McLloyd Sport, Lair Athletic use GPS to track Steelheads on the pitch

SMOKEY POINT, WA—McLloyd Sport and Lair Athletic Co. are teaming up to give the Snohomish County FC Steelheads some new, revealing numbers to look at. The Fish wore equipment for the first time in a recent match that uses GPS to monitor movement, speed and more.

“My company Lair Athletic Co. is the purchaser of the gear,” says SnoCo FC General Manager Dorian Lair. “Now we are excited to be using it with the Steelheads.” The system monitors speed and accelerations using a vest that fits over the chest.

Morgan West shows his McLloyd gear. The Steelheads will have new data to help players monitor their progress in training and in match play.

The chart below shows some of the second half numbers for the Steelheads in their August 1st home match. Jamie O’Connell led the way in accelerations with 40. Not surprisingly, goalkeeper Lair had just 3. Morgan West scored a hat trick in the match and set a top speed of 17.8 miles per hour in the first half. The second half reading saw him top out at 13.7. The McLloyd system tracks many other player statistics as well.

KEY: The first column shows minutes tracked during the second half. Smax shows speed at miles per hour. The third column shows number of accelerations. Players are listed by first name at far left.

The Steelheads are just introducing the technology to their players. Lair has goals for using it beyond his involvement with SnoCo FC. “We are also working on a new venture to bring professional training technology to the northwest to provide athletes with data-backed training and insights on how the are performing,” he says.

“We look forward to helping athletes of all sports get an edge on improving performance. Specifically speed, agility, durability. Really focusing on athletes who are serious about taking their training to professional levels.”