Innovative products are changing the way athletic administrators and coaches run their programs. The trick is figuring out which new inventions are best suited for high schools and colleges.
In this article on innovations for coaches and sports managers, 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 look for anything unique or creative that has value for schools, sports administrators, coaches or athletes.
This year’s product lineup 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 top team sports innovations of 2022 .
Innovative products: wind pact
The sports industry is full of helmet sensors that help identify concussive hits. 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 that absorb nearly all energy at the impact zone. Windpact’s Crash Cloud immediately “reinflates,” ready for the next hit.
Maurice Kelly, Windpact's director of innovation, said the technology isn't just effective against crushing blows that highlight coils. He believes it also helps protect athletes during the smaller, sub-concussive hits linemen take.
"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 up and becomes equal to its counterparts during these high-speed impacts."
Innovative products : Headlamp
If for a top 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 , in order to run with complete peace of mind towards bright perspectives!
Safe performance
The main reason to trust the headlamp is safety. The search for freedom of the outdoor sports enthusiast knows no limits: neither weather conditions, nor times, nor places must be impassable.
However, confidence must remain paramount in your activity. 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 path 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 uniquely shaped Touch Screen Bike Front Frame Bag not only punctuates your internal ideals, but also provides a wealth of external supplies for your travel, shopping or even cycling. Beyond the simple and modern design, safety is at the top. Normally, the attachment of the case is simple and quick thanks to the 3 velcro closures. 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 one loop is placed in the upper channel, and another in the main channel.
Sensitive Touch Screen: The sensitive plastic screen protector is made of anti-freeze TPU touch screen with good touch sensitivity, light fingers and touch sensitivity. The large touch surface (6.7) is compatible with most mobile phones on the market. The large surface is clearer and more fun. Even in the cold winter climate, you can use your mobile phone without opening the frame covers.
A lightness that does not hinder resistance.
Ease your mind, and also your head! With a weight of just 36 grams, the running headlamp is designed to protect you and optimize all your performances. The headlamp is held in place by the front/rear lighting strip: adjustable and non-slip, it can be forgotten.
This lightness does not prevent the lamp from being resistant to rain and shocks (IP44 and K09 polycarbonate). In all weathers and at all times, 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 adjusted 360 degrees. So be prepared for all eventualities and unexpected events 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 community of sportsmen to discover your luminous races by attaching your headlamp to all the other accessories in the range.
At Zevessa , everything is designed to help you perform. Face many challenges and opt for the perfect ally for running performance. Thanks to our back and chest running lamp, transform your running outings into real adventure memories!
Innovative products: Digital dashboards
Schools could pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to equip their football stadium with a videoboard — or they could turn to digital scoreboards.
Digital Scoreboards works with major outdoor advertising companies to acquire the outdated video boards that drivers typically see along highways. After supplying the boards and upgrading some of their features, Digital Scoreboards is 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 getting to 25 percent of the cost of something new at a price that schools can afford,” said Ken Fromer, president of Digital Scoreboards. “We can give schools that big-league feel versus the old video boards that just show the score.”
Fromer said the rebuilt video boards can display replays, live video, animations and, most importantly for school districts, commercials. That helps programs quickly reduce the cost of the board, which ranges from a $40,000 bare-bones version to a fully equipped board that can cost nearly $90,000. The video boards range in size from 10 feet by 36 feet to 14 feet by 48 feet.
To avoid hurdles during repairs, Fromer said he is stockpiling old advertising boards to use for plays. Digital Scoreboards has been sold to high schools and colleges in 10 states, and some have already returned to buy additional boards for advertising or other venues.
Innovative products: CRI
This intuitive wearable is one of the innovative products that have been designed for elite athletes, providing them with detailed analytics that keep them healthy while optimizing their performance.
Founder Will Ahmed, who played squash at Harvard, said WHOOP was created to give athletes a better understanding of their bodies and how they respond to training, competition and rest. Athletes can wear the device 24 hours a day, measuring heart rate, heart rate variability, skin conductance, ambient temperature, accelerometer and movement. That data is automatically uploaded to a platform that analyzes intensity, recovery and sleep performance.
“We did a ton of testing at Harvard on athletes, and we did sleep studies and clinics,” Ahmed said. “We really took the accuracy to the highest level possible.”
WHOOP differentiates itself from wearables like Fitbit and Garmin by focusing on athletes rather than the average health-conscious consumer. Before developing the product, Ahmed reviewed more than 500 medical articles to gain a thorough understanding of athletes’ bodies and physiology.
The device has even been shown to encourage behavioral changes in college athletes. Ahmed said players using WHOOP got 41 minutes more sleep each night and alcohol consumption decreased by 76 percent.
To make life easier for athletes and coaches, Ahmed said the online dashboard makes it easier to analyze and understand data.
Roo Inferno
Even hand warmers could use an upgrade from time to time on the outside. Mike Kafka, who played quarterback at Northwestern University before spending five seasons in the NFL, created Roo Inferno, an updated version of the hand warmers that hang from football players' waists. Jerseys, helmets and shoes have been improved over the years, but Kafka wondered why hand warmers never got 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 twisting behind me, twisting in front of me and the hand warmers on would fall off. I wrote down every single problem I had with it, and we solved every single one of them.”
Kafka compares the outdated hand warmers to loaves of bread, and he said many of his fellow quarterbacks agree. The Roo Inferno is just 7 millimeters thick and sits flat against the player's body. A rubber grip inside keeps it from slipping, and a zipper keeps the warming pockets in place.
The Roo Inferno has garnered a lot of interest in the high school market, but the professional ranks have been difficult due to licensing restrictions. It has also become a popular accessory for hunters.
Innovative Products: Neptune Playtime
Vulgar music is no longer a problem in gyms. Athletic departments have always been tasked with finding 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 custom platform.
“The key is the 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 middle schools.
The system has an annual service fee of $1,800 to $2,400 with a $750 startup fee, but schools have the option to recoup that 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 much as $50,000.
“The sporting director is massively overworked, match day is tough and this takes some of the pressure off,” Jontra said. “They don’t have to project their music anymore.”
Spikelet of bill
Ticket Spicket is an innovative resource that aims to simplify the lives of sporting directors, focusing on the match-day aspects of ticketing and sponsorship.
The program allows fans to purchase digital tickets to games, increasing sponsorship opportunities while streamlining gate traffic. Most schools hand out generic “raffle tickets” to fans who pay for admission, so Ticket Sricket creates a new revenue stream while giving athletic directors better ability to track attendance.
The developers have already anticipated potential concerns from athletic departments, and co-founder Russell Hertzberg said Ticket Spicket can coexist 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 pick up 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’re doing,” Hertzberg said. “It’s just another way of charging for entry to a game, but we obviously want to encourage people to use it.”
There are no startup costs, but the company gets a cut of transactions made through Ticket Sricket. This can be offset by selling sponsorships or offering exclusive deals to fans who buy 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: Baseball Rapsodo
High school pitchers can get top-notch treatment with Rapsodo's new pitch analysis technology.
Rapsodo Baseball can track a pitch’s spin axis, ball flight paths, vertical and horizontal layup, and speed, 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. Technological developments have given the company the opportunity to develop affordable pitching software for high schools, travel leagues and small colleges.
While 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 helpful for coaches and teams concerned about a player’s long-term health. If a pitcher suddenly experiences a big drop in velocity or a change in mechanics, it’s easier to identify it by looking at a wide range of data.
Pitch-tracking technology used in the professional and college ranks can cost nearly $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 Soccer Ball
With all the intuitive technology making its way into the market, it was only a matter of time before a smart soccer ball joined the fray. Because it is also one of the innovative products loved by sportspeople.
The Wilson X Connected Football is the first of its kind, giving quarterbacks the ability to gain meaningful data on their throws. The football is capable of measuring distance, spin rate, velocity, spiral efficiency and catch/descent rate, making it relevant to receivers as well.
Each football has a chip that takes measurements and uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with smartphones and tablets. Statistics and scores are recorded and can be compared with friends or teammates.
The soccer ball does not need to be charged and to activate it, the athlete only needs to hold it vertically for two seconds. It should last for 200,000 throws.
In addition to the training metrics, Wilson has added a few game modes to the technology that test athletes' efficiency and accuracy under pressure. Players can take on virtual teams, making real passes to move their offense around the field.
Last year, Wilson introduced connected basketball, and bringing the technology to soccer was a natural step toward offering smart training aids for the most popular sports. Wilson's connected basketball costs $200, and its soccer ball — expected to be available this fall — could fall into 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 Armour released its SpeedForm Gemini 2 Record-Equipped 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 dime-sized chip that is activated every time they are moved, and the battery lasts about three years. Once a workout begins, the technology records time, cadence, 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 Armour MapMyRun app to provide real-time stats and store data. The app gives runners the ability to choose from more than 70 million routes and lets them compete with friends.
It's possible that Under Armour will begin offering 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 the shoes need to be replaced. The data is recorded on the app, so athletes don't lose their running history with a new pair.
TANK
Anyone who looks at Torque’s new TANK can guess that it’s just another equipment cart. Anyone who’s actually used it will know that it’s much more.
Sure, sports programs can use TANK to haul equipment, but its real power lies in its ability to train athletes effectively and efficiently. That’s what led the Indiana Pacers to order the invisible equipment panel, and the Pittsburgh Steelers to purchase one to rehabilitate an injured player.
TANK is similar to a training sled but has much more versatility – and wheels. Athletes have the ability to choose from three resistance levels with a shift lever. And the faster they push the TANK, the greater the resistance. It provides a total-body workout that challenges the lower body and ultimately helps athletes increase their speed, power and quickness.
The optional Group Dock Station gives users the ability to load weights and accessories onto the TANK. It also doubles as an anchor 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.