By Montana Bass ’18
Head Coach of Strength and Conditioning Kevin Cronin was featured in an article for Training and Conditioning magazine’s September issue. The piece by Joel Bergeron titled “On the Fast Track” discusses recent progress in the integration of technology into sports training, specifically focusing on the use of individual GPS devices to track athletes’ training and recovery.
In the article, Cronin explains that CC’s soccer and lacrosse teams have been using the GPS technology for two full seasons as a reference point to alert coaches when time should be taken off for recovery. He also comments on the challenge of using the data productively and efficiently, and working with coaches to explain the connection between data results and athlete performance.
He cites the competitive nature of collegiate athletics as an inherent challenge in reporting on this topic. Cronin, who’s interviewed in the piece alongside coaches from the University of Kentucky, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Notre Dame, explained, “one of the downfalls of the article is that there is a lot of money on the line for the other coaches interviewed. NCAA tournament appearances bring money into athletic departments and revealing their ‘secrets’ to their competitors is unlikely.”
Cronin said that Training and Conditioning reported on an important topic, commenting that, “technology is a big deal in the world of sport performance these days, and this article was one of the more revealing articles about technology and its use.”
