As sports science continues to evolve, Averett University's men's and women's soccer programs have invested in wearable technology that will help collect data to improve player performance, health and success this season.

The vests have GPS devices that track speed, distance, work rate, intensity, heat maps, intervals and more. The data that is collected through the vests is real-time performance data from each athlete who wears the vest while practicing. Many of the world's elite soccer teams use the technology, and Averett's soccer programs are excited to implement it as well. Availability of these vests for Averett's soccer programs has been a tremendous help with tracking each athlete. 

"The vests are extremely beneficial, as we are able to monitor workload, increase fitness, and push our previous expectations," men's soccer senior Baste Endresen said. "This has been a massive investment, as it is an additional tool to improve our fitness performance, pace, and intensity." 

The vests, which were made a reality through generous donations during last spring's Averett Athletics Day of Giving, are already paying dividends according to women's junior Madison Morin.

"Just by having access to this data, it provides useful information to help us position ourselves on the field correctly, take better care of our bodies because we know when we are at high risk of potential injury, and record the pace and speed that which we move at during the game so our coach can see how much effort each player is giving versus what they can actually give in case she needs to make an adjustment in the lineup," she said.

The training vests are equally great tools for both development and safety.

"The training vests are extremely beneficial because we are able to monitor the training loads of the athletes that are returning to play, therefore we can reduce their risk of injury," men's soccer head coach Philip Wilson said.

Averett's soccer programs worked together to fundraise for the training vests last spring during Day of Giving. The Day of Giving means a lot to Averett athletics.

"The Day of Giving has been a very successful tradition for the athletics department over the years as generous donors have helped expansion, growth and success of Averett's sports teams," Endresen said. "Personally, our soccer team has benefited greatly from the support of our donors as it has improved and altered the efficiency of our work, which the vests contribute to."

The addition of data collection with the GPS training vests has been very beneficial for the success of both programs in games and on the practice field so far this season as both teams vie for a spot in the conference postseason.