Stacey Burr
Vice president, wearable sports electronics, adidas
"Physiology and activity sensors will enable volumes of data to be collected from athletes unobtrusively.
Predictive analytics will be delivered through alerts, enabling coaches to respond in real time to performance shifts or injury risks. When injuries occur, sensors will inform rehabilitation strategies. These insights will enable coaches to be more precise in their training methods and athletes to sustain peak performance over time."
John Coulson Head of professional football services, Opta "The biggest advancement will be the acceptance and integration of qualified data scientists into a team's back-room staff. Currently most teams have access to vast databases of data, but often still lack the knowledge to interpret it appropriately.
Only by putting complex data sets in the hands of the analytically trained will teams be able to synthesise metrics. This Moneyball approach will continue to change football as it has changed many sports."
Ram Mylvaganam Chairman and Cofounder, Apollo MIS
"The key is in collecting the relevant data. It's the lesson many businesses have lived by for years; elite sport is now realising this and becoming increasingly <span class="s1">precise. The trick is in providing the ultimate dashboard -- a structured platform that can analyse the data on everything from an athlete's health to their performance. The biggest change will be in how we develop systematic methodologies for separating the wheat from the chaff, and how we find ways to combine different data points."
Stafford Murray Head of performance analysis, English Institute of Sport
"The questions coaches and athletes ask haven't changed, but the way we answer them has. We are changing the way we capture data in real time. The strength of that data will be how usefully it can predict the future, from the performance of a rival athlete to the speeds at which someone can compete. Data feedback will also improve -- unless performance data is easily digested, coaches and athletes won't absorb it. Data visualisation will also play a critical role."
Adam Beard Head of physical performance, Welsh Rugby Union
"We now collect analytics on everything from physiological stress to the amount an athlete sleeps or the balance of their hormones. But the real opportunity is the potential of motor learning. In a decade's time we might be able to download a player's neurophysiological experiences and match them with the vast array of analytics we collect. This could help us understand and influence in-game decision making in ways we can only currently imagine."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
