Wearables, Data, and Gaelic Football: How Tech is Tracking GAA Stars

For as long as many people can remember, data has always played a significant role in sports. Data has been used mainly to assess performance, but also to drive improvement and development in teams and athletes. In the past, data was generally collected manually, with the human eye, but nowadays, with great strides made in software and technology, athletes and teams are able to benefit from much more detailed analytics provided by wearable technology that can assess a huge range of individual vitals.

Although not one of the most recognised sports in the world, Gaelic Football is considered one of the most intense sports. The hard-running nature and technical ability required to play the sport means that more limits are being pushed to be the best. Agility, sharp changes of direction, strength, and endurance are just some of the characteristics required to extract the maximum performance on the field and with the help of advanced technology, Gaelic Football stars are now able to target areas of improvement much quicker.

Like with many other sports worldwide, instant data collected from wearables worn by players during a training session or match is relied upon to an even greater degree to drive improved performance.

No hiding from the data

Nowadays, we are accustomed to owning and using devices such as smart watches to track distances run, or how hard we are working aerobically and anaerobically. These devices have slowly become everyday items on an individual’s person. However, for sports such as Gaelic Football, players are not allowed to wear watches during matches. So how is data collected?

Instead of watches, Gaelic Football teams use mini-GPS devices that are woven into a training or playing kit that can perform a range of operations. Data around distance covered, acceleration, heart rate, intensity of sprints, and the intensity of impact or hits can be measured, assessed and then applied to training sessions or during a match to raise the levels of performance or pinpoint weaknesses in a specific player or team performance.

Through the use of wearables, there is now clear and undeniable evidence to show how an individual player is performing on the field. With the ability to also track live data, data analysts and coaches can even pinpoint exact peaks and troughs in performance during a match, which adds another layer of decision-making for head coaches.

On the field, there is now nowhere to hide for players. There are already many performance-related metrics that are covered by GPS tracking devices, with more expected in the future.

Data battle for final showdown

For Kerry and Donegal, analysts will be rapidly sifting through data right up until Sunday 27^th July, when the two teams face off in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. The match, hosted at Croke Park, is sure to be a cracking encounter, with Kerry going into the match as slight favourites based on the majority of GAA football tips.

However, Donegal, who have not competed in a final since 2014, will be looking to secure only their third All-Ireland championship and can certainly not be completely ruled out, despite Kerry’s successful history in the competition. The match could come down to who runs further, harder, or faster, or who keeps their cool with a lower heart rate. Gaelic Football has joined the ranks of other major sports in placing its trust in data. Nowadays, it is not just a battle on the pitch, but one off it to see who can utilise wearables and the data they produce better.

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