Technology in Sports: How Evaluation Software Helps

Technology in sports constantly evolving. Wearable technology, such as heart rate monitors, tracks breathing patterns in athletes. Sensors, such as radar speed guns, measure throwing speed in baseball and serving speed in tennis. And virtual reality helps athletes fine-tune certain aspects of their performance. I.e., A golfer looking to improve their swing will wear a headset, immersing them into almost any golf course, while they hold a VR golf club to practice their swing.

A new type of technology in sports has emerged: player evaluation software.

Interested in stepping into the sports tech world and seeing what evaluation software has to offer? Keep on reading as we discuss why this software should be used across your sports organization or academy.

1) Evaluation metrics can be customized

As each sport has different rules, levels of physical exertion, and skill levels, evaluation metrics vary across sports as well. A coach evaluating athletes at a tennis tryout will be scoring athletes on different metrics than a coach evaluating athletes at a soccer tryout would.

With sports evaluation software, all a coach has to do is create an account (the account will ask for the sports team’s name and category), and then depending on that category selected, an evaluation template will come pre-filled. If a coach creates an account for their tennis team, an evaluation template will come filled with metrics such as volleys, groundstrokes, ball judgment, and mental toughness.
If a tennis coach wants to add any additional metrics to the template (or delete any of the pre-filled metrics), they can do so.

2) Evaluation data is instantly stored

Once evaluation metrics are set, scores can be collected. Rather than having to print out dozens and dozens of spreadsheets to give to each of your evaluators on the day of your event, evaluators can all use the software to evaluate athletes.

Athletes can be scored on the app by using the score slider or manually entering a single score (i.e., run time). As soon as evaluations are finished, the scores are instantly stored in reports for easy analysis. Instant data upload removes all issues with the traditional pen-and-paper approach to athlete evaluations: data entry, lost data, and misused data.

3) Access to detailed reports

Data is instantly stored and ready to review in report format. But, what can coaches do with this valuable data? Players can be ranked from highest to lowest by their scores within a category or a skill. If we take hockey, for example, player scores can be ranked from highest to lowest in the category forward. This takes an average of all the skills that were collected during a “Forwards” evaluation, such as speed, acceleration, and agility. However, if a coach wanted to further look at how players ranked across the skill speed, they could only look at singular scores within a category.

Coaches can have a holistic view of scores, showing them how well a player would be suited for a forward position; they also can further refine their analysis and hone in on one specific skill within that category. The results? Decisions are backed by data, not assumptions.

We have 1000 kids, 87 different sessions, and close to 100 hours of evaluations that take place. I wouldn’t even be able to calculate the time SkillShark has saved us. Evaluators find it easy, coaches are happy, and I now have concrete data that I can show a parent if questions come up. It’s a great program.

James Mays. Technical Director, PA Hockey

4) Communicate with athletes

Now more than ever, athletes are seeking feedback that will help them become more well-rounded players.

By turning to athlete evaluation software, coaches can provide immediate, professional reports as though they were providing feedback in person. Players can see their strengths, and weaknesses and what to work on to better themselves for the future.

In addition, parents often have questions about evaluation results. Coaches can share full reports with parents so they are kept in the loop of their child’s performance progress.

Wrapping Up

Technology in sports is affecting all areas of our lives, and now more than ever coaches want a streamlined solution to collect scores and provide athlete feedback. SkillShark combines the two worlds of technology and sports into one cost-effective and easy-to-use software.