For many years sporting franchises around the globe have been searching for new ways to keep their athletes at the peak of their performance. The job of the old stat-man who would frantically scribble down numbers throughout a match has made way for technology’s finest. In the modern era, technology companies are rising from the bottom of the barrel to change the sporting landscape we once knew into something entirely different.
Kinduct Technologies Inc. recently agreed to provide the Toronto Blue Jays with their product in an effort to minimize injury and monitor athlete performance. This alliance marks new territory for the company, making the Blue Jays Kinduct’s first Major League Baseball team.
Kinduct already works with several other professional sporting teams; most notably the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association.
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
According to The Chronicle Herald, Blue Jays strength and conditioning coordinator, Chris Joyner said earlier this week “We are excited to implement the Kinduct system and feel it is really going to help our staff to better prepare and monitor the players within our organization”.
The Blue Jays had a less-than-stellar 2015 when – after having a promising off-season in terms of roster building – it all came crashing down through injury. The landslide began in early March when Marcus Stroman, who was expected to be a key performer in the club’s season, suffered an anterior-cruciate ligament tear in his left knee which would end his season. Eventually joining him on the sidelines would be Michael Saunders, Dioner Navarro and Jose Bautista; who all missed significant time through injury.
Kinduct’s role will be to help minimize the risk of seeing a repeat of the dreadful injury luck of 2015. With it’s ability to monitor each individual player and their fatigue levels, the Blue Jays will be much more aware of how their athletes are coping with the training and playing schedule.
The product the Blue Jays are using is known as Kinduct Performance. It is a product rapidly rising to the top of its field in terms of research and analytics. The process involves collecting data from an athlete via a tracking device, which is comfortably situated in their clothing, analyzing the data and then building reports and monitoring systems for coaches and staff to use.
This form of technology has rapidly grown in recent years and is now being used globally in a diverse range of sporting codes. Kinduct has taken a large step in the right direction by branching out to Baseball. This will generate proof to other potential MLB investors that the company can be highly successful in the sport.
While Kinduct is popular in professional sporting clubs, it has also been made available to individuals at home willing to improve and monitor their performance. Many would argue that the industry that Kinduct is operating in is becoming overpopulated, with several other companies including Kitman Labs, CoachMePlus, Kinatrax and Catapult all offering a similar product.
The company provides three other major products. Kinduct Health, Kinduct Clinic and Kinduct Fitness lean towards the health and medicine industry and for personal trainers wishing to design effective programs for their clients. Making a move into the medicine industry is a bold but calculated decision made by management at Kinduct.
CBS News reported that Co-Founder, Travis McDonough, wants the technology to make inroads into mainstream medicine. He’d like to see a day when a patient could receive an exercise and nutrition plan for a heart condition without leaving home.
“Chronic diseases, right now, are the main hemorrhage in the healthcare system,” he said. “It’s where the major costs are.”
McDonough’s unprecedented vision can create monumental changes for not only the sporting industry, but also the global health industry. This kind of strategy and way of thinking is what differentiates Kinduct Technologies Inc. from its competitors.
Definitely watch this space.