The best innovative products that mark the lives of sports lovers

Innovative products are changing the way sports administrators and coaches run their programs. The trick is to figure out which new inventions are best suited for high schools and colleges.

In this article on innovations for sports coaches and directors, we present the best sports products that are revolutionizing and simplifying the lives of sports lovers. To compile our list of game-changing products, we don't just identify innovative gadgets or high-tech training machines. We are looking for anything unique or creative that is of value to schools, sports administrators, coaches or athletes.

This year's product group ranges from a new and improved hand warmer to a smartwatch designed to maximize performance and recovery for elite athletes. Here's a look at the key innovations of 2022 in team sports.

Innovative Products: Wind Pact

The sports industry is full of helmet sensors that help identify concussive blows. So, instead of detecting hits, Windpact aims to mitigate damage.

Backed by CEO Shawn Springs, a former NFL All-Pro cornerback who spent 13 years in the league, Windpact's helmet technology is described as an airbag for the brain. Upon impact, the Crash Cloud absorbs and disperses energy, unlike most helmet technologies which absorb almost all energy at the impact area. Windpact's Crash Cloud "inflates" immediately, ready for the next hit.

Maurice Kelly, director of innovation at Windpact, said the technology is not only effective against crushing blows that highlight the coils. He thinks it also helps to protect athletes during minor concussive hits suffered by linemen.

"It's dynamic in the sense that if you hit the pad gently, it's soft," Kelly said, "but the harder the impact, the more the product stiffens and becomes equal to that of its counterparts during these high-velocity impacts. "

Innovative products: Headlamp

If for a high-level athlete, the choice of owning a headlamp is one of the essential innovative products, for an amateur runner, being well equipped is just as essential. The Led headlamp is a lamp that adapts to all forms of running and is essential for all your leisure activities. For those who run at any time of the day and whatever the season, when the light can put you at risk in the practice of your sport, find the main advantages of the Led headlamp, to run peacefully towards bright perspectives!

Performance in complete safety

The main reason to trust headlamps is safety. The search for freedom of the practitioner of nature sports knows no limits: neither the weather conditions, nor the timetables, nor the places must be impassable.

However, trust must remain paramount in your business. For this reason, with its reflectors designed to illuminate three times more than those of a traditional lamp, the LED headlamp allows you to open your way 20 meters in front of you and benefit from a wider field of view by distributing the brightness at 70 angles.

Innovative Products: Touch Screen Bike Front Frame Bag

The Touchscreen Bike Front Frame Bag uniquely shaped not only punctuates your internal ideals, but also provides a wealth of external supplies for your travels, shopping or even cycling. Beyond the simple and modern design, security is at the top. Normally, attaching the case is simple and quick thanks to the 3 Velcro fasteners. If you really switch from speed to mountain biking, you can take a bag with you. The closures are generally strong and ensure that the bag is securely attached to the frame. Definitely a loop is placed in the upper duct, and another in the main duct.

Sensitive Touch Screen: The sensitive plastic screen protector is made of anti-freeze TPU touch screen with good touch sensitivity, light fingers and tactile sensitivity. The large touch surface (6. 7) is compatible with most mobile phones in the market. The large area is clearer and more fun. Even in cold winter climates, you can use your cell phone without opening the frame covers.

A lightness that does not hinder to resist.

Relieve your mind, and also your head! Weighing just 36 grams, the running headlamp is designed to protect you and optimize all your performance. The maintenance of the headlamp is guaranteed by the front/rear lighting strip: adjustable and non-slip, the latter knows how to let itself be forgotten.

This lightness does not affect the resistance of the lamp against rain and shocks (IP44 and polycarbonate K09). In any weather and at any time, enjoy your shopping with a light mind in total safety.

This innovation that broadens your perception of the world

In addition to adapting to your surroundings thanks to its 4 types of lighting (25%, 50%, 100% and flashing), the front light can be rotated 360 degrees. So be prepared for all eventualities and all the unexpected during all your races, but not only!

And since sport is above all a moment of happiness, but also of pleasure and sharing, thanks to its GoPro compatible accessory, allow your sports community to discover your light races by attaching your headlamp to everyone the other accessories in the range.

At Zevessa, everything is planned to allow you to perform. Face many challenges and opt for the perfect ally of running performance. Thanks to our back and chest running light, turn your running outings into true memories of adventure!

Innovative Products: Digital Dashboards

Schools could pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to equip their football stadium with a video scoreboard – or they could turn to digital scoreboards.

Digital Scoreboards works with major outdoor advertising companies to acquire the outdated video billboards that drivers typically see along highways. After supplying the boards and improving some of their features, Digital Scoreboards are able to sell them to schools for a fraction of what they would pay to install a brand new video board in their stadium.

"We're coming in at 25% of the cost of something new at an affordable price for schools," said Ken Fromer, president of Digital Scoreboards. “We can give schools that big championship feel compared to the old video boards that just show the score. »

Fromer said the rebuilt video panels can display replays, live video, animations and, most importantly for school districts, advertisements. This helps programs quickly reduce the cost of the board, which ranges from a bare bones version at $40,000 to a fully-featured board that can cost close to $90,000. Video cards vary in size from 10 feet by 36 feet to 14 feet by 48 feet.

To avoid obstacles during repairs, Fromer said he stores old billboards to use for parts. Digital Scoreboards have been sold to high schools and colleges in 10 states, and some have already returned to purchase additional boards for advertising or other locations.

Innovative products: CRI

This intuitive wearable is among the innovative products that have been designed for elite athletes, providing them with detailed analytics that keep them healthy while maximizing their performance.

Founder Will Ahmed, who played squash at Harvard, says WHOOP was created to give athletes a better understanding of their bodies and how they respond to training, competition and at rest. Athletes can wear the device around the clock, measuring heart rate, heart rate variability, skin conductivity, ambient temperature, accelerometer and movement. This data is automatically uploaded to a platform that analyzes sleep intensity, recovery and performance.

"We did a ton of testing at Harvard on athletes, and we did sleep studies and clinics," Ahmed said. “We really took the precision to the highest possible level. »

WHOOP sets itself apart from wearables like Fitbit and Garmin by focusing on athletes rather than the average health-conscious consumer. Prior to developing the product, Ahmed reviewed over 500 medical articles to fully understand the body and physiology of athletes.

The device has even been shown to encourage behavioral changes in college athletes. Ahmed said gamers using WHOOP got an extra 41 minutes of sleep each night and alcohol consumption was reduced by 76%.

To make life easier for athletes and coaches, Ahmed said the online dashboard makes it easier to analyze and understand data.

Roo Inferno

Even the hand warmers could use some upgrades from time to time on the outside. Mike Kafka, who played quarterback at Northwestern University before spending five seasons in the NFL, has created Roo Inferno, an updated version of hand warmers that hang from the waist of football players. Jerseys, helmets and shoes have been improved over the years, but Kafka wondered why hand warmers had never received the same attention.

"As a quarterback, I thought my hands were the most important thing and the hand warmer was never really something that developed," Kafka said. “I had it writhing behind me, writhing in front of me and the activated hand warmers falling off. I wrote down each of the issues I had with it, and we resolved each of them.

Kafka likens outdated hand warmers to loaves of bread, and he said many of his fellow quarterbacks agree. The Inferno King is only 7 millimeters thick and lies flat against the player's body. A rubber grip inside keeps it from slipping, and a zipper keeps the warmer pockets in place.

The Inferno King has garnered a lot of interest in the high school market, but pro ranks have been tough due to licensing restrictions. It has also become a popular accessory for hunters.

Innovative Products: Neptune Game Time

Vulgar music is no longer a problem in gyms. Sports departments have always been tasked with finding the appropriate music during games, but Neptune GameTime does the work for them. Originally created for water parks, Neptune has expanded into the sports industry by providing a custom music solution that plays songs without explicit content. Neptune gives schools access to a library of 8,000 songs and they can choose the type of music they want to add to their personalized platform.

“The important thing is demand,” said founder Eric Jontra. “When we started it was something we would program and all they had was the ability to turn it up and down. Now they can make decisions, swap between systems, and choose what plays.

Neptune GameTime was initially tested in seven Texas school districts, and Jontra said it received rave reviews. It is now used by nearly 400 school districts and 25 colleges.

The system has an annual service fee of $1,800 to $2,400 with a start-up fee of $750, but schools have the option of recouping this money. Neptune GameTime allows programs to sell sponsorships and run ads between songs, and Jontra said schools average $10,000 a year in revenue — some as high as $50,000.

"The sporting director is massively overworked, match day is tough and that takes some of the pressure off," Jontra said. "They don't have to project their music anymore. "

Ticket Spikelet

Ticket Spicket is an innovative resource that aims to make life easier for sports managers, focusing on the ticketing and sponsorship aspects on match day.

The program allows fans to purchase digital tickets to games, increasing sponsorship opportunities while streamlining gate traffic. Most schools distribute generic “raffle tickets” to fans who pay for entry, so Ticket Sricket creates a new revenue stream while giving athletic directors better abilities to track attendance.

Developers have already anticipated potential concerns from sports departments, and co-founder Russell Hertzberg says Ticket Spicket can co-exist with their current ticketing process. Schools can continue to use paper tickets with the program, and wireless internet is not required at the gates to take digital tickets.

"Certainly there are a lot of people who don't have smartphones and don't want to use the app, so schools don't have to change what they do," Hertzberg said . "It's just another way of charging for entry to a game, but obviously we want to encourage people to use it. "

There are no start-up costs, but the company gets a portion of the transactions made through Ticket Sricket. This can be compensated by selling sponsorships or offering exclusive offers to fans who purchase their tickets digitally.

Ticket Spicket comes with a dashboard that allows athletic directors to manage schedules and sponsorships while tracking attendance, revenue, and trends. Ticket Spicket's mobile app is expected to launch in August.

Innovative Products: Rapsodo Baseball

High school pitchers can get premium treatment with Rapsodo's new pitch analysis technology.

Rapsodo Baseball can track a pitch's axis of rotation, ball trajectories, vertical and horizontal lay, and velocity, along with other meaningful metrics. The lightweight tracking machine is mounted behind home plate and data is transmitted wirelessly to a tablet to instantly provide coaches with critical information essential to a pitcher's performance.

Rapsodo already offers a launch monitor for golfers, giving players metrics on club speed, ball speed, distance, spin, and launch angle. Developments in technology have given the company the opportunity to develop affordable pitching software for high schools, travel leagues, and small colleges.

As well as tracking a number of different pitching metrics, Rapsodo Baseball can also log data so coaches and players can monitor progress over time. This is especially useful for coaches and teams concerned about a player's long-term health. If a pitcher suddenly experiences a severe drop in speed or a change in mechanics, it's easier to identify by looking at a wide range of data.

Pitch tracking technology used in the professional and college ranks can cost close to $20,000, but Rapsodo Baseball sells for $3,000. The technology was unveiled earlier this year at the American Baseball Coaches Association's annual conference.

Wilson X connected football

With all the intuitive technology making its way onto the market, it was only a matter of time before a smart soccer ball joined the fray. Because it is also part of the innovative products loved by athletes.

Wilson X Connected Football is the first of its kind, giving quarterbacks the ability to get meaningful data on their shots. The soccer ball is able to measure distance, spin rate, speed, spiral efficiency and catch/dive rate, which also makes it relevant to receivers.

Each soccer ball has a chip that takes measurements and uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with smartphones and tablets. Stats and ratings are saved and can be compared to those of friends or teammates.

There is no need to load the soccer ball and to activate it, the athlete only needs to hold it vertically for two seconds. It should last 200,000 throws.

In addition to training metrics, Wilson has added a few game modes to the technology that tests athletes for efficiency and accuracy under pressure. Players can compete against virtual teams, performing real passes to move their attack across the pitch.

Last year, Wilson introduced connected basketball and bringing this technology to football was a natural step in delivering smart training aids for the most popular sports. Wilson's connected basketball costs $200 and his soccer ball — which is expected to be available this fall — could be in the same price range.

Under Armor Record-Equiped Shoes

Now runners can track all their mileage and progress simply by wearing the right shoes.

Under Armor released its SpeedForm Gemini 2 Record-Equiped shoes earlier, with built-in technology that tracks and stores a variety of metrics to help runners improve on the tracks and trails.

The shoes include a penny-sized chip that is activated each time they are moved, and the battery lasts about three years. Once a workout begins, the technology records time, pace, duration, distance and splits. The technology uses a metrics-based formula to accurately calculate distance, and while the shoes themselves use GPS to track a run, they can be connected to the Under Armor MapMyRun app to provide real-time stats and store data. The app gives runners the ability to choose from over 70 million routes and allows them to compete against friends.

Under Armor may start to offer the technology in a variety of shoes, but it's currently only available in the SpeedForm Gemini 2. The shoes retail for around $150, which includes a one-year subscription to Under Armour's MapMyRun MVP program.

So when is it time to buy a new pair? At the 400 mile mark, a notification alerts runners that shoes need to be replaced. The data is saved on the app, so athletes don't lose their running history with a new pair.

CHAR

Anyone looking at Torque's new TANK can guess it's just another gear cart. Anyone who has actually used it will know that it is much more.

Sure, sports programs can use TANK to transport equipment, but its real power lies in its ability to train athletes effectively and efficiently. This is what led the Indiana Pacers to order the invisible equipment panel, and the Pittsburgh Steelers to buy one to rehabilitate an injured player.

TANK is similar to a training sled but has a lot more versatility - and wheels. Athletes have the option of choosing from three resistance levels with a shifter. And the faster they push the TANK, the greater the resistance. It provides a complete workout that challenges the lower body and ultimately helps athletes increase their speed, power, and quickness.

The optional group anchor station gives users the ability to load weights and accessories onto the TANK. It also serves as a docking station for battle ropes and resistance bands.

TANK is designed to be an effective training tool for athletes in most sports. It is also completely safe on grass, hardwood and carpet.