Players looking to get an Edge

In recent weeks, a number of senior inter-county officials have met with representatives of Edge 10, a sophisticated predictive performance monitoring and management software system.

Arsenal FC, Newcastle United, the Leicester Tigers, the San Antonio Spurs, USA Track and Field and golfer Paul Casey are among its clients.

The software, which incorporates IBM technology, is designed to maximise individual and team performance while preventing injury and extrapolating reasons while players may not be achieving as much as they should.

Factors such as what distance a player has covered or his movement on the pitch are inputted into the software from which trends are ascertained which alert management to what their fatigue risk is.

Players are also asked to input all of their habits and practices pertaining to their careers into the smartphones ranging from the number of reps they do in the gym to their sleeping habits.

Every day they are requested to open the Edge 10 app and answer questions such as their energy rating in the morning and whether they were forced to skip breakfast or not.

On the basis of the date collected, individual training schedules can be devised to reduce injury proneness.

But Edge 10 is more than just injury prevention. Game statistical software such as Sportscode, used by the IRFU, New Zealand and all four of the rugby provinces, Statsports and Dartfish.

Via the portal, messages from management can be accessed such as video highlights of the team’s last game or individually tailored segments of the player’s performances.

By handing players responsibility of contributing to their betterment, Edge 10 gives them more ownership of their careers.

Compiling an injury database is already something very much in the minds of the GAA. Under chairman Ger Ryan, their medical, scientific and welfare committee are currently encouraging counties to contribute to a generic player injury database. Reducing the cost of the player injury scheme is seen as one of the advantages of such an initiative.