Published By: The Conversation, 9/21/2016

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Summary

The NFL began placing tracking sensors inside of footballs and shoulder pads during the preseason and will carry this practice into Thursday night games this season. The sensors will allow the league to collect data on areas such as player speed, throwing strength, and positioning. This development will lead to even more growth in the constantly burgeoning field of sports analytics, impacting the way that player performance is evaluated.

Extended Discussion Questions

• The article discusses the possibility of opening this data to the public. What would the benefits be of allowing open access to this information? Are there any potential disadvantages to making sports data open?
• The topic of concussions in football has put the NFL under constant pressure to reform and make the sport safer. In what ways do you think this type of technology could improve safety in the league?
• In general, do you think that steps forward in data analytics have a chance to change the fundamental way a sport is played?
• The data gathered by these sensors, and the sports analytics domain in general, could have a heavy impact on a team’s strategy for any given game. What are a few areas in your day to day life that are influenced by data analysis?

Relating This Story to the CSP Curriculum Framework

Global Impact Learning Objectives:

• LO 7.2.1 Explain how computing has impacted innovations in other fields.

Global Impact Essential Knowledge:

• EK 7.2.1G Advances in computing as an enabling technology have generated and increased the creativity in other fields.
• EK 7.2.1C Computing enables innovation by providing the ability to access and share information.

Other CSP Big Ideas:

• Idea 3 Data and Information

Banner Image: “Network Visualization – Violet – Crop 1”, derivative work by ICSI. New license: CC BY-SA 4.0. Based on “Social Network Analysis Visualization” by Martin Grandjean. Original license: CC BY-SA 3.0