The wearable tech space is saturated with devices that track steps taken, heart rate, distance travelled, etc. But there’s one company that is focused on one very specific part of athletics; jumping.
VERT is the maker of a small device that clips to the waistband and measures many facets of jumping such as hang time, acceleration, and total reach. The statistics can be beamed onto a big screen, or synced with a Bluetooth-enabled device. Players can look at their individual stats, or coaches can collect team-wide information.
According to Rick Friedman from VERT — who I spoke to in their CES booth — the training tool is being used in over 750 universities, including Penn State, the 2014 women’s volleyball national champions. Friedman mentioned that volleyball teams were one of their biggest customer bases.
Beyond general training and game-improvement implications, the device can also be used to help with injury prevention. When using VERT, coaches and trainers can have an accurate look at just how much their players are jumping. This can be used to avoid overworking and soft tissue injuries, as well as closely monitor players working to rehab injuries.
With seemingly everybody is getting into the fitness tracking game, it can become easy to get lost in the crowd. Working in a specific market like VERT is is a good way to separate themselves in a very noisy market. And if it helps keep young athletes healthy, all the better.
