Wearables company PlayerMaker has become the technical team performance monitoring partner for the United Soccer League. The company’s tracking products will now be offered to all USL leagues and clubs across North America.
"Utilizing data to its fullest potential is something our league strives to do in every facet of our operations. PlayerMaker allows our teams to fully optimize player performance by using the data generated to make the most informed coaching decisions," said USL COO Justin Papadakis in a press release.
Professional leagues that operate under the USL include the USL Championship, USL League One, USL League Two and amateur youth league Super Y. The USL is part of the U.S. Soccer Federation’s league hierarchy, and the USL Championship sits just below Major League Soccer.
PlayerMaker sensors can be strapped onto an athlete’s cleats, and then track metrics such as how many times the ball touches the player’s left and right feet, and the player’s pass completion rate. The sensors were developed in Israel after two years of testing soccer player movements. Each device sits against an area of the foot that rarely connects with the ball directly, but machine learning algorithms can detect the contact point between the shoe and ball.
MLS club Atlanta United has equipped its youth academy with PlayerMaker devices, while the University of Pittsburgh has done the same with its women's soccer program. Players at English Premier League club Fulham’s also wear PlayerMaker sensors, as do those in the academy of EnglishFootball League Championship team Millwall F.C.
