Data technology and sports are fields not usually seen as having an intersect, but innovation and changes in technology have allowed for many non-data fields to use it for improvement. David Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of his own company, Gains Group, has been able to combine the use of big data to improve the sports industry.
David, who is no stranger to athletics, grew up in southern California playing all sports. He attended Colorado State for his undergrad while also playing as a wide receiver for the football team. He furthered his sports career in football in 2006, playing for the Houston Texans. David played a majority of his career (six years) with Houston and also was part of teams such as the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. After his football career, David received his MBA at USC with a focus on data science. He was able to meet two artificial research development professors, Rajiv Maheswaran and Yu-Han Chang, who created a company called Second Spectrum. David worked with Second Spectrum, which included working with sports data, sports analytics, analyzed sports special temporal data and motion capture data. The data collected is used to help athletes and teams to have the resources to become better. This work lead David to create his own company, Gains Group, which also uses data and technology to help sports teams and uses the information available to gain beneficial insight.
In the upcoming SXSW conference, David will be a part of the panel “Addressing Sports’ Concussion Problem with Technology” which will include other panelists such as Kyle Chang, Brian Kopp and Ted Sundquist. This panel will be a discussion about how emerging technology can help create optimal training for athletes, help measure recovery from concussions and make sure that athletes return to the game at the appropriate time. I was able to have a short Q & A with David about his panel and the importance of using technological advances in sports.
Q & A
What data-driven technology do you think can help athlete concussions?
I think movement data is not being applied like it should. It is a dataset that is pretty powerful, it can tell how fast people are moving and when they are coming into contact with each other. It’s not perfect because you don’t have where the athletes’ heads are, you only have center mass dots for representation. But you can analyze the speed and angles in which people hit each other and better access injuries, such as concussion and other injuries that come along with it. You ideally would get some sort of force that you would hit the ground. Most concussions occur when a player is on top of another player and they hit the ground. Like you often see with the quarterback.
That’s the start, the data that is currently out there, let’s maximize that, so let’s start to analyze the kind of things that we can add to the football field. What can we add to really analyze the interaction of players and the reaction from that.
What future do you see coming from sports data?
I think the thing about data is that it is ubiquitous, it is anywhere and everywhere. It can also be transformed into anything that you find interesting. For example, if I am looking at financial data I might be looking at it for a stock investment, if you look at it you might be looking to buy a house, someone else might be trying to sell their diamond ring, their company or their car. Everyone looks at the same data very differently and that’s what makes it so great. So, data to me might be good for concussions, to you might be interesting for fantasy, for someone else it might be interesting because it’s their best friend and they what to know what their latest stats are. Someone else might be gambling or someone might take the data to talk about it on their website.
I think that’s what makes it so great because data can take on a lot of different forms. To use a baseball term, you hit a lot of singles with data and not many grand slams.
What are you looking forward to discussing in your panel?
I like pushing buttons of people who come up and say ridiculous statements or vague “I know all this stuff.” As an athlete and football player, we always tend or are interested in exposing the truth and lack of thoughtfulness. I enjoy panels where there is less exchange of pleasantries and more a dynamic conversation so I can guarantee that part. As far as specifics of what I’m interested in talking about, I think the NFL is trying to improve the protocol of the situation where that someone might have a concussion so how can we better study that. Well, they should back up and say what other things can we fix besides the protocol, so kind of pushing data, not in the sense to make money but to help improve players to have longer careers. I guarantee more buy-in for players and coaches and the league in general if this data helps them analyze themselves and helps have a longer career. Then your favorite players can play longer and the league can flourish.
What are you looking forward to most for SXSW?
I have been in the city when SXSW has been going on, but I have never been to a panel and seen what has gone on. I have heard about the sports summit for a while now. Technology is interested in integrating with sports because they are realizing how passionate and interested people are about their team or their player, so it’s a great place to use your technology and to let it flourish. I’m interested in seeing what SXSW has to offer in terms of telling all sorts of stories and telling how tech is applied to all genres and industries. I think you can always learn more from outside of your industry rather than inside.
What would like the attendees of your panel who are interested in data to know?.
Being really specific in what you want to do in data and technology is very helpful. I was fortunate enough to have sports as a background, so I kind of had a niche already and with that background I could supplement with data and just get strong with the data side to craft my own story. I think everyone needs a great story because being a general data person doesn’t really get you hired or get you far in a career but the first step. The more you can focus on a specific type of data or a specific aspect or application, I think it will help your individual story. And if it’s not something you want to do, “no” is a great answer to know as well. I make decisions like this daily, so you will need to be comfortable with making that decision as well.
Saturday, March 10
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
JW Marriott – Salon AB
For more information: Addressing Sports’ Concussion Problem with Technology
Featured image: Gain Groups