Developing and scouting athletes–a small percentage of whom might go on to the pros–is no simple matter. The kid who looks like a comer at 15 can be a bust at 18. Professional teams spend a lot of money trying to get it right. So do the parents of a lot of those young athletes who may never be quite sure how their child really compares with others his or her age.
Stepping into the picture are a pair of Toronto entrepreneurs–sports fans both. Jamie and Jonathon Hollins say they have developed the world’s most accurate equipment to assess the fitness of athletes and their sports-specific skills without bias.
Jamie, who studied kinesiology, owned gyms and trained elite athletes, and Jonathon, who was in the computer software business, formed their company, Sports Testing Inc., three years ago.
A lot of people evidently believe them. The Hollins’s business is taking off. Clients include Basketball Canada, the National Lacrosse League, and some NHL and minor hockey teams. The brothers will head to Russia this spring to examine hockey players there.
New technology is helping coaches and athletes of all stripes and types focus on what they really need to improve on to get better. (AP Photo/Brainerd Dispatch, Kelly Humphrey)
The Hollins’s model puts athletes through a series of tests, measuring everything from vertical jumps or bench presses to other tests that use high-precision sensors The athletes wear scanners that they check after every test. Results go instantaneously into a data base and report card for each athlete. Presto. Scouts and the athletes themselves have access to everything they need to know at the touch of a computer button. Appropriate steps can be taken from there. It’s all theToronto brothers up the scope of athlete testing.
Developing and scouting athletes–a small percentage of whom might go on to the pros–is no simple matter. The kid who looks like a comer at 15 can be a bust at 18. Professional teams spend a lot of money trying to get it right. So do the parents of a lot of those young athletes who may never be quite sure how their child really compares with others his or her age.
Stepping into the picture are a pair of Toronto entrepreneurs –sports fans both. Jamie and Jonathon Hollins say they have developed the world’s most accurate equipment to assess the fitness of athletes and their sports-specific skills without bias.
Jamie, who studied kinesiology, owned gyms and trained elite athletes, and Jonathon, who was in the computer software business, formed their company, Sports Testing Inc., three years ago.
They believe they are changing the way an athlete’s talent is identified and developed.
A lot of people evidently believe them. The Hollins’s business is taking off. Clients include Basketball Canada, the National Lacrosse League, and some NHL and minor hockey teams. The brothers will head to Russia this spring to examine hockey players there.
The Hollins’s model puts athletes through a series of tests, measuring everything from vertical jumps or bench presses to other tests that use high-precision senors. The athletes wear scanners that they check after every test. Results go instantaneously into a data base and report card for each athlete. Presto. Scouts and the athletes themselves have access to everything they need to know at the touch of a computer button. Appropriate steps can be taken from there.
Everybody has a better picture of reality. Except, even the Hollins concede, there’s no way to measure heart. Heart rate, yes. Heart, no way!
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.