They’re your last line of defense. They can make bad teams good and good teams great. The best ones can take over an entire game by themselves.

There is no other athlete quite like the goalkeeper. In soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse, and field hockey, they’re the most important people on the pitch, rink, or field. The physical and mental demands of the position set them apart from their teammates–yet all too often, they don’t have a conditioning program that reflects those unique demands.

To experience maximum performance benefits from training, goalies need to exercise differently than offensive and defensive “field players.” They need to focus more on certain aspects of strength and conditioning and less on others.

The most successful programs focus on the following building blocks:

The metabolic system can be divided into two parts: aerobic and anaerobic. Every activity and position in goaltending relies partially on both systems–it’s the proportion of each that’s the key. The majority of goalie movement is anaerobic, consisting of short bouts of intense activity with intermittent rest in between. Nevertheless, some level of aerobic training is useful for general conditioning and endurance development, especially in soccer and lacrosse, where goalies are expected to sprint for short distances several times a game.

Muscular strength is important in many movements, especially in generating power when clearing and starting the counter-attack. Soccer goalkeepers also use muscular strength during vertical jumps when leaping or challenging an opponent.

Muscular endurance is essential for performing skills and movements over and over during a game. When goalkeepers experience a breakdown in form or technique late in contests, muscular fatigue is often to blame. For this reason, muscle endurance should always be a major focus of goalie training.

Coordination is an obvious necessity for all types of athletes, but it’s of utmost importance to goalies. In the blink of an eye, they have to decide whether to kick out a leg, flash a catching glove, or dive forward or laterally, all without losing control and ending up off-balance and out of position. The best goalies often think one or two moves ahead of what they’re doing at any given moment, and they must be highly coordinated to produce fluid, dynamic movements in rapid succession.

Quickness is the keystone for most successful goalkeepers. The term can mean different things to different athletes, but in this context, it’s a blend of two main attributes: speed and agility. For everything from establishing position to making saves to preventing injuries, quickness is a goalie’s best friend. Developing it should be a focus of every training regimen.

Below is a list of some of the most important exercises for goaltender strength training, broken down into categories based on the primary biomechanical movement involved.

Power/Explosiveness
Box jumps
Squat jumps
Dumbbell snatch

Knee-dominant
Squats (Back/Front)
Lunges
Single-leg squats

Hip-dominant
Deadlifts
Romanian deadlifts
Single-leg deadlifts
Good mornings

Vertical Pull
Pull-ups
Chin ups
Lat pull downs

Vertical Press
Shoulder barbell press
Shoulder dumbbell press

Horizontal Pull
Bent-over row
One-armed row
Inverted row

Horizontal Press
Bench press
Dumbbell press
Alternating dumbbell press
Pushups

Trunk Stability
Planks
Reverse crunches
Wood chops

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A Review of the Physical, Societal and Economic Effects of Wearable Devices in Sports ABSTRACT…

Synapse Events is dedicated to building conferences that focus on specific applications of big data and analytics. Every sector and function in the economy now depends on data. The use of Big Data will become the basis of competition and growth, enhancing productivity and creating significant value for the world economy by reducing waste and increasing the quality of products and services.

Synapse Events has been founded to bring communities of experts together to share ideas, insights, and new methods for leveraging the use of big data and analytics to improve every aspect of our lives.

Gary Mueller was chairman, International of Eagle Capital from 2010 to 2012. He also served as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School in 2010 and 2011. From 2006 to 2010, Mr. Mueller was CEO of Institutional Investor, a premier media company covering the financial services industry. Institutional Investor has over 30 publications, 10 institutes and numerous conferences, events and websites. Its titles include Institutional Investor, Absolute Return, Total Securitization, Bondweek, and Global Money Management. In 1994, Mr. Mueller founded ISI Emerging Markets (www.securities.com), one of the most comprehensive and widely used on-line financial and business information services for the emerging markets. From 1994 until 2002 he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and then as Chairman until 2010. Mr. Mueller was also Chairman of Information Management Network (www.imn.org), a premier conference company serving the financial services industry. Mr. Mueller is a graduate of Harvard College (1988) and Harvard Business School (1994) and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1988.

Bill Sell is Managing Partner of Advisor Communications LLC, a Boston-area based event development agency that teamed up with Gary Mueller in early 2019. Bill’s background includes technology events and publishing. Events include COMDEX Fall in Las Vegas, CeBIT America, VON:Voice on the Net and ONUG. Corporate events include programs for Sun Microsystems, NEXT Computer and BAE Systems. Non-technology programs include co-developer of the Electric Bike Expo, an experiential test track for bike brands; EQUITANA USA; the original business plan for World Equine Expo for the Tryon International Equestrian Center; the Gluten Free College Food Service Conference; Boston Overstock & Remainder Show; MetroFest, an entertainment and food truck festival; and staffing management of FAN Expo/Boston Comic Con. Bill has led event development teams at Fidelity Capital Corp’s Seaport World Trade Center Boston and at the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Bill is a graduate of Northeastern University (1982) and the Boston University Questrom Graduate School of Business (1986).

These are the types of questions that we asked 31 sports teams, as part of our new Upside survey. In this article we summarized the key results of our survey.

It was apparent that in the past few weeks because of the COVID-19 crisis many sports teams, many of the teams and leagues that we work with, have been impacted financially. One of the most critical areas is sports technology.

As a result of the COVID-19 many sports teams had to revise their 2020 sports tech budget and plan to invest in technologies (GPS, wearables, HR monitor..) in 2020 and beyond.

WHAT WE DECIDED TO DO

In a quick turnaround, over the past 2 weeks we sent out a survey to athletic staff members of a large number of sports teams around the world.

The goal was to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the sports teams’ 2020 sports tech budget, which areas of sports were financially impacted, when they were now planning to invest in sports technologies, and in which types of emerging sports technologies they were planning to invest.

Respondents represented 31 different sports, from pro teams & organizations, including the MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, Division 1 NCAA teams, European soccer teams and leagues (English Premier League), South American soccer leagues (Brazilian First division..), as well as healthcare organizations. Of note, we would like to thank all the teams and coaches that participated in this survey. We also like to acknowledge Innovate AT for its contribution to this survey as a tech partner. We would also like to personally thank Daniel Hayes (LA Dodgers), Skylar Richards (Orlando City FC/MLS), Derek Lawrance (SJ Earthquakes/MLS), Brian Lee (LA Children’s hospital), Leonard Zaichkowsky, and Manoel Coutinho (Botafogo FR) for their help making this survey a success. This is a follow up to our recent article gathering testimonials from Top coaches/trainers/Startups on what to do during COVID-19 crisis.

COVID-19 impacted Teams’ 2020 Sports tech budget

97% OF ATHLETIC TRAINERS AGREED THAT COVID-19 IMPACTED THEIR 2020 SPORTS TECH BUDGET

Over the past few weeks, many sports teams cut salaries of players and staff members sometimes by up to 50% in order to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 on their top line and bottom line.

With that in mind, it was not a surprise to see that 97% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the COVID-19 crisis impacted their 2020 sports tech budget. Only 3% of the respondents said that the COVID-19 crisis had no impact on their 2020 sports tech budget.

Source: Upside 2020 Top Coaches Sports Tech Budget Survey Results, April 2020.

So the next question became: To what extend was your 2020 sports tech budget impacted?

37% OF COACHES’ 2020 SPORTS TECH BUDGET GOT CUT BY 20-50%.

As shown in the graph below, 37% of the athletic trainers surveyed reported a 20-50% cut on their 2020 sports tech budget. In addition, 13% of athletic trainers indicated a 50-70% budget cut, 20% of them reported a 10%-20% cut, and 27% of them reported a 70% budget cut. With that in mind it is fair to say that for most teams their 2020 sports tech budget got impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

Source: Upside 2020 Top Coaches Sports Tech Budget Survey Results, April 2020.

COVID-19 impact on Teams’ 2020 Sports tech budget By Technology

GPS SYSTEMS AND HR MONITORING SYSTEMS GOT MOST IMPACTED BY COVID-19 CRISIS

Budgets allocated towards GPS and HR monitors were the most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. In fact, as shown in the chart below, 56% of athletic trainers indicated that their budget allocated towards GPS systems got impacted while 48% reported that budget for HR monitors got impacted by the crisis. This makes sense as GPS and HR monitors are among the most popular types of technologies currently used by sports teams.

Other types of technologies that got impacted by COVID-19 were video analysis systems (36%), sleep trackers (32%), neurotech & mental health devices (32%), temperature screening & sensing solutions (20%), connected fitness equipments and solutions (16%), hydration/electrolyte monitoring solutions (12%), and esport equipments and solutions (4%).

Source: Upside 2020 Top Coaches Sports Tech Budget Survey Results, April 2020.

86% OF ATHLETIC TRAINERS PLAN TO INVEST AGAIN IN NEW SPORTS TECHNOLOGIES IN 1Q21

As shown in the graph below, given the low visibility on the future outlook, it was not surprising to see that 86% of the athletic trainers we surveyed indicated that they planned to invest in new sports technologies not until 1Q21. That being said, on the bright side, 10% of the athletic trainers said that they planned to invest in new tech in 4Q20. 3% of the even indicated that they planned to buy new technologies as early as 3Q20.

Source: Upside 2020 Top Coaches Sports Tech Budget Survey Results, April 2020.

Teams’ 2020 Sports tech Plan to Invest in New Technologies

48% OF ATHLETIC TRAINERS PLAN TO INVEST IN SLEEP TRACKERS VS 44% IN GPS VS 44% IN NEUROTECH & MENTAL HEALTH

As shown in the graph below, 48% of the athletic trainers we surveyed indicated that they plan to invest in sleep trackers in the future. GPS systems remained a top priority moving forward with 44% of the athletic trainers planning to invest in GPS systems while 44% of them planned to invest in neurotech & mental health devices. This does not come as a surprise as being on quarantine likely affected some players mentally and trainers want to make sure that they can address any mental issues moving forward. 32% of them also planned to invest in HR monitors and video analysis systems. 32% of the athletic trainers also planned to invest in temperature sensing & screening solutions. This makes sense as many sports leagues plan to do temperature screening of players before each games when the competition resumes.

Hydration/electrolyte monitoring solutions also gathered a lot of interest with 24% of the respondents indicating their plan to buy hydration/electrolyte monitoring solutions. Lastly, 16% of athletic trainers also indicated their plan to invest in connected fitness (Peloton, Tonal..) in the future.

Source: Upside 2020 Top Coaches Sports Tech Budget Survey Results, April 2020.

57% OF ATHLETIC TRAINERS’ SPORTS TECH BUDGET WAS

Predictive health checks performed by wrist-wearables that record a person’s biometrics are possible, according to a small study. They are also a capability that the U.S. Homeland Security Department wants to explore.

JAMA, the medical journal, has reported on a 49-subject study indicating that a wearable device the same as or similar to common a fitness tracker can give people a warning about the onset of a common cold or the flu.

The biometric devices distinguished between H1N1-flu infection and non-infection 92 percent of the time. They were 88 percent successful in spotting the early presence of rhinovirus, according to the paper.

They also could predict the seriousness of a flu infection — mild or moderate illnesses — 90 percent of the time. The severity of colds was predicted 89 percent of the time.

Wearables are seen as less creepy in this role than mass surveillance using facial recognition with temperature scanning to spot fevers.

Tracking biometric data through wearables has also been suggested for the early detection of COVID-19.

Assuming people wearing a biometric device sensitive to colds and flu acted on the warning, they could take precautions against infecting others and seek medical attention if needed.

A 10-person team of researchers tackled the project. The scientists were part of Duke University; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Imperial College London; The University of Virginia and the University of Michigan.

The study is work that Homeland Security will want to see. The government has requested proposals for a system capable of continuously monitoring the health anxiety of employees.

Specifically, the department is primarily addressing people working in its Customs and Border Protection agency. Officials want to put biometric sensors on wrists 24 hours a day to gather and analyze data for signs of sickness and anxiety. Sleep habits play an important role in diagnosing health problems.

Project framers will only consider hardware and software that incorporate new and existing standards and formats. They also must comply with HIPAA data safety regulations.

Applications are due January 13, 2022, and the final submission deadline before a government judgment is April 13. Homeland Security joins the U.S. Air Force which is also looking into monitoring to get an early warning for illness among personnel.

The number of companies getting into the civilian side of this sector is growing. Investors see biometric opportunities, too. In June, biometric wearables developer LiftQ raised $47 million in venture capital.

Eccentric-only training is often used for athletes because it leads to preferential increases in eccentric strength. After a program of eccentric-only training, eccentric 1RM increases more than concentric 1RM.

These increases in eccentric-specific strength are valuable because they help improve the ability to decelerate (and therefore change direction more quickly), and they increase the energy absorption capacity of a muscle, which is likely what reduces muscle strain injury risk.

However, eccentric-only training is also renowned for causing high levels of muscle damage and muscle soreness in most people.

Fortunately, even within the context of eccentric-only training, several factors have been identified as leading to greater degrees of muscle damage, which can help strength coaches identify ways to manage it during training. The key factors are:

• • Higher forces
  • Higher eccentric velocities
  • Longer muscle lengths
  • Larger ranges of motion
  • Constant external load type

#1. Higher forces

The maximal effort exerted during eccentric-only training lead to more post-workout muscle damage than sub-maximal efforts, even when total work done is matched.

#2. Higher eccentric velocities

Higher velocities during the maximal effort, eccentric-only training also increase post-workout muscle damage. This is probably because the force-velocity relationship is inverted in eccentric contractions, such that higher velocities involve greater forces.

#3. Longer muscle lengths

Finishing an eccentric contraction at a long muscle length leads to more muscle damage than finishing it at a short muscle length, even when the total range of motion of the exercise is exactly the same.

#4. Larger ranges of motion

Using a greater range of motion for an eccentric contraction leads to more muscle damage than a smaller range of motion, even when the finishing muscle length of the eccentric contraction, and the size of the force produced, are exactly the same.

#5. External load type

Using a constant load (such as a free weight, body weight, or conventional machine) leads to greater muscle damage than using accommodating resistance or isokinetic resistance. This is probably because a constant load produces its peak force at the longest muscle length while accommodating resistance produces it in the middle of the overall range of motion.

Pulling that together, we can see that the three key factors that produce higher levels of muscle damage (and therefore likely muscle soreness) are: higher forces (either by higher levels of effort, higher eccentric velocities, or a constant load), longer muscle lengths, and longer ranges of motion.

Of course, using heavier loads, training through greater ranges of motion, and loading the stretched position in an exercise are each typically associated with greater strength gains (through various mechanisms), greater hypertrophy, and larger increases in muscle fascicle length.

Avoiding these factors completely is therefore probably not ideal, but introducing them gradually over the course of a training program that lasts several weeks will almost certainly reduce the amount of muscle damage (and therefore muscle soreness) that athletes experience.

Indeed, with a proper preparatory phase that builds up from a small volume and a light load, it is possible to perform eccentric-only training even in previously untrained individuals and not cause substantial degrees of muscle damage, and this does not interfere with the resulting adaptations.

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It’s a new year, once again, and for those who have put down ambitious fitness goals as a major-to-do of their year, new workout strategies might be afoot. Some of those should be the best workouts to lose weight. While much can be gained from distance runs or lifting weights, finding a good cardio routine to shed pounds is not always easy. For those who don’t have a home gym, running workouts to lose weight or track workouts for weight loss is a great way to go — they’re low-budget, compounding workouts that can help shed pounds and gain muscles.

Running isn’t always known as the weight loss workout, but if you’re wondering how to lose weight running, it’s genuinely not that hard. There’s no recipe for a fitness regiment that’s going to push your body to shed excess fat, or even prevent you from bringing some new love handles with you on your run, running workouts to lose weight can definitely be part of your routine, alongside lifting weights.

A running workout for weight loss needs short, hard bursts of cardio activity that shock your system into overdrive, followed by a brief recovery, repeated again and again. Known as HIIT (high-intensity interval training), this Tabata-type of workout will yield the biggest bang for your buck, according to exercise scientists.

If you’re new to running, take four or five weeks to gradually work your way up to a solid base (running three or more times a week, for 3 or more miles at a time). Once you’ve reached this starting point, consider trying one of the 7 workouts below. These 20-minutes sessions are split into super-short, ultra-intense bouts of running, followed by recovery intervals. Consider folding them into your regular running workouts as a way to build different types of muscle and to gain overall endurance while losing weight. Get after it!

The Fartlek

Yes, this is an actual thing in running vocab: Short bursts of fast running interspersed between easy jogging. The beauty of fartleks (fun fact: the term means “speed play” in Swedish) is that you can make up your own. For instance, during a 20-minute run around the neighborhood, decide that you will mad-sprint between every third and fourth lamppost, then easy-jog for three more. The intentionally imprecise nature of these runs adds an element of child-at-play that makes time fly by.

Downward Ladder

Beware! This workout is sneaky-hard: You’ll start out running one mile at a medium pace (fast enough you can’t really converse, but easy enough you can spit out a few words). Jog for two minutes, then drop the pace to hard (heavy breathing, too hard to talk) for half a mile. Jog one minute, then give it everything you’ve got (wheezing, purple-faced, the whole shebang) for .25 miles. Repeat sequence.

One-for-One

Similar to a fartlek, this workout mixes up hard and easy paces, but rather than using landmarks to dictate the workout, you’ll use your watch. Run as hard as you can for one minute. Walk or jog a minute. Repeat 10 times.

Quarters

A classic workout for collegiate track runners, this session has you running a quarter-mile as fast as you can, followed by a recovery time of equal length. So if you run .25 miles in, say, two minutes (an 8-minute-per-mile pace), you’ll take two minutes to walk/rest before going again. If there’s a track nearby, .25 miles = 400 meters = one full lap. Otherwise, you can you a GPS watch or guesstimate the distance at your local park or running route.

Drop-Downs

Find a stretch of road and use a tree or other landmark to mark your starting spot. Start your watch and jog for 30 seconds. Mark the spot on the road where you finish. Jog back to the start. Perform 10 reps running from point A to B, with the goal of running each one faster than the one before. Jog back to the start after each. Note: Don’t go balls-to-the-wall on the first rep or you will never be able to improve your time. Your goal is to get faster and faster, making your final rep the hardest/fastest.

Hill Repeats

The beauty of hills is that they work more muscles than running at zero incline and raise your heart rate up without requiring additional pavement pounding, so they are (marginally) gentler on your body. For this workout, find a steep-ish hill that you can sprint up for 10 seconds. Dash to the top (or for 10 seconds if the hill is longer); jog to the bottom. Repeat 10 times. Next, cover the same distance up the hill, but take bounding leaps (swing your arms for momentum) rather than short, tight steps. Jog back down. Do 10 reps.

Steady-State Explosions

If you’re new to running or sprinting seems to bring on injuries, try this approach. Head out for a 20-minute moderate-paced run. Every 5 minutes, stop and do 60 seconds of one of the following: Jumping jacks, pushups, fast lunges, squat jumps. In this case, you’re using running as a fat-burner, while introducing explosive movements to up the calorie burn for weight loss.