Big data is a term that has been thrown around a lot in the last few years. While it seems like just a large amount of random information that is collected and stored, businesses have recently really begun to tap into all of the things that big data is able to do for them. This idea has moved beyond consumerism to affect other industries, including sports.
Big data has been shown to help improve sports performance by supplying information on various sports and what athletes can do to help themselves. Through trend forecasting to statistics, big data is playing into a lot of different sports, including wakeboarding, golf, and football.
Big Data and Wakeboarding
When it comes to big data and wakeboarding, the information has been helping the industry look at trends in a various aspects of the sport. For example, you might be able to look at big data and figure out what is the right wakeboard for you, or, you can see whether the sport has been gaining new athletes.
For example, big data has been used to show that wakeboarding has been losing popularity in recent years around the globe, showing the rates of adult participation. Through this type of information, they can look further into the decline to work out, economical concerns, increases in other sports, and even whether poor weather has affected whether the sport is still getting plenty of participation.
Looking at performance, big data can help wakeboarders work out if the weather is going to impact their rides or if there are any concerns to think about before getting out on the water.
Big Data and Golf
Big data and golf might seem like a more unusual coupling. But it has also been shown that big data has influenced the world of golf. The kind of data that has been collected on golf includes things like rates of hitting the ball on the green and the different types of clubs that are proving to provide a better overall experience.
By knowing what clubs and swings have been affecting your golf game, you can make adjustments to increase your performance as a golfer. Pro golfers are able to take information that is gathered about themselves, including how well they play under specific circumstances, and alter how they are playing to give them a much better performance. Knowing which clubs to use is also incredibly valuable.
Big Data and Football
Football teams have been using big data for quite a while now. So many fans are invested in the sport, that the statistics are analyzed thoroughly constantly. By looking at how players are performing, you can get an idea of habits or trends that you can expect from certain athletes. So, from the outside, you can know which player you should be supporting or how to adjust your own skills.
Teams can also use big data to work out which skills that they should be drilling. Is the team having trouble completing passes? Are they not as fast as some other teams out there? Player analysis can help improve a player’s performance, honing in on what went wrong in a situation and what a player can really do to ensure that he is playing to the highest level possible.
Big Data and Non-Pro Athletes
Of course, big data is easily used by large organizations to help improve their investment in athletes. But, if you are not a professional athlete, what can the information do for you? Even if you are not a professional football player, you can still learn from the data that is collected and improve your own skills. For example, if big data has found that a ball travels straighter by using a certain arm movement, you can use the information that is given, without needing to be on a pro team. Your coach should also be able to look through this information and see how your team could be helped.
The other thing to keep in mind is that big data is just a realm of collected information. It can spit out a lot of statistics, but it is no substitute for an actual coach that will be able to work with you to improve your skills in real life. Therefore, if you go through big data with a coach next to you, you are more likely to have your sport experience improved.
The information is generally sitting out there waiting to be used. If you can take the big data and apply it to your specific needs as an athlete, you might find that your abilities as a player improve as well, increasing the skill level in the sport while also bringing up the standard of the sport to a higher level. Use as much information as you can.
