Qlik is implementing data analytics in sports with a winning spirit

QlikTech International AB is getting the ball rolling with data analytics in sports by partnering with Stretch AB to maximize the potential of Swedish professional ice hockey team, the Malmö Redhawks.

The Redhawks are one of several sports teams to whom Qlik has delivered cutting edge data analytics software aimed at improving player performance and recovery. Modern sports teams will need to embrace the technology or face falling behind, according to Martin Sahlin (pictured, left), founder and chief executive officer of Stretch.

Martin Tombs of Qlik and Martin Sahlin of Stretch talk with theCUBE about how data-powered insights are the next evolution in sports.

“Everyone wants to have the new thing because otherwise you will lose, and they have to look at the analytics of data and hockey the same way. If you don’t do it, you will lose,” Sahlin said. “I think [teams are] going to adapt to that as much as they’re interested in all the new technology on the skates and gear as in data and analytics.”

Sahlin and Martin Tombs (right), vice president of market readiness at Qlik, spoke with theCUBE’s John Furrier and Savannah Peterson at Qlik Connect, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the impact of data analytics in sports and the importance of looking at athletes in a well-rounded way. (* Disclosure below.)

Data analytics in sports is a game changer for player recovery

Qlik has gathered game-related metrics and physical data from body sensors, wearables and data generated from artificial intelligence to analyze and improve gameplay. The Redhawks have been using this product for two years, and according to Sahlin, the data monitors can notice something is wrong even before the player does.

“If something happens during the game, you get a shot or an injury, you might not notice but your body notice[s],” he said. “So, you might compensate, your body will compensate, and therefore they can see that live, real time, and take that player off before he gets overstressed injuries and stuff like that.”

Advances in technology show how much sports have changed over the past decades. Not only does implementing data analytics in sports give managers a more accurate picture of gameplay, but it also encourages a more nuanced and holistic view of athleticism.

“The way we play the games are very, very different from [how] they were 20, 30 years ago,” Tombs said. “Now, we look at you as a whole human rounded individual — your mental state, your performance, physique and power.”

Managers might analyze which team members might play best together based on their unique skill sets, or predict how long an athlete could take to recover from an injury.

“The recovery of players is phenomenally important. You see managers come out and go, ‘OK, my player’s going to be out for six weeks,’” he said. “There is at least four football clubs in the U.K. that we got sensors all over them — you time their sprints, you monitor their recovery. That six weeks estimate comes from a predictive outcome from our software looking on a football player.”

Despite the power that data analytics brings — one of Qlik’s current projects is helping a professional cycling team win the Tour de France — coaches, and their instincts, are still integral to good sports according to Sahlin.

“We love analytics, but you can never replace the coach or other people behind,” he said. “They have skills, and they have gut feelings. I think that’s the extra percentage that will make you win; it’s always going to be up to you being skilled and have the gut feeling to combine with the data you have.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of  Qlik Connect: 

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Qlik Connect. Neither QlikTech International AB, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE