Benefits of Technology in the Sports World

Although there is some speculation as to whether the use of technology in sports takes value away from games in its entirety, technology ultimately benefits the sports world in a plethora of ways. When it comes to sports and training, athletes and coaches want to do everything in their power to gain an advantage over their opponents. Technology is one of the ways that athletes can maximize their performance and abilities.

Technology can benefit the athlete in many ways beyond just training. It is used to create better performance clothing and shoes to give athletes proper equipment to work with. It also can be used for training to analyze the athlete's behavior and tendencies so that he can fix or adjust his strengths and weaknesses. These devices allow the athlete to measure his cardiovascular endurance and vital signs so that he can push himself as far as possible without injury or damage.

Safety is a significant concern for many players and spectators in contact sports. They love their games and want to be able to play and watch it for years, but do not want to risk brain damage or other injuries. It is where technology represents one of its most vital roles in sports. More and more advanced technology is coming out that provides more safety equipment for players to protect themselves and others.Recent technology allows for the safest helmets, mouthpieces, and pads to be provided to players and participants that protect them from harm and reduce the risk of damage. It allows them to continue to play the sport they love, but to play it more safely. Injuries can be huge for players, and the consequences for the team fatal. The same data are taken from biomedical software to note muscle and joint movement can also be used to analyze potential signifiers such as an imbalance of movement, which could suggest an injury in its early stages (innovation enterprise). Not only is technology beneficial for preventing injuries, but it can also be used to detect early signs of trauma and treat it quickly. It gives athletes a chance to heal and get back in the game quicker and saves the team money by protecting their players.

Fan accessibility and media is a vital role in sports that could not be utilized without technology. The growth in technology has given fans the ability to track and monitor their team's performance and stats in real time, without having to pay a premium for tickets. Being able to watch a live game online allows the less financially blessed people the same access to the game as the fans who can afford the tickets. Technology gives global fans a chance to follow their favorite teams from across the globe.Giving the fan a participatory role so that they feel as involved in the team as possible is vital, and by analyzing social media activity, it is easy to look at how people are interacting with the team on a day-to-day-basis (innovation enterprise). By allowing the fans to be involved in the team's day-to-day activities, this gives the team more support and allows the fans to feel like they are a part of the team. Social media provides fans a platform to interact with other fans and talk about the game and their favorite players. The group benefits from technology as well by utilizing data to see how the fans experience was and their enjoyment and satisfaction levels. They can also use this data to contact potentially interested players and employees.

A recent outbreak in sports technology came in the form ofgoal-line technology.One of the most famous and recent technologies introduced in soccer is calledgoal-line technology. It is used to determine if a ball has crossed the goal line, to support the referee (Technogym). This is used in sports such as soccer to efficiently tell if the ball crossed the line and is a goal. It makes up for any human error on the referee's part. Another great piece of sporting technology is instant replay for sports like basketball and football that allow the officials to review individual plays that they may have miscalled in the first place. Both of these pieces of equipment bring more fairness into sports and alleviate any human error.

Technology can play a critical role in athletic training. Not only with advanced sporting equipment and athletic wear, but also in performance. With more and more technology coming out, athletes have more resources than ever to maximize their full potential.These include devices used for exercise stress testing and cardiovascular assessment, human reaction time and frequency of movement meters, and devices such as force platforms that measure the characteristics of jumping and running (Subject Support). These devices can mean the difference in athletes pushing themselves too hard and risking injury, or athletes training to the best of their ability and no further. This increase in technology will also be very beneficial to coaches by helping them analyze their players more thoroughly and effectively. Without technology, players and coaches would have no way to monitor their vital signs and test for the most effective ways to train for that specific athlete.The muscle fibers in someone's body are influenced by genes but also by training, environment, and diet. Understanding how all these things interact can help coaches tailor workouts to help an athlete get past a plateau (Business Insider). Technology boosts athletic performance by allowing athletes to tailor their workouts to their specific needs and sports. They would not be able to see what they need to tweak to improve without technology.

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