The Syracuse University’s Athletics Department and the Department of Sport Management in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics are working together on an experimental project to prevent athletic injuries.
In a news release Wednesday, Syracuse University said nearly 50 students majoring in sport analytics are working to provide real-world data to assist the coaching and athletic performance staffs of 11 of Syracuse’s men’s and women’s athletic teams.
According to SU, the specifics vary from sport to sport, but in general, most students are collecting performance data from the athletes’ wearable devices, analyzing the data from training, practices and games, and interpreting that data to provide insights to coaches and staff.
Mike Mangano, who is the associate athletic trainer for the Syracuse University men’s basketball team, said that in a previous similar role with the men's soccer team, that type of data helped determine the optimum workload for each player. He said that once the players started maintaining their weekly goal, soft tissue injuries decreased.
“So, for me, it’s great. I don’t have to do as much work,” Mangano said. “But at the same time, my philosophy is, do the work on the front end. If you can prevent injuries–and obviously you can’t prevent them all–but if you can prevent most of the injuries and add that kind of education for the student-athletes and coaches, then (the analytics) are working for us.”
Sport analytics students also started working with the women’s lacrosse team last season. The men’s soccer team won the 2022 Division I national championship, while the women’s lacrosse team reached the 2023 Division I Final Four.
Ian McIntyre, men’s soccer head coach, said the role of the student analysts has been integral to our program’s success.
"“The student analysts are responsible for collecting and interpreting all GPS data and providing detailed post-match and post-training reports. These reports are presented to the coaching staff with concise information that enables us to make objective decisions around training load and managing student-athletes’ minutes in games. “In addition to the GPS data, the student analysts provide half-time and post-match reports of pre-determined categories that allow us to see how we are playing, and how we can make the necessary adjustments,” McIntyre said.
The partnership expanded this academic year to include women’s and men’s basketball, field hockey, football, ice hockey, women’s and men’s lacrosse, women’s and men’s soccer, softball and track and field.
“The coaches were open to having students who were passionate about working with this type of data metrics and analysis, and this was a perfect opportunity to start utilizing my knowledge and applying what I learned in the classroom,” says second-year student Danielle Napierski, who is one of seven sport analytics students working for the women’s basketball team.
Tommy Powell, assistant provost for student-athlete academic development at Syracuse, said the sport analytics students are available to all athletic teams and the athletic department plans to make the project a long-term arrangement with the sport analytics program.
