Sideline innovation

 Technology has completely changed the way many look at sports today.
So much so that many new innovations have trickled down into prep sports to help show development statistics to athletes.
Carson High girls soccer has found one of those modernizations that tracks statistics, advanced numbers and cuts up highlights quicker and faster than other software the team has used.
The system is called Trace.
Trace is a camera and software that uses multiple lenses to track, analyze and record player over the entirety of a game.
Each girl is given a sensor, shaped much like a pack of floss given to you by your dentist, and either straps the sensor to their calf or puts it in their sock.
While it took a few days for the girls to get used to the device, the added benefits of new calculations and ways of looking at the game are obvious.
“After each game, I watch my film and go through my touches on the ball. I can see maybe a bad touch and what I can do better,” said senior captain Alyssa Tomita. “I try to improve the numbers each game.”
Players can look at their own distance run, top speed, stamina and max effort while able to compare those statistics to their teammates and other using the technology around the country.
Since the software tracks players in game, the Senators can also get a look at their “heat map” or where they spent most of their time positioned on the field.
“It really shows how good you do and how helpful you are with your teammates,” said senior Lena Alvarado. “It helps me to see how I need to push harder for the next game.”
Getting better each contest has been a goal of the Senator team this season.
With a 6-3-2 overall record, and a 4-3-1 clip in Class 5A North league play, Carson currently has a seven-point lead on the final playoff spot through the first half of the league season.
The senior captains have talked extensively about the improvements the whole team as made since the beginning of the season.
That showed as recently as Tuesday as Carson thumped Spanish Springs, 3-1, avenging a defeat at the hands of the Cougars in the season opener.
Through 11 games, Carson is off to its best start since the 2016 season in which the Senators finished 16-1-1.
The Senators have made the playoffs once since the 2016 campaign and that came in the pandemic-shortened, six-week spring season of 2021.

(The blue Trace camera that tracks every player’s motion throughout a game sits on the sidelines prior to use Tuesday. It’s the first year the Carson High girls soccer team has adopted the technology to help show players statistics and analysis about their play, Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal).

(Trace trackers sit in their charging box prior to a Carson High girls soccer game. Each Senator player wears a Trace device to gain insights into their game as well as personalized statistics and highlights. / Carter Eckl)

Sharing film
While tracking and studying individual patterns and analytics provides insight to players, one of the more raved about uses of the software is its ability to sort highlights of each player.
Every player picked up by Trace will be sent an email of their highlights cut into one reel after the game.
By sorting out singular touches and plays, the Senators who are interested in playing in college can easily send highlights of their game film to coaches.
Previously, film had to be sorted and cut up by coaches for each person in order for highlights to make it to the Internet.
Now, Trace publishes the video clips straight to its website.
Senior Gracie Walt praised the software’s accuracy and ability to pick up even the slightest touches during a game.
“Definitely how fast you get your results back,” said Walt. “It’s really cool how precise it is. Literally, it’s every single time you touch the ball.”
Walt has been clocked at max sprint speeds that have rivaled some of the quickest players in the nation.
Without Trace technology, she wouldn’t have had any way to add that kind of context to her scouting profile.
As a midfielder, Walt needs to cover large amounts of ground quickly and coaches can easily see the kind of speed and ability Walt could bring to a collegiate program.
For sophomore Addy Morgan, who has used Trace previously in club games, it gives her a leg up in the accessibility of her film.
“I mostly look at it game-by-game so I can adjust for the next game,” said Morgan. “It’s really nice. If I want to play in college I have all those clips and it’s not that much work.”

5A North Standings	League	Overall
McQueen	4-1-3	6-2-4
Galena	5-2-2	8-2-3
Reno	5-2-2	5-2-2
Douglas	4-2-1	6-4-1
Carson	4-3-1	6-3-2
Reed	4-3-0	4-5-1
B. Manogue	2-5-0	3-8-0
D. Ranch	1-5-1	1-8-1
Sp. Springs	1-7-0	1-7-0

— Through Thursday’s games