The RoundHouse | 11/1/2022 2:04:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
"Game speed" is a much-discussed concept and goal. For most of athletic history, it was also hard to quantify.
 
How fast is "game speed?" What's the difference between that speed and lesser efforts, and how can coaches conquer that gap in practice?
 
Technology is helping answer those questions previously answered by instincts, sweat and time. Wichita State's men's basketball team wears a Kinexon tracking sensor, tucked in a pocket on their shorts, for every workout, practice and game (the women's team will soon add the sensors to their regimen).
 
The sensor records movement information from each workout, practice and game. That information is compiled into a database that can be used to measure the amount of effort expended in those settings. That information can be used by coaches and athletic trainers to shape the athlete's workouts and practice plans and help them recover from injury.
 
"It allows you to objectively quantify the demands of games, practices, training as it relates directly and specifically to basketball," said Ryan Horn, head strength and conditioning coach. "How often do our athletes sprint, jump, cut, change direction, land? How many times are they accelerating and decelerating? It really gives us the mechanical cost of doing business."
 
The sensors generate data that is summarized as the "load" accumulated during a session. Load takes into account the person's height, weight, running distances, starts, stops, change in direction and explosive movements.
 

Each practice, Horn sets up at a table with his laptop and an internet receiver to record data from each sensor as the Shockers run, jump and work on basketball skills. The system produces immediate feedback.
 
"It's a good way to see how hard people are playing in practice and how much effort we give," Wichita State guard Craig Porter Jr. said. "It gives you an idea how to get prepared for a game. Practices and games are totally different."
 
Customizing workouts and practices to individuals is a key benefit from the system. The physical demands of playing guard are different than center. The sensors can quantify that difference and help coaches target drills to those positions. Athletes, Horn said, may cover five to six miles in practice. However, those miles are different for guards operating on the perimeter compared to big men who are in constant contact with opponents as they battle for position, screen, defend and rebound.
 
"A big might accelerate a lot – run out, set a ball screen, run the floor," Horn said. "A guard has the ball in their hands a lot more – they're changing direction, changing pace, driving, kicking. That's where it's really important to understand what that athlete needs to do."
 
The system also helps set practice schedules as the team builds a database. It can help coaches set a practice schedule in between games that minimizes fatigue and maximizes recovery that prepares an individual for the next game. The system also helps coaches work with bench players who need more work in practice to prepare for games.
 
"Everybody says, 'Game speed,'" Horn said. "What is that? We know what we need to do in practice to get them ready for game speed. People who don't play can get their fitness up in practice. When their number is called, they're able to perform at the highest level because their fitness is very specific and individualized for them."
 
The "load" number helps assistant director of sports medicine Todd Fagan work with coaches as a player who missed time for injury returns. He can bring a player along at an appropriate pace, using the data, and use the data to deal with soreness or setbacks that may occur.
 
"The big thing for the sports medicine side of things is monitoring that load," Fagan said. "Let's say a guy is out for three days. We don't want him to have him bump back and do 100 percent of practice.  We want him to do 75 percent. That objective data is really good."
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.