Catapult turns to subs for its player tracking system for amateur footballers
Catapult Sports, the company behind the player tracking vests worn by Premier League football teams and a host of other professional sports teams, has introduced its latest tracker designed for amateur players.
The Catapult One works in a similar fashion to its elite systems and the Playertek system it launched back in 2017, comprising of a 10Hz GPS tracker that also includes accelerometer and gyroscope motion sensors, which sits inside of a compression vest.
That FIFA approved, pod-shaped Catapult One tracker can deliver metrics like top speed, sprint distance, acceleration and intensity for individual players and coaches to dig into after training and games. You can also view those stats along with data like heat maps and player comparisons all in the companion Catapult One phone app, which is available for iOS and Android.
The big change here from previous systems by Catapult is that the One is available through a subscription service. You’ll need to pay a month with a first month starter kit including the pod, vest and app access on top costing . You can also sign up to an annual subscription, which costs . There’s also team subscription offers as well if you want to sure everyone can compare their stats.
That subscription will get you access to training exercises from professional coaches and if you pick up an injury and can’t train, Catapult will let you pause the subscription for a month every six months. With the team solution, you’re getting the addition of a coach dashboard to monitor performance metrics of all players on the pitch at the same time.
While it’s a system largely aimed at footballers, it’s something that can also be used by anyone that plays rugby, American football, hockey, cricket, lacrosse, Aussie rules football or tennis.
It’s an interesting move but not an altogether surprising one by Catapult Sports to change to a subscription service for its amateur athlete offering. We’ve seen other wearable companies follow suit like Whoop, while Google-owned Fitbit offers additional features via its Premium subscription.
The Catapult One system is available to buy now from the company’s website and we’ll be getting one in to see if it’s worth the signing-on fee.
