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.

Laura McKoy, Creative Director and Vice President of Interior Design for Omni Hotels & Resorts

Tech of Sports, , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

I had a great trip to Austin, TX and the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa a few weeks ago, so I thought we’d have a guest on that played a big part in the $150 million renovation of this popular Texas resort.

Fantastic to be joined this week by Laura McKoy of Omni Hotels and Resorts.

Laura talks about the changes guests can expect at Barton Creek.

We also talk sports and sports bars, as the resort features a neat and upscale sports bar called Crenshaw’s, names for Austin’s own Ben Crenshaw. It’s a bar that pays homage to golf course architecture.

What a fun episode.

Omni Hotels & Resorts named Laura McKoy its creative director and vice president of interior design in May of 2016. McKoy oversees the curation of retail and hotel programming alongside the brand’s operations team. She served as Omni’s director of interior design prior to that starting in 2007.

Before joining Omni, McKoy was director of interior design for CNL Hotels and Resorts where she contributed to projects such as the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Hawaii; the La Quinta Resort and Club in La Quinta, California; the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix; the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando; and the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. McKoy has also held positions at design firms including BBGM in Washington, DC.

McKoy earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of Alabama. She continues to serve on the board of the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

Sabrina Ann Zielinski, Mrs. Georgia and Author of The Essential Oils Diet

Tech of Sports, , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Rick is joined this week, by Sabrina Ann Zielinski. She is not just the newly crowned Mrs. Georgia, She is here to discuss her secret to living a healthy life which she has shared in her book with husband Dr. Eric Zielinski, THE ESSENTIAL OILS DIET: Lose Weight and Transform Your Health with the Power of Essential Oils and Bioactive Foods, (May 2019).

In the book, the Zielisnki’s have combined the health benefits of essential oils that Sabrina promises is her secret to major health benefits for mental and physical health, like fighting off common ailments like colds and the flu, as well ass weight loss and weight management.

Sabrina Ann is a home birth mom of four and a natural health guru. The mastermind behind the allergy-friendly food recipes & DIY remedies featured on their website and books, she’s known as “Mama Z” to many mamas who are looking for natural ways to take care of their families. She is a personal trainer and pageant coach, now she is Mrs. Georgia 2019.

The Essential Oils Diet features a sensible, evidence-based, two-phase program—first, the 30-day essential fast track, which helps you banish excess pounds quickly, followed by the essential lifestyle, a gentle, practical maintenance program you can follow for life. Featuring delicious, easy recipes, meal plans, and strategies to keep you on track, you’ll learn how to harness essential oils and bioactive foods to help your body reach the homeostasis necessary to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight and abundant health.

A great interview and this book comes highly recommended. Follow Sabrina Ann on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sabrinaannzielinski/

Kim Glass, Olympian, All American Talks Volleyball and Halo Sport 2

Tech of Sports, , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Rick is joined by 2008 Olympic Volleyball Silver Medalist, Kim Glass, this week.

Kim was an All-American and four-time All-Pac-10 pick, is Arizona’s career leader in kills with 2,151 and ranks third all-time in the Pac-10 in the same category. She averaged 5.27 kills, 2.84 digs, 0.70 blocks and 0.40 aces per game for the Wildcats. For her career, Glass had double-digit kills in 105 of her 115 matches played, along with 20 or more kills 54 times en route to a school-record 5.27 kills per game average. She holds the Arizona school record with 162 aces, and is third in career digs with 1,158. Glass provided 77 block solos, which ranks eighth all-time for the Wildcats

Played professionally for almost 10 years.

Member 2008 Beijing Olympics, Team USA Indoor Volleyball team, helping the US to a silver medal.

Kim is a personal trainer, a model and works with sports tech companies.

One of the companies Kim represents is Halo Sport.

The Neuropriming headset that integrates seamlessly into your workout.

Halo Sport 2 headphones is tech that delivers an electrical current to the motor center of your brain.

The idea is to use this device for 20 minutes before an activity to create a state of ‘hyper-learning’ by neuropriming.

The headphones themselves feel well-built and have a firm hold on the head, making it easy to get the fit you want. This is important, as the companion app from Halo needs to confirm it’s making clear contact with your head before the process can begin.

“That process is unlike anything we’ve felt before. The second you start, and the app tells you that it’s ‘ramping up’, you’ll begin to feel a tingling in the skull where the electrodes… sorry, primers are.”

The audio quality in vocals is pretty good – and you can remove the primer spikes to make wearing the headphones more comfortable day to day.

The idea is an interesting one, unlocking something as simple as firing an electrical current into the brain to improve performance. It’s called transcranial direct current stimulation (TCDS), which is just as described above – the idea of stimulating the brain to achieve a heightened state of learning.

Great to have Kim on to explain more. Enjoy!

 

Tyler Gottstein, CEO and Founder of Cadi

Tech of Sports, , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Rick is joined by Tyler Gottstein, CEO of Cadi this week.

An innovative new retail golf concept.

Visit: www.cadikiosk.com

Cadi is an unattended, automated kiosk that allows golfers the ability to demo, compare and purchase golf equipment at unbeatable pricing in the ideal environment, right on the course. At the same time, Cadi is a new direct to consumer channel that allows the golf equipment manufacturers (OEMs) the ability to get their product into more customers hands, collect valuable data all for a fraction of the cost. Cadi is a Demo day, Every day. Cadi is targeting Public courses and public golfers. The vast majority of these courses do not offer golf equipment and the OEMs have given up on selling through this channel for the most part.

There is currently one active full-functional unit located in Orange County, CA and plans to add five more this year.

A great talk with Tyler, exploring whether this is the future of golf retail.

CadiKiosk.com

Rich Mueller, Founder and Editor, Sports Collectors Daily

Tech of Sports, , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

The sports collecting hobby and industry is booming!

With The National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, just six weeks away, it’s the perfect time to take a look at sports collecting, with Rich Mueller of Sports Collectors Daily.

Mueller, a long-time television sports anchor and reporter and online journalist is President of Sports Collectors Daily Incorporated and the editor of SportsCollectorsDaily.com. He has earned numerous honors throughout his career including several prestigious Edward R. Murrow awards for sports reporting.

Whether you collect rare sports memorabilia, vintage sports cards, the latest sports card releases, game-worn jerseys, sports autographs, ticket stubs or something else, you can probably find a story about it on Sports Collectors Daily. The site has become a ‘bookmark’ and ‘must read’ for every sports collector, sports memorabilia shop owner, card show promoter or investor.

“Our traffic continues to grow. But please tell your friends. We hate blank stares or long pauses on the phone after introducing ourselves.”

At least 20 fresh pieces of content are added over the course of one month alone thanks in part to some talented writers,  contacts inside and outside the industry and a good old fashioned nose for news.  There are other sites in the industry that offer “articles” (many of which are simply re-writes of others’ work) but no other site can match the professional experience and journalistic quality of Sports Collectors Daily.  We set the standard.

Rick and Rich talk sports collecting, The National and how hard it is to cover the industry as it constantly goes through changes. Engaging talk if you ever collected baseball cards, autographs or are looking to get back in the hobby.

Guy Aharon, CEO, Co-founder PlayerMaker

Tech of Sports, ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Rick is going to talk a little soccer this week. Only appropriate with the Women’s World Cup getting underway.

He is joined by Guy Aharon, the CEO and co-founder of sports technology company PlayerMaker, a boot-mounted device that tracks and analyses players’ technical, tactical and physical performance on and off the ball. He previously founded sports optimisation company Motionize and has held various leadership and executive positions. Guy studied Law and Business Administration at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel and has a military background having served in the Israeli Navy.

Easy to operate and highly affordable, PlayerMaker provides coaches, sports scientists and analysts with highly accurate tracking data on all academy players. Our solution enables effective trialist assessment and skills evaluation according to any academy’s gold standards.

Implement plug-’n-play solution quickly (no infrastructure, no installation)
Track all academy players’ participation
Assess new talent rapidly and effectively using academy gold standards
Harness accurate performance monitoring
Enjoy affordable football academy-oriented solution

Visit https://playermaker.co.uk/

At the heart of PlayerMaker’s solution is a small yet advanced motion sensor. Designed to strap comfortably on the player’s footwear, the sensor can optimally sense and classify each foot and ball interaction and each footstep. Acting as an extension of the player’s foot, the ergonomically designed strap transfers all foot movement directly to the motion sensor.

Unique silicon housing is designed to keep the sensor board safe under any impact and it is highly resilient and able to withstand rough use. The sensor is small, lightweight, easy to wear, and requires very little maintenance. Located on a ball-free shoe zone, the sensor causes no interference when a player kicks the ball or undertakes any other football activity.

Great to talk with Guy. He has a ton of valuable information to share and is an innovator in the sports tech space.