Force-Sensing Swimming Starting Block; The Effect of Smart Training Technologies on Overtraining Prevention: A Study of Collegiate Athletics

In recent years, collegiate athletics has seen a surge in the use of smart training technologies to optimize performance and reduce injuries. However, the integration of these technologies raises questions not only about their technical effectiveness but also about how different institutions choose to adopt and prioritize them. My capstone and STS research together explore both the engineering challenges and social implications of implementing performance-monitoring systems in collegiate sports. For my capstone project titled Wahoo SplashTrack, I designed and built a force-sensing swimming starting block for the University of Virginia swimming and diving team. This device measures the launch force (in pounds) exerted by swimmers at the start of a race. The hardware was integrated with a custom-built web application for managing and visualizing training data. This system aims to improve performance and provide coaches with actionable data to enhance athlete development and prevent injury through data-informed training. This work led me to investigate the broader human and social dimensions of training technologies in sport. If engineering is a form of social experimentation, then deploying smart training tools in athletic programs constitutes an experiment whose outcomes affect real people, athletes whose head and careers may depend on decisions made using this data. In my STS research, titled The Effect of Smart Training Technologies on Overtraining Prevention: A Study of Collegiate Athletics, I explored how institutions understand and respond to the risks of overtraining. My analysis compares discourse and institutional behavior across schools with varying levels of athletic investment. Drawing on Actor-Network Theory and discourse analysis, I found that some universities implement smart training systems proactively as a way to manage athlete health holistically, while others are driven more by reputational or financial motivations. This divergence reflects differing institutional views on the balance between athlete well-being and competitive success. Together, my technical and STS projects highlight the dual nature of smart training technologies and how they can be used to empower athletes and optimize performance, but also risk being co-opted by institutional priorities that may not align with athlete health. A responsible approach to athletic innovation must therefore consider not just what we can measure or build, but also why we build it and for whom.