Why Do Soccer Players Wear Bras?
In youth and professional soccer, more and more male players are wearing bras. Except, they are not bras!
Instead, the bra-looking things are vests that are designed to house GPS trackers inside them.
In this article, I’d like to discuss the benefits of wearing a “man bra” in soccer!
What is a Sports Bra in Soccer?
The “sports bra” you see soccer players wearing isn’t clothing, despite what the name suggests. They are sports vests designed to store GPS trackers inside them.
Here’s an example of what my son’s GPS vest looks like…
The vest goes on the player’s body like a bra and the device (top right of the picture) slides in the back.
The GPS tracker is great for player and team data such as how many miles a player has run, top speed, where they are on the field, and their overall work rate.
This information is then sent to a software dashboard that can be viewed on a phone.
Why Do Players Need This Real-Time Tracking?
Now that you know what it is, you should know that soccer players don’t just put on these vests to look good.
Let’s explore what data these tools may gather and how they influence professional and youth soccer teams‘ decision-making.
Monitoring Performance Results
Teams put a lot of emphasis on how much ground their players can cover. This is because pressing strategies, which force players to run all the time, have become an important part of soccer tactics as they have grown.
These GPS tracker vests may monitor a range of performance indicators, including:
- Top speed
- Heart rate
- Acceleration
- Distance traveled
- Calories burnt
However, there are still many more data points to consider!
These statistics are gathered while players run on the field and provide coaches with a far more complete picture of how physically prepared they are for competition.
Controlling the Amount of Training
In a similar vein, coaches may modify physical training programs for certain players using the performance indicators offered by these trackers.
For instance, a club team’s coach may compile player data over a specific time frame before determining how much training time to provide.
The vests provide coaches with a complete view of each player’s development.
Rehabilitation Management After Injury
Competitive soccer players have such a strong desire to return to the field as soon as possible. Coming back too soon could result in re-injury.
And this is the issue that these GPS vests address.
Imagine that a player is assigned a milestone during rehabilitation that requires them to run 5 miles. When the vest is worn, the pod will track their distance as well as the amount of energy they used to get there.
The trainer can see how the player is tracking so they can get their legs under them before returning to practice.
The Next Generation of Sports Tracking Devices
As sports technology keeps improving, it will be fascinating to see how long GPS tracker vests will continue to be the best option.
Even though it is incredibly revolutionary in some respects, I would say a quarter of youth soccer clubs have fully embraced it.
Although there is little room to cut additional weight, technology may be improved in other ways in the future.
In my opinion, this technology will continue to get more advanced and accurate. The GPS tracking devices will get smaller (like the Playermaker) but, in the meantime, GPS soccer vests will continue to be adopted by more players and coaches!
