Fantastic El Clasico Match? No!!! It is just the beginning…

Did you watch last Sunday's "El Classico" match? If you are in Spain, you know it is one of the biggest rivalries between Los Blancos and Barca. For those of you who like football, maybe it was one of the best matches you've seen, with a lot of goals, cards, pushing and shoving, and also Messi's magic. Despite all the individual technical skill and coaching strategy, behind all this is technology. 

The sport industry utilizes technology to improve athlete's conditioning, to perform strategy analysis, and in training preparation, which ultimately brings higher quality matches. One of the technologies implemented is wearable devices. In soccer, athletes wear shirts, shin guards and shoes with sensors embedded within that are able to track crucial information.

How the technology works: the sensors in the apparel send a wireless data to a base station. The information in the base station is processed and relayed to a tablet so coaches and trainers can examine the data in real time. Simply by monitoring his tablet, a coach can now fully comprehend the physical impact on the athlete’s body, including: work rate, stamina, speed, distance, performance efficiency, and the power generated against the ball by every player, in every position.

From inducing in-game managerial decisions, such as team tactics, and substitutions, to analyzing trends to prevent over training and risk of injury, the technology will help maintain player performance at optimal levels throughout the season.

We believe despite being in juvenile stages of development compared to other technologies, wearable products will ascend in the coming years. The sport industry is expected to have a large impact on the financial growth of the wearable technology industry. At this point, several products are being evaluated for effectiveness and satisfaction by their users, and have already gathered a solid presence in the sports arena.

The likelihood of wearable products enduring future success is not only reasonable, but expected. Giving athletes and coaches the ability to measure performance in real time and make adjustments during the game will not only lead to increased quality of play, but can prevent devastating injuries from occurring. Athletes have already been influenced by wearable devices in the early stages of its presence and we can't wait to see where the future takes us.

Once the necessary research is done to make products more athlete specific, customizable, and more leagues allow the use of wearable devices in the game, the investment by players, teams, and leagues will strengthen. And we will see more quality and fantastic matches ahead.