Technology in MMA fighters’ training: aiding the coach or replacing the coach?

In every sport, every single athlete wants one thing: to continuously improve. And in their effort to achieve this goal, athletes spend most of their time training. 

Traditionally training was done with the coaches and possibly with the presence of some medical advisors -especially where big athletes were involved – who would develop a training plan and who would be responsible for ensuring that it was to be followed as effectively as possible, so that the athletes would reach the desired levels of performance. 

The importance of training was mostly confined to its effects in optimizing fighters’ performance in any way – improving athletes’ records, durability, endurance, strength, skills etc. And all these were to be reflected in the athletes’ performance, which would make all the difference in the world for everyone: the sport itself, the coach, the athlete, the team if we are talking about a team sport, the fans and the sports bettors – who would pick the fighter with the most realistic odds for winning at one of the UFC betting sites in Germany.

Today, training has evolved into a much more sophisticated program, which involves not just the athlete and the coach, but for the most part, it involves technology. In fact, technology has transformed radically the way that athletes are trained, making training far more innovation-driven than anyone could imagine. 

Today you get to see athletes with wearable devices having their physical condition measured with precision and accuracy in real time. You see AI being used to develop personalized programs and plans that are designed specifically for each individual athlete, based on his own strengths and potentials. You see digital systems being used to predict possible injuries and prevent in this way the athletes by increasing their safety. You see systems being used to monitor all the vital things during athletes’ training and break down which exercises and practices are more effective and which are not so suitable. And just like that you see athletes’ being accordingly listed with corresponding odds in various UFC betting sites. 

Overall, you get to see technology manifest itself in the best way possible in athletic training. And this is everywhere, not only in MMA but in all sports, including football or tennis, where new rising stars are constantly under way in the light of advanced training. 

However, the extent to which technology has been integrated into sports training, raises some concerns regarding the degree to which it helps coaches do their job better or it replaces the work of coaches. 

If Artificial Intelligence and Big Data are now overtaking the design and development of athletes’ training, what is the role of the coach? I mean that, since technology is capable of setting an entirely customized and personalized training plan for athletes, then its role seems to overshadow coaches instead of just assisting them make more strategic decisions regarding their athletes’ training. 

We are slowly witnessing a new era where technology is not only aiding decision making, but it is responsible for decision making as well. Does the human agency, with the more advanced technological systems, seem to be less and less pivotal? Does the coach lose value as we are moving toward an entirely new way of doing things?

Fortunately, NO. The human factor continues to be dominant in every single aspect of sports. Coaches are not only training program developers or evaluators of the skills and physical condition of athletes. They are leaders, mentors, supporters. They have emotional intelligence which goes far beyond artificial intelligence and this can never be replaced or substituted with tech-based systems, no matter how advanced and sophisticated they are. They have that human nature which is critical in communication and they can motivate athletes. They have empathy and they listen to their athletes. They speak to them and discuss with them. 

All these can’t be done unless the coach is there. And even if technology can do a great job in the ‘hard’ aspect of training, the soft aspect, which involves the interaction, the relationship and the communication, do still remain the prerogative of coaches. So, no matter how technology evolves and innovations happen in athletes’ training, the role of coach will never be depleted. Because after all, athletes are just humans!