High-fee schools purchase high tech tracking software in bid to win rugby comp
High fee private schools Barker, Knox and Cranbrook have purchased expensive tech to give them a winning edge but one cheaper school says it’s no substitute for “character”.
Education
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School students at the $35,322 a year Barker College will have their biometric data tracked and recorded after the school purchased sophisticated software to monitor the rugby team in a bid to lift performance.
But a rival rugby school has taken a swipe at the purchase, saying fancy tech is no substitute for just playing sport.
Barker joins other high fee Sydney schools including the Cranbrook in Bellevue Hill and Knox Grammar in Wahroonga which have also purchased the software from tech company Fusion Sport.
The software called Smartabase uses fitness tracking equipment like any Apple Watch to monitor movement, sleep and heart rate which is then used to evaluate the physical state of a player.
Fusion Sport chief executive Dr. Markus Deutsch said it could bring together other indicators besides biometrics including mental wellbeing, and risk of injury.
“Organisations that invest in their athletes see a return in player availability and performance,” he said.
Barker, Cranbrook and Knox play in the Combined Associated Schools association which also includes the substantially cheaper $17,000 a year Waverley College.
Waverley’s Director of Co-curricular Steve O’Donnell said they had made small investments in tech, but said it was no substitute for traditional training.
“Rugby union and rugby league greats, such as Mark Ella and Andrew Johns, were advocates for character, instinctiveness and team-values …. these (are) immeasurable performance attributes, which at Waverley College we see as being far more important than anything a GPS can track.”
“While technology is a vital part of this world, ingraining a love of sports and competition in our students to connect and help them discover their purpose is a much bigger priority for us.”
Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll noted the private schools arms race was nothing new — but said technology was no silver bullet.
“It certainly cannot replace having a good coach because this information is only data,” he said.
“It is how you interpret and use this information, which is what the coach does.
“Sport is about skill, not just fitness, and things of that nature so the knowledge imparted by the coach to the young athlete or player is critical.”
Former headmaster of The King’s School Dr Timothy Hawkes said the technology was democratising ways to enhance performance beyond elite sports teams.
“The use of any program that tracks, analyses and optimises student performance has got to be welcomed,” he said.
“I am also encouraged that this service is not just for the elite rugby players but for the school’s entire sports program.”
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