LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – As the data rolls in, a team of sports medicine professionals analyzes the results of an athlete’s jump—it’s the beginning of a whole different ball game.
During a Las Vegas Desert Dogs practice, a team from UNLV’s Sports Performance Education Economic Development Lab, otherwise known as SPEED, set up their high-tech floor monitor for players’ leaps.
“It’s truly amazing,” Shawn Williams, coach and general manager for the Desert Dogs, said. “As all sports have gotten bigger, faster, stronger, all these athletes are, it’s really cool to monitor that from the start to the finish of a season.”
Williams said the partnership with the SPEED Lab has allowed the team’s strength coach to tailor-make his approach for certain players.
“They get all the data, and our strength coach goes and just gets hands-on,” he said. “Usually, it comes with some type of injury from before. We’re always on top of everything here, it all helps.”
Dr. Cordero Roche, SPEED Lab coordinator, said the addition of the biomechanics lab in Oct. 2024 has allowed the team more mobility and access to Las Vegas valley teams.
“It started off with just reaching out to the original points of contact, which is me or my other colleagues,” Roche said. “But as of late, we’ve been gaining so much traction through word of mouth, through social media posts, like everybody has been aware of what we’re doing, and they want to know how we can come out there and provide our expertise and support them at their school or local community event.”
The SPEED Lab has worked with the Las Vegas Lights, Golden Knights, and Raiders but it’s the visits to CCSD schools where the impact is felt the most, according to Roche.
“Honestly, that’s like the best part of my job, like working with the kids,” he said. “I didn’t know about this career path until I got later on into my adulthood, and to see the kids, to have the kids understand that you can still have a career working with athletes.”
Roche said for those students who dream of working with athletes, this program is a door into that world.
“We show them the force plates, we show them the timing gates, we’ll show them the motion capture,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll just inspire them as they continue to grow, and when it is time for them to enroll in college, they’ll remember these experiences, and that will also encourage them, or inspire them to pursue this career.”
The SPEED Lab is available for visits through its online application process.
