Soccer Technology on the Rise

I picked this video up on Facebook (thanks Marko V).

This video is very interesting because it shows how much technology is and will be playing in the development of current and future athletes. Borussia Dortmund of the Champions League is using the “Footbonaut” to help sharpen technical and mental aspects of the game as well as playing a role in the rehabilitation process.

The grid is a 14 meter cage with four automatic ball feeders and 64 targets. With this type of set up there are many different variables you can potentially change to suit the individual athlete, such as the randomization of ball feeding, the amount of ball feeders that are in use, the use of solely upper or lower targets, etc. While you can potentially change the variables of the Footbonaut, there are also some traditional task constraints you can place on the athlete while in the grid: one-touch and two-touch passing, the amount of space the athlete is given to move in the grid, etc.

There are endless possibilities with this type of technology. It will be interesting to see if this technology is implemented with other teams around the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhAyX81zP2M

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John Grace is a coach at Athletic Lab Sports Performance Training Center in Cary, NC - USA. John has his CSCS, USAW Level 1 certification, USATF Level 1 certification and has worked as an assistant fitness coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS.