4:00pm Wednesday 27th January 2010
By Mike Pryce
A FORMER professional tennis player and a consultant anaesthetist have joined forces to develop a new training system that could revolutionise sports training.
Mike Crooks and Fraser Harban, who both live in Droitwich, are the brains behind HotSpot, an electronic system that measures performance levels and success.
Their company Games Education was initially formed in 2007 as the brainchild of Mr Crooks, a former professional tennis player and electronics engineering graduate. His original concept was based on developing an automated timing device that would allow coaches to concentrate on the coaching aspect and that this technology should be available to all and not just elite sport.
The idea involved a central pod and a series of individual ‘stations’ linked to it. Performers were timed running between the ‘stations’.
In 2008 Mr Harban, a former army medical officer and now a consultant anaesthetist, joined Mr Crooks, bringing funding and training ideas about programming of movement in the brain. This allowed the company to make a huge step forward and develop the concepts. “The philosophy of Games Education is that all levels of sport should be able to utilise technology to create the best training environment. Hence our motto ‘accessible technology for sport’,” he said.
“The only way to achieve this is to design and create products that are priced at a level which grassroots sport can afford. The same technology can still be used at elite sport level but with the ability to use more devices due to increased level of funding.
“The HotSpot system is being used successfully in schools where it helps to engage children by the fun and competitive nature of the system. It is planned to use the system as part of a weight management programme when dealing with the increasing problem of childhood obesity.”
Games Education has already worked with a number of governing bodies within sport and education, such as the National Tennis Centre (LTA), England U18 RFU, Worcestershire County FA, Aston Villa and the Army School of Physical Training, in addition to many other smaller teams, grassroots sport and schools.
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