GPS will call players ashore

GAA teams will use GPS technology this weekend to tell them when to make substitutions.

Clare-based firm Redneck Biotech is working with several county teams around the country using a VX Sport GPS system during matches to tell selectors a player is fatigued.

The technology was developed in Australia and New Zealand and has been recently used by Premier League soccer teams and professional rugby teams. It tracks players’ movements in the weeks before a big game and predicts when a player will need to be taken off.

“We are using it to make substitutions,” said Redneck Biotech’s Danny Rutar.

“How we are using it we cannot say. It is giving teams a tactical advantage which they obviously appreciate. Because we are able to profile the players for a few weeks before the match we know which player can run so many sprints and at what distance so we actually know before the players themselves let alone the management when this is going to happen.

“Obviously we do it with a small margin of error but we generally predict a substitution 10 or 15 minutes before any of the selectors, which can be quite critical. ”

The firm is working with most of the top GAA teams in the country and will be at several championship games this weekend

“We work with the fitness trainers. Although we can speak directly to the selectors we chose to speak to the fitness trainer and he makes the call to the selector and the selector then makes a judgement call on whether he will pass it on to the manager or not based on previous experience.”

However, the system is not just limited to telling managers when a player has made his last meaningful sprint. Injury prevention is also part of its role.

“The Clare hurlers have the physio organising their sports science and use the injury and management tool in their system because it’s so easy and quick to use.

“A player just needs to strap it on and just before they train they do a five-second run in a straight line and that’s all the system needs to detect imbalances in different parts of the body.”

* Listen to the full interview on our podcast, available on our website or iTunes from 3pm today.