The Auburn men’s basketball program is hoping its latest technology partnership will help the team’s coaches and trainers better understand players’ stress levels and load data.
On Monday, it announced a partnership with VERT, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based wearable technology company that works with clients across running, basketball and volleyball, including USA Volleyball and the Miami Heat.
Through the partnership, Auburn will utilize the G-VERT Team System technology — which debuted with the Heat last season — to track jump and intensity load on players’ core and appendages.
“We’re excited to use the G-VERT system and see new exertion and stress information on our players to keep them at the top of their game throughout the season,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said in a statement.
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The G-VERT intensity tracker, which is a non-invasive inertial measurement unit, is worn on an athlete’s waist to track every movement such as kinetic energy, power, jump analytics and other metrics. It also gathers limb-specific data when it is applied to specific appendages. After the data is calculated, it is then transmitted in real-time to VERT’s proprietary technology for performance and injury prevention analysis so coaches, like the Tigers’ Damon Davis, can minimize injury.
“My number one goal is to keep our players healthy,” said Davis, who is Auburn’s Strength and Conditioning Coach. “When I learned about the ability to monitor exertion and stress in real-time by appendage, I knew it was a mandatory integration for our program.”
In 2015, VERT became the first wearable company to be integrated into NCAA competition as it was worn by select players during the Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. With Vertcast, VERT’s sports telemetry system, fans could see jump height data in real-time on live television. Additionally, the technology gave commentators additional insight to enhance the overall broadcast.