The following is an interview with the Indiana Pacers Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Shawn Windle. The goal of the interview was to shed some light on how technology has impacted his job in the NBA.
Shawn has been the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Pacers for over a decade. Before his role in Indiana he was the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the University of Connecticut and Rutgers University for three years each. So it’s safe to say he knows his stuff.
1. What is the evolution of technology in your day-to-day work from the beginning of your career until now?
When I first started in this field there were really only a few tools that could be used to analyze the many variables that comprise performance. This kept things relatively easy to manage, but there were certainly holes in the overall measurement of the athlete. Many times I had questions about performance but did not have the necessary tools to analyze or pull data. In some cases, the tools existed but the analysis was extremely time consuming and therefore prohibitive because of the NBA schedule. We may be playing back to back games or at times four games in five days, which means there is not always enough time to analyze and interpret certain metrics to take action steps.
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New technology has been exploding at an incredible rate over the last couple of years which, in many ways, has made my job easier in measuring and analyzing performance metrics but at the same time each of these new tools has added additional demands on my daily schedule. Each new product requires a considerable amount of research to determine the usefulness, implementation, and efficacy of the device before a decision can be made about purchasing. Then, if you do decide to purchase a product there is a considerable time demand in learning the software and analyzing the data so that it can assist you in your decision making.
2. Can you provide examples of how you are using new technologies to help train players?
Load management is one of the big topics for us in the NBA at the moment and since this is relatively new there is a learning curve to analyzing team and individual data. Of course every team would like to reduce injuries and fatigue by managing loads but I think most teams have a ways to go before creating any sort of predictive modeling because we do not have enough data at this time.
Much of the buzz in the media is about using load data to reduce fatigue so that we keep players “fresh” for the playoffs but the reality is most teams don’t have the luxury of planning for deep playoff runs, most of us are fighting to make the playoffs or positioning ourselves for home court advantage. The data helps us make better decisions for practice planning and monitoring return to play for injured players.
Many people on the outside of team sports just look at load monitoring as the only technology that teams are using, but there are many other devices used to optimize program design in the weight room. Without giving away what we specifically use with our players, we utilize video analysis, player readiness tests, power measurements, and of course dashboards to store and analyze the data that we are generating to make better decisions. In many cases, the numbers being generated support and quantify some of the things that we observe but sometimes we find specific information in the data that changes our programming.
3. What is the biggest trend you are seeing in the Strength and Conditioning world that is being driven by technology?
There are so many big trends right now that is difficult to identify which one is the biggest. Some Strength Coaches may feel something is a game changer but there may be other people that don’t feel the same. Each of us has our strengths and weaknesses as coaches causing us to look at trends from different lenses. The other piece that complicates the answer is the role of the Strength Coach and the crossover with “Sports Science”. Although Strength & Conditioning incorporates Sports Science, the lines can be blurry because there is a field of practitioners that are solely focused on Sports Scientist.
Teams that have both practitioners may answer this question differently than teams that have one person acting in both roles as the decision maker. The easiest way for me to answer this question is to list a few of the bigger trends (in no particular order).
- Load monitoring (physiological and mechanical) / wearable devices
- Force plate testing
- Motion capture for biomechanical analysis
- Sleep tracking
- Velocity based training
- Heart rate variability
- Data Analytics and Dashboards
- Recovery modalities
4. Can you share a fun/crazy/interesting story about one of your first interactions with a new technology that has ended up helping you in your job?
I’m not sure how interesting this story is but it may have been one of my biggest lessons. My co-workers and I were testing a new product to get an idea of functionality and practical application. The product was to be worn on your skin like a bandage (and it was supposed to do X,Y, and Z) and could be worn for 3-4 days before needing to be removed. But after 24 hours each of us started to itch like crazy where the adhesive was on our skin. We all removed the patch during the second day and were left with a nice rash that lasted for about two weeks. I always try to use myself as a test subject when experimenting with new products and this was an excellent reminder to always be the guinea pig. I would not have been very popular if I rolled this out to the team!
5. Are teams secretive about using new technologies to help train and rehab players or is there a collective community where everyone wants to try and keep players stronger and healthier?
Most of us in the NBA speak in somewhat general terms about technologies that we are trying and some of our experiences, but there is a level of secrecy that we all keep because we do not want to give away a potential competitive advantage. The closer we get to developing our own secret sauce, the tighter lips we have. However, many of us will bounce ideas off each other, especially when it comes to looking at new pieces of technology. When something new comes on the market it’s never a secret because the sales rep has called all 30 NBA teams.
Obviously you are closer to some of your colleagues around the NBA than others so you may share a little bit more information behind closed doors but there is always a limit as to how far that conversation goes. Some of the best conversations are had with Strength Coaches from other professional leagues since we are not competing with one another.