The Racine Raiders have entered into a historic agreement with Catapult Sports in a partnership to monitor player performance for the 2023 season. This is a ground-breaking partnership as the Raiders will become the first team at the developmental level of football to use Catapult’s products and services. Catapult is the provider of wearable player tracking for the XFL, a majority of NCAA FBS programs, along with working with every NFL team between video and wearable products. Catapult’s ability to provide real-time metrics on how players are performing is why they’re trusted at the highest levels of competition.
Catapult is providing the Raiders with their top-of-the-line device used for those professional and collegiate organizations, the Vector S7. The S7 is a small device. So small in fact that it’s slightly smaller than a pager. Players are then monitored via GPS signals along with internal accelerometers about their movements on the field. Players have the device secured to the back of their shoulder pads which allows for their speed, acceleration, total work done, and position on the field to be measured with accuracy to within a few inches.
The ability to monitor what is happening to player’s bodies in real-time is invaluable when trying to maximize their performance. Raiders very own Daniel Kant-Hull spent a decade in strength and conditioning between Tulane University, the Cleveland Browns, and Marquette University being the primary person responsible for player tracking at each of those teams and institutions.
“Player tracking allows coaches and staffs to have greater insights into what their players are being asked to do and how to best prepare them for game-day,” Kant-Hull said. “By looking at what players are doing on-the-field during practices and games we can see what they’re good at and put them in positions that complement their skill sets allowing them and the team to succeed.”
Along with being able to track a player’s speed, how they accelerate, and how they change directions, Catapult is also able to track position specific metrics that effect every position on the field.
“We’re able to track how often and how hard a quarterback throws a ball, how much work is being done by the linemen in the trenches, and how hard the impacts are for ball carriers and those who are tackling them,” said Kant-Hull. “Knowing all of this information makes it easier to plan out what to do in practices to put players into the best position possible come game-day.”
Additionally, having this information available can help players prepare as well since they will now know what they’re called on to do during the games. With new schemes being installed on both sides of the ball, players will be asked to be at their top physical preparedness come the start of the season along with maintaining those levels of preparation throughout the long season.
With these new devices generously donated from Catapult Sports, the Racine Raiders will be able to continue to be one of the premier organizations in semi-professional football. Player tracking is not new to the world of elite team sports but the Raiders are pleased to be able to join the ranks of those who can to provide the best experience possible for both players and fans.
The Racine Raiders offer a rolling recruitment throughout the year. Prospective players are encouraged to complete the short Player Recruitment Form on the team’s website.
