Several techniques that technology uses to monitor a football player

 

CR7 Tested to the Limit

The inspiration for my next post comes from this weekend's FA Cup tie between Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League. If you have not heard yet, Fabrice Muamba, a midfield player for the Bolton Wanderers, collapsed around midfield in the 41st minute from cardiac arrest. Muamba is only 25 years old, and is now in the Heart Attack Centre at London Chest Hospital in critical condition. The collapse occured off camera but a couple Spurs players were fortunate/unfortunate enough to see it happen and were able to alert the officials. I say unfortunate merely because seeing such a thing can be gruesome. Several paramedics were quick on the scene and spent quite some time trying to revive Muamba. They eventually sought the assistance of a defibrillator before removing him from the pitch by stretcher. They continued resuscitation on route to the hospital and eventually got his heart going again. Based on news reports on Fox Soccer Channel, Fabrice's heart had stopped for quite some time, approximately 2 hours until finally it began beating again. The prayers of players, fans, anyone associated with football, and anyone that cares to be honest, go out to him and his family. To tie this article to my blog I would like to focus on the capability of mobile defibrillators that help save peoples lives day after day. It is unfortunate that tragedy struck for such a device to be created but after its creation, it has definitely lived up to its expected impact. We must thank technology for its innovative creation and for keeping another one of our talented athletes with us for the time being. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1037005/fabrice-muamba-critically-ill-after-collapse?cc=5901

An edited version of my sophomore season in college

Intro

The purpose of this blog is to educate and discuss sports and technology, and how they cooperate in order to benefit the world. Topics can range from specific technological advances within the football arena, to overall effects through time. Without further ado....There is a current debate that has been racing for years in sports, and in football (soccer) specifically. People are always trying to decide who the best player ever is, and have been trying to figure out the different ways to measure it. What is painfully obvious is that technology has a lot to play in how players have not only advanced in this day and age, but also how we are able to keep track of it. In the 20th Century the only way you would be able to view sports from all over the world would be for you to actually be there in person. Soccer greats such as Pele, Platini, Maradona, Cruyff and others were not able to get the coverage and advantages that technology brings to the forum now. Now we can sit at home and flick from channel to channel, seeing spanish, french, german, dutch, and any other major country that our heart desires all because of technology. Players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo defy the laws of gravity from game to game, and technology allows us to analyze them and see how they function. With every step, with every jump, with every swing of their feet we are able to collect data, track speed and agility and decifer where which player may differ from the other. We are able to recreate these movements and apply them into the very video games that entertain us. I had the opportunity to experience this once, where I was a participant in a study of why women football players suffer more knee injuries than men. In the study many small sensors were placed in specific positions all over my body so that my movements could be captured and digitized. They observed the way my knees reacted to hitting the ground from a predetermined height and from there, how it manouvered as I sprinted in a certain direction. I was thoroughly fascinated by the study and the technology used by the researchers and was very grateful to be a part of it. Technology has revolutionized the game in the way we play it, watch it, and study it. As time goes by, it will continue to improve more and more. We currently await the arrival of goal line technology, a technology that will have a significant impact on the sport at its highest stage.