Source: ASICS Global – The Official Corporate Website for ASICS and Its Affiliates
I typically celebrate ASICS’ investment strategy via their accelerator and incubator, but this one, while beneficial, it will continue to widen the gap in amateur and youth sports as it becomes implemented into coaching and training at every level in sports. ASICS just invested into Run.Edge a Japanese technology company, “Creating new experiences through video and technology”, RUN. EDGE provides video search and real-time analysis platforms in the sports and enterprise fields including education.”
Under Armour’s “Access to Sport” Needs to Get Graphic About the Professionalization of Youth Sports
Youth Sports in the U.S. have all but abandoned places like where I grew up. I discussed this in a post celebrating Under Armour’s commitment in their Access to Sports program they just launched. While ASICS isn’t wrong for investing in this technology, the more advanced training tools become in youth sports, the less disenfranchised kids have access. There is already a fee to compete in sport at every level and as cities move farther away from including social programs in budgets, kids growing up in impoverished or under-served communities find themselves at a disadvantage when hoping to attain scholarships to compete at the college level, or they lose the opportunity to participate in sports which can help with life lessons.
Professional sports are already more tech based and built around professional training and access to tools needed to compete at the highest levels. Many athletes who don’t have the benefit of training tools will never make their local middle school teams. Unless this technology ASICS has invested in, becomes a part of a systemic overhaul where low-income schools are given technology equipment allowing those students to be competitive, this will be another level kids will have to overcome in fighting for opportunities via sport.