Lesson 4: The Digital Revolution in Sports
Technology and Society
The Digital Revolution in Sports
A tenth or even one hundredth of a second in many sports makes the difference between winning and coming in second. Which is why today's athletes don't rely on just muscles or skill—they've added digital technology to their training.
Athletes hone their performance using digital devices that measure everything from their heartbeat to the oxygen in their blood. Trainers use computers to track an athlete's progress and analyze factors that could shave seconds off their finish time. Golfers have sensors attached to key parts of their body to study and perfect their swing. Think what you might be able to improve—a basketball shot, a tennis serve, or your running motion—if you could perfect your body mechanics using a computer's help?
The digital revolution in sports doesn't end there. In team sports like baseball, managers and coaches are using computers to keep track of things like which hitters do the best against which pitchers (and vice versa). Coaches can tell you the exact percentage of times a hitter has homered on a fastball down the middle of the plate from a specific pitcher. He can also tell you how many times the third strike was on a curveball on the outside corner of the plate. When the umpire yells "batter up," you can bet each team has someone at the computer ready to record what happens with each pitch.