PlayerData - transforming the way athletes train

by Startacus Admin

PlayerData is an Edinburgh-based startup that enables teams and coaches to unlock the data behind their performance, both on and off the pitch

In the world of sports and athletics, sometimes the difference between winning and losing can be the smallest thing. In training, coaches are always looking for ways to get that tiny bit more out of players, out of their training methods, or out of the data they are gathering from their team, looking for that one weak point or that one advantage. Naturally, in this day and age, this means using computing, data gathering from precise instruments, and artificial intelligence to look for the smallest things that a person could easily miss.

Edinburgh-based wearable tech startup PlayerData is one company taking on the challenge of identifying the valuable minutiae among the streams of data that can be pulled in from players. The startup works with amateur to professional levels of football, hockey, and rugby around the world to transform the way athletes train and unlock their full potential. 

PlayerData’s Edge GPS unit is small and lightweight and can be comfortably worn by players, tracking their speed zones, distances covered and positioning on the pitch. In combination with Edge Analyst, this allows coaches to see precise data from distance travelled throughout the match, to how much of it was high-intensity, what the player’s top speed was, their positioning on the pitch, to identifying dips and peaks in performance, and more.

A handy heatmap allows for better visualisation of the player’s movements, and all of this can be put together to determine exactly why a player began to flag at the end of the first half, or why the other team were able to break through and score, and tailor the next training session to address the issues identified. 

Using data gathered, a coach can not only replay specific moments of a match, but also change player positioning to simulate different outcomes. Meanwhile, the AI algorithms can look out for potential player injuries to head them off before they happen.

In April, PlayerData announced that they had raised $2.3m in a Series A round led by London and Luxembourg VC fund HIRO Capital. So far, over 45 clubs have signed on to use PlayerData’s platform, which covers over 700 athletes in 14 leagues, and with such a huge market available to them and such a valuable tool on offer, we expect to see much bigger numbers the next time we take a look at this startup.

 

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• #
• #sports
• #athletes
• #training
• #performance
• #gps
• #wearables

Published on: 29th April 2021