John Taylor, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and developer of the "Taylor Rule" for setting interest rates | Stanford University
John Taylor, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and developer of the "Taylor Rule" for setting interest rates | Stanford University
Stanford University researchers are collaborating with student-athletes to enhance sports performance through scientific research. The partnership involves Stanford Athletics and the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, aiming to apply scientific insights to improve athletic training and performance.
Scott Delp, director of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, emphasized the mutual benefits of this collaboration: “Athletes and scientists are constantly seeking to improve and push boundaries, whether on the field or in the lab.”
Tyler Friedrich, Associate Athletics Director of Applied Performance, oversees several projects. He stated, “We’ve found that science can really move the needle when it comes to understanding the intricacies and mechanics of the human body and getting an athlete to perform at their peak.”
The collaborations cover various sports and disciplines. For instance, computer simulations are being developed for volleyball players to study movement mechanics. Additionally, a study led by Mike Fredericson and Emily Kraus has shown that nutritional interventions can reduce bone stress injuries.
Research is also focused on optimizing athletic movement. Samuel Montalvo collaborates with Stanford’s baseball team alongside Gunnar Cederberg, assistant Olympic sports performance coach. Cederberg collects data on players’ performance metrics like hamstring strength and sprint profiling.
“Baseball is a sprinting sport,” Montalvo noted. “Players must make short sprints from base to base. It’s one of their main tasks and important to their performance and game outcomes.”
Cederberg explained his method: “My job is to take that data, interpret it, then create exercise prescriptions that will help athletes improve performance.” He measures sprint speeds at different intervals to determine if athletes are "force dominant" or "velocity dominant."
The project’s findings suggest improved sprint times correlate with better game outcomes. “If athletes improved sprint times by at least 1%, then we wanted to know if that was associated with either winning or losing games,” Montalvo said.
Injury prevention is another focus area for researchers. Morgan Smith is working with Professor Todd Coleman’s lab on recovery processes throughout a season using physiological measurements paired with biometric data.
Smith stated: “What would happen if we paired physiological measurements with biometric data, to create a really colorful story about how athletes recover from preseason all the way through postseason?”
Delp acknowledged donor support for these initiatives: “We are extremely fortunate to have Clara Wu Tsai and the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation as visionary partners who have helped us envision and launch this unique partnership.”
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