The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

Athletic department expands use of health technology for students

A+student+athlete+inputs+her+data+into+Metrifit%2C+one+of+several+apps+that+the+athletic+department+is+using+this+year.+Credit%3A+Maddy+Daum%2FChronicle
A student athlete inputs her data into Metrifit, one of several apps that the athletic department is using this year. Credit: Maddy Daum/Chronicle

When Paige Howard ’17 wakes up, the first thing she does is log into her Metrifit account and record how well she slept. Her coaches later use this data when they determine the difficulty of her practice that afternoon.

“Metrifit is great because [the data] gets sent to our coaches, so they know when we’re more tired or when we’re more stressed due to schoolwork, and they can plan practice based on how much energy we have,” Howard said.

Metrifit is a mobile app that allows athletes to record their sleep, energy and stress levels and diet on a daily basis.

Howard isn’t the only school athlete to use sports technology. At a faculty meeting Dec. 8, athletic director Matt LaCour presented a report on the various ways in which the athletic department utilizes technology.

The school uses Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to update alumni and students on both upcoming and current games. Collectively, the accounts have 5,500 followers.

Hudl is a website and app in which coaches can send video clips to the players so that they can review specific plays and improve.

“It’s really helpful to watch myself in film and watch my positioning to see where our team did something great or where something went wrong,” Howard said.

The app Echo allows coaches to capture instant replays on the sidelines of games. Coaches are then able to immediately judge the referee’s calls and tell their players what they need to change during the next play.

Apps have allowed coaches to perform more complex data analysis. Basketball program head David Rebibo said that the varsity basketball team uses an app called Hoopstats to track team performance.

“It allows me to see who’s doing what we ask, and it allows [the players] to see what they’re not doing and the mistakes they’re making,” Rebibo said. “It gives us an opportunity to decide what we deem as valuable in a game and at practice and monitor that, and I think that’s really important.”

As well as letting coaches see specific data for their teams, the analytics help settle disputes with parents.

If a parent is concerned with the amount of playing time their child is getting, coaches are able to show them the specific percentages of each game that their child is in the match.

Google Forms has helped coaches get more organized when ordering uniforms and gear for their teams because each player can record their size and number conveniently in one document.

In the future, the athletic department is hoping to implement virtual reality as well, LaCour told the faculty.

 

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Athletic department expands use of health technology for students