Category Archives: Tech of Sports

From the shoes we wear on our feet to the high definition televisions in our living room, wearable devices, the sports universe is a breeding ground for technology. Writer and Photographer Rick Limpert will examine this each week on The Tech of Sports – With guests which include athletes, inventors and journalists that cover the intersection of sports and technology.

Idia Ihensekhien, Dartmouth All-American Rugby Player, Canadian National Team

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Rugby has never been a topic of discussion on “Tech of Sports” before, but that is about to change.

This week, Rick is joined by an All-American Rugby player from Dartmouth and a member of the Canadian U20 National team, Idia Ihensekhien.

Ihensekhien, currently a member of Dartmouth’s Women’s Varsity rugby team and the Canadian national U20 team. Ihensekhien is a dynamic forward with speed akin to that of a back. Furthermore, Ihensekhien is instrumental to Dartmouth Women’s Rugby success and is a fierce competitor on the national stage. She has received numerous awards throughout her career, such as MVP titles and is a three time All-American and national champion. Ihensekhien has also been selected to tour with Canada three times.

Moving forward she aims to compete for a spot on the Canadian National Senior team and play in a World Cup.

In 2019, she was named to the All-NIRA Team. Ihensekhien had her best season to date in 2019, ending her junior year third on the team in points (45) and second in tries (9). She scored a career-high three tries in the Ivy Rugby Championship win over Harvard and had two tries in three other games.

This is an episode to learn a little about the global sport of Rugby from the perspective of an interesting young student athlete.

Rugby, football game played with an oval ball by two teams of 15 players (in rugby union play) or 13 players (in rugby league play). Both rugby union and rugby league have their origins in the style of football played at Rugby School in England. According to the sport’s lore, in 1823 William Webb Ellis, a pupil at Rugby School, defied the conventions of the day (that the ball may only be kicked forward) to pick up the ball and run with it in a game, thus creating the distinct handling game of rugby football. This “historical” basis of the game was well established by the early 1900s, about the same time that foundation myths were invented for baseball and Australian rules football.

Gil Fried, Sport Management Professor at University of New Haven

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There are so many questions to be answered about the world of sports right now. So Rick talks with Gil Fried, this week. He chairs the Sport Management Department in the College of Business at the University of New Haven and is a Sports Management Professor.

Professor Fried is a specialist in sport law, finance, and facility management. He received his masters in sport management and his law degree from The Ohio State University. He has written over 12 books on sport risk management, sport facility management, esports, and sport finance. One of the books he wrote is the Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS) textbook used by the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). His other textbooks are used in over 140 universities in the United States and have been translated into Chinese, Russian, and Korean.

Rick and Professor Fried talk about the sports landscape, what sports venues are doing and how long this may go on.

Professor Fried has published over 300 articles focused on facility and law related concerns. Besides writing for others, he is also the Editor of Sports Facilities & the Law newsletter. He is regularly quoted in industry publications and periodicals. In 2011 he was awarded the prestigious Betty van der Smissen Leadership Award from the Sport Recreation and Law Association (SRLA) for outstanding contribution to the field of sport law education. In 2012 he was awarded the Sport Management Outstanding Achievement Award by the National Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE). This award recognizes professionals who have made outstanding contributions and provided leadership in the field of sport management.

Professor Fried coordinates the Patron Management Institute (http://www.patronmanagement.org/) and developed their Certificate in Patron Management Program (CPM). The CPM program is the only multi-disciplinary training program developed through and with industry leaders and designed to ensure participants learn and internalize risk management best practices. He has handled a large number of sport/music industry liability cases and has worked as an expert witness in various cases from stadium stampedes to foul ball cases. Some of his cases have involved significant national attention such as the Camp Randall stampede (University of Wisconsin), the Aramark Meadowland drunk driving case, the Wal-Mart Black Friday crowd case, Stow assault case, and the basketball crowd rush case (Kaye) in Phoenix. He also serves on several board of directors of sport related businesses and organizations. He has an active consulting practice called Gil Fried & Associates, LLC and has several major clients from corporations to insurance companies. Lastly, He serves as an Advisory Board member for Incord Inc., the nation’s largest specialty safety netting company.

 

Dr. Ron Gertsch, OxyStrap Making Protective Masks

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Many sports tech companies are pivoting in the fight against COVID-19. OxyStrap is one of them making a difference.

This week, Rick talks with Dr. Ron Gertsch of OxyStrap.

Ron Gertsch, a long-time physician and bariatric surgeon, had launched OxyStrap International Inc., (https://oxystrap.com/ ), to create fitness trackers to help consumers improve their health and save lives.

Now, in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, Dr. Gertsch’s San Diego, CA-based company has shifted its manufacturing focus to produce effective N95 equivalent protective masks to help in the effort to stop the spread of the virus.

Manufactured in the U.S., the OxyStrap protective face mask is a premier quality product, which is carefully hand-made with an effective microbiological barrier material. It’s comfortable to wear and easy to use. Since all the material components are hand-washable, the OxyStrap mask can be used repeatedly without deterioration of its effectiveness or appearance. OxyStrap recommends that the masks be hand washed daily during periods of usage to not only clean but also remove and destroy microbiological organisms from the mask.

Dr. Gertsch received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Brigham Young University in 1968. He received his Medical Degree from Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana in 1972 and completed a General Surgery Residency at Wright State University in 1977. He was Chief of Surgery at Vandenberg Medical Center, USAF, in Santa Maria, CA, from 1977-79. He is licensed by the State of California as a Doctor of Medicine.

Rich Mueller, Founder of Sports Collectors Daily on How COVID-19 is Affecting Sports Collecting

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Rick is joined by Rich Mueller, founder and editor of Sports Collectors Daily.- SportsCollectorsDaily.com— a daily news website/blog for the sports memorabilia industry/hobby.

About Sports Collectors Daily:

We search the internet for stories of interest, produce our own original content and keep tabs on news made by leading companies. We then bring it all together in one place. It’s a unique concept which has grown substantially in readership, internet presence and advertiser interest in the last dozen years.

Rich serves as head writer, editor, social media manager, marketing director and sales manager.

In this episode, Rick an Rich discuss the many ways COVID-19 is impacting the sports collecting industry.

Rick and Rich are both collectors, so it’s interesting to see how collectors are reacting. Also how retailers, card companies and show promoters are adjusting. An interesting talk with Rich, as it might be a good time to be a “buyer” in the sports collecting universe.

Manny Diaz, University of Georgia Head Men’s Tennis Coach

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Rick is joined by the Head Men’s Tennis Coach at the University of Georgia, Manny DIaz, this week on ‘Tech of Sports.’

With the cancellation of NCAA spring sports, Coach DIaz has some time on his hands, as do his players. Find out what Coach has told his players in the time of COVID-19 and how he’s handling things. He reflects on former UGA All-American, Jog\hn Isner’s career and more!

Diaz, this season, surpassed the legendary Dan Magill as the winningest men’s tennis coach in SEC history. The penultimate victory – number 707 – surely would have made Magill proud. It came on a Sunday in a big upset of No. 3 Ohio State on UGA’s Henry Field Stadium courts.

Diaz has been the Head Coach of the Bulldogs for 32 years. His careernumbers speak for themselves — 28 Southeastern Conference Championships in 32 seasons at the helm of the Georgia men’s tennis program.

He  has led Georgia to six national championships – four NCAA titles (1999, 2001, 2007 and 2008) and two ITA National Indoor titles (2006 and 2007). He is one of only three active coaches with multiple NCAA titles.

A great conversation with Coach Diaz, who is one of the nicest and most respected faces in tennis at any level.

Brad Payne, Founding Partner, CEO of Walker Trolleys

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Rick is joined this week by Brad Payne, one of the founders of Walker Trolleys.

Walker Trolleys is an Austin, Texas-based, golf startup with a story began in the entrepreneurial hotbed of San Francisco in 2018. Payne didn’t own his own push cart for tackling the crushing hills of the Presidio Golf Course.

He was able to test drive several models available from the course’s bag room. Some were better than others, but time and time again, they came up short on design, performance and especially storage.

Brad then traveled to Scotland, playing the classics like Royal Dornoch, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Prestwick Golf Club and North Berwick Golf Club. He was blown away by the history and tradition of golf in Scotland, where walking the links was a way of life and an opportunity to bond with kindred souls.

He used a push cart at many of these storied courses and clubs, but by the end of his pilgrimage, he was convinced none of the offerings were consistent with the ethos of the “royal and ancient” game as played in Scotland.

It was on an airplane, over a neat Scotch, en route home to U.S. that the idea for the first Walker Trolley was born. A clean, elegant push cart marrying modern and classic design features, the Walker Trolley is lightweight, portable and eminently convenient.

The Walker Trolley is a push cart for the player, the purist, the aficionado who appreciates style, form and functionality, and who boldly chooses walking as a way to play golf.

Brad  has extensive experience across a wide range of industries, working in finance,  strategy and digital advertising for Fortune 1000 companies, including  Apple, where  he led business development and digital advertising for Apple News, and Morgan  Stanley, where he focused on technology mergers and  acquisitions. He earned his MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University in Finance. He is a passionate golfer with a fluctuating single digit handicap and has a passion for making cool golf products.

Listen to Brad’s and ideas and philosophy and the backstory to Walker Trolleys.