Will AI replace youth sport coaches?

In mid-2022, I ran a thought experiment with my colleagues at Sport New Zealand.

We were spending the afternoon discussing macro trends which might (re)shape youth sport in the next five to ten years.

One of the questions I posed in this session was:

“What if AI could provide a richer coaching experience for our youth than human coaches?”

I had just recently jumped down the AI rabbit hole.

(This curiosity had been sparked by this Tim Ferriss podcast, featuring Eric Schmidt (former-CEO of Google) about the promises and perils of AI.)

However, much like the wider public at the time, it was apparent that AI had yet to register into the consciousness of my colleagues.

Well, fast forward a year, and talk about the pace of change.

Since that time, ChatGPT has spearheaded a Cambrian explosion of AI into the mainstream.

In a span of just over 12 months, those hypothetical musings of mine now seem less "sci-fi" and more "it's happening."

Then last year, the wearable tech company WHOOP announced the launch of their AI-powered performance coach.

So here we are, on the brink of sport coming into the crosshairs of the AI wave.

Today, I’m delving back into the question I posed to my teammates in mid-2022.

What happens when we get AI sport coaches for our kids?

Let’s start with a little story…📖

It’s a warm Thursday afternoon. The clock on the car’s dashboard reads: 4:15pm.

Basketball training for your two kids, Bryce and Katie, starts in 15 minutes.

You can sense the excitement coming from the backseats. It’s the first training of the season, after all.

You pull into the lot of your local rec centre, and before you even think about hitting the brake, the kids have already bolted. Eager to catch up with their mates.

You chuckle, grabbing the water bottles they've inevitably left behind in the trunk, and make your way in.

Word on the court is that there’s a new coach this season.

Stepping through the lobby and into the gymnasium proper, you cast your eyes around the facility. It’s made up of four courts, lined up side by side. Bleachers around the sides. Your eyes track down the line-up of courts and you spot the kids, now huddled with their pals on the farthest court.

But something's different this time.

You realise, each court sports what looks like a shiny new metallic mobile whiteboard, positioned on the sideline at halfway. On closer inspection, you realise it's actually a screen.

Making your way over to your kids’ court, a sharp whistle pierces the air. The screen next to Bryce and Katie illuminates, revealing a lifelike digital representation of a woman. Eerily real, she greets, “Hello, I’m Natalie. And I’m your new coach this season.” 🤖🏀

Sounds futuristic? Well, the future of sports tech is already here. The scenario I’ve painted is just one glimpse into the AI-driven world of sports.

And there's more:

Smartphone-based Sports Analysis

The Sports Business Journal dubbed 2022 as the year of smartphone trackers. We saw a boom in technical and tactical video analysis apps for basketball, baseball, football (soccer), golf, and tennis.

Wearable Tech in Sports

Beyond WHOOP's AI-powered performance coach, whispers are swirling around Garmin and Oura joining the fray. And let's not forget Athletica.ai, which offers a platform for crafting adaptive training plans for those endurance athletes out there.

Innovative Sports Facilities

Have you seen the ASB GlassFloor demo at the U19 FIBA World Cup? Imagine youth sports facilities offering real-time feedback with dazzling visual and haptic cues. It's not a stretch anymore.

Understanding the Impact of AI on Youth Sports Coaching

Keeping an eye on the horizon is an important responsibility for leaders in any field. Sport leaders are no different - and without a doubt, AI stands out as a significant trend shaping the future

Having spent some time grappling with the potential influence of AI on youth sports coaching, I’ve curated some of my thoughts below on the advantages and potential pitfalls of integrating AI into youth sports coaching.

The Upside of AI in Coaching

🎯 Personalized Training: Athlete-centric training is a buzzword, but often remains a challenge, especially for novice coaches. AI has the potential to deliver more tailored training to athletes

🌍 Democratizing Access: Great coaches tend to gravitate towards lucrative opportuntiies. AI could decentralize quality coaching, ensuring talented athletes, regardless of socio-economic backgrounds, get the guidance they deserve.

🤓 Objective Decision-making: Cognitive biases, like the Relative Age Effect, have been proven to exist in coaching. An AI-driven approach might promise less bias, basing decisions on data and fairness.

🩹 Injury Prevention: Monitoring an athlete's health metrics is challenging. AI can potentially identify risks early, improving athlete safety and wellbeing.

The Downside of AI in Coaching

📊 The Essence of Sports: Beyond data and stats, sports thrive on passion and memorable moments. Over-reliance on AI might eclipse these integral aspects.

❤️ Mentorship Matters: Human coaches provide more than just training; they mentor. AI, despite its precision, can't replicate the emotional quotient of a human coach.

🔒 Ethical Concerns: Gathering biometric data from youngsters raises concerns about privacy and data breaches. It's essential to prioritize these athletes' rights and safety.

💸 Accessibility Issues: Even though AI might cut some costs, the required technology might remain inaccessible to many.

🧭 Gut Feel vs. Data: Over-dependence on AI could hinder the development of an athlete's instinctual decision-making skills. The spontaneous decisions, often the game-changers, can't always be algorithmically derived.

Striking a Balance: AI as the Ultimate Assistant Coach?

Do I envision AI supplanting human coaches in youth sports? Probably not.

But enhancing and augmenting the coaching experience? Absolutely.

The contemporary analogy of AI as a 'co-pilot' resonates here.

In the context of youth sports, I predict AI technologies becoming a pseudo assistant coach, always on standby, offering insights, strategies and tips, for coaches.

Some of the ways I see this taking shape include:

The Meal Kit - Akin to a recipe card, novice coaches will be able to pull on AI to create and adapt session plans 5 minutes before training. If a player drops out, no problem - update the AI, and the session plan gets adapted.

J.A.R.V.I.S - Much like Iron Man has his own all seeing virtual assistant looking out for him, its too far of a stretch to see the first wearable and augmented technology helping coaches in real time make coaching decisions. Meta (previously known as Facebook) has just partnered with RayBan to launch these smart glasses.

Final thoughts

In areas where data is abundant and easily harvested, AI is already showing promise, particularly as a guiding hand for less seasoned coaches.

For leaders of sport and coach education, there is a bit to ponder here about the value in AI as a tool to accelerate the ability of novice and volunteer coaches (particularly those that are time poor) to move from ‘OK’ to ‘good’.

I predict that the technical, tactical, and subsequently, the physical aspects of coaching will be ripe for disruption and innovation, powered by AI.

But what about the essence of coaching rooted deeply in human relationships?

Well, it is this which remains the bedrock of exceptional coaching.

No matter how intertwined coaching becomes with AI in the future, the best coaches will always remember that their irreplaceable edge is the genuine human bond they share with their athletes.

In a realm where technical prowess and tactical strategies are increasingly equalized, perhaps the true mark of coaching greatness will be distinguished by the depth of these human connections.

Want to delve deeper?

📖 Read:

• The Age of AI: And Our Human Future, by Henry a Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, Daniel Huttenlocher - get it here

• PWC Report | Artificial Intelligence - Applications to the Sports Industry - PWC report - access it here

🎧 Listen:

• Tim Ferriss Podcast: Eric Schmidt — The Promises and Perils of AI - access your preferred streaming platform here

▶️ Play:

• Test out coachfrank.ai 

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