kilometres of running per game and at the same time position themselves appropriately. GPS is used to track their physical output during a game so that their training and recovery can be tailored. There is no question that umpiring decisions can be controversial, but it has to be said that much of the disagreement over decisions depends on who you barrack for. There will always be some supporters unhappy with a decision but the NAB Cup trial of an Official Scorer with access to video replay and the ability to amend a goal umpire’s decision should put an end to the arguments. You might not like the outcome of a scoring decision, but at least you know it’s right. “This year in the NAB Cup we’re trialing being able to help the onfield umpires over scoring decisions where it becomes obvious there could be an error,” Gieschen said. “We will use the SportsCode video analysis system plus television replays to review footage. This technology will help us to be more accurate with scoring.” For some time all the umpires have been wired up with MatchComm Communication System, which enables the umpire’s coaches to listen to all of the communications between umpires and between umpires and players. To date, this has been a deliberate oneway channel so there can be no outside influence on umpiring decisions. With the introduction of an Official Scorer there will be two-way communication with goal umpires so that scores can be corrected if necessary. “The official scorer would be the goal umpires’ coach but he would also have support from the field umpires’ coach and the boundary umpires’ coach. He would not make a decision alone,” Gieschen explained. We may not have to wait until next season to see this introduced into the home and away season but only if it doesn’t create long delays. “It depends on the timing of the score review because one of the key philosophies around it is that we don’t disrupt the flow of the game,” he said. “If it’s going to take too long to work out what the score is, the play pauses, the fans get bored and the players can begin to cool down. That would be a deterrent but if it can be done efficiently and effectively, I can’t see any reason at all why it wouldn’t be used. “If this works really well, I’m sure the laws committee would look at implementing it into the main season.” n Next issue: Part 2