Thanks to a three-way partnership between Kinduct Technologies, Dalhousie University’s Department of Athletics and School of Health and Human Performance, a new pilot program will provide students the opportunity to gain real-life data and analytics-driven coaching experience.
The Intern Performance Coaches (IPCs) Program is designed to educate students on how to use and apply Kinduct’s Performance software in coaching and athlete management at an elite level. Using the software, IPCs help coaches collect and visualize performance data, teach athletes how to upload entries and apply kinesiology knowledge when applicable. Leveraging the unique partnership and long-term relationship between Kinduct and Dalhousie, the IPC Program provides students with invaluable hands-on analytics experience.
“Sports data and analytics is the future of effective coaching and athlete management,” says Dal alumnus and Kinduct Technologies CEO Travis McDonough. “The IPCs Program is a unique opportunity for Dalhousie kinesiology students to experience technology possibilities in coaching at a world-class level.
"Kinduct’s Performance software is the ideal platform to help the students gain a better understanding of the collection and visualization of athletic data using tools such as wellness journals, assessments, monitoring and training programs. Building on our long-term relationship with Dalhousie Athletics, the IPCs Program is the perfect alignment of technology, coaching and education, and Kinduct could not be more excited to play a part.”
Tim Maloney, the director of athletics at Dalhousie, sees tremendous potential for the partnership and program.
“This partnership model has significant benefits for all parties involved, with our students being at the centre of the program," he says. "Experiential learning opportunities will elevate our varsity athletics program while strengthening our connection to an industry-leading corporate partner.”
Developing the program
David Westwood, a professor of kinesiology in Dalhousie’s School of Health and Human Performance and the program supervisor, been heavily involved in developing the pilot program. Two IPCs spent the summer learning how to use the Kinduct platform and worked closely with the women’s basketball and men’s volleyball teams to determine team needs and priorities moving forward.
The IPCs will also start to work with the track and field, men’s hockey and women’s soccer teams later in the year.
“This emerging partnership provides a unique opportunity to build on the shared interests of a successful local business, along with the sport and academic units of the University,” says Dr. Westwood. “Students are the key to the entire enterprise and they benefit by receiving practical experience working with a product at the leading edge of the performance analytics sector. We hope to develop a training stream for kinesiology students in various areas of sport science, of which performance analytics is a key part.”
In the next phase of the program, Dr. Westwood hopes to be fully operational with one or two IPCs for each team, seeing each team using Kinduct to its full potential.
“Students get valuable hands-on training with a world-class athlete and performance management platform that puts Dalhousie Athletics alongside professional sports teams in terms of capacity for sport analytics,” continues Se, Westwood. “This is a growing field for students interested in kinesiology, so we were keen to provide opportunities for students to connect with the Kinduct platform while meeting a need in varsity athletics. Coaches are already spread thin with limited resources, so students can provide the labour and knowledge to help implement Kinduct's capabilities.”
Kinduct Technologies is a world-leading data and analytics software provider. Kinduct’s highly secure, cloud-based platform allows human performance, and health and wellness organizations to spend less time managing their data and more time using it to inform decisions, promote constant improvement and produce exceptional results. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Kinduct currently employs 60 employees across Canada and the US.