31 Aug 2023
John McEnroe Academy partners with Ocuray for neuro fitness training wearable
BY Tom Walker
John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) has partnered with fitness tech firm Ocuray to create a neurofitness training wearable designed specifically for tennis.
Ocuray will work with JMTA to adapt its Falcon Frames tech solution to the specific requirements of the sport.
Falcon Frames is a vision-based wearable with built-in gaze-tracking that analyses eye movement and uses a dynamic linear light field array with retina-tracking guide lights to give visual cues on where to look, in real-time.
The wearable can be used while training and has been designed not to distract the user from the activity.
It interfaces with a smartphone app that allows the user to follow preset training routines with increasingly challenging settings, set goals, track progress, compare performance with others, or train with the guidance of a coach.
It can also integrate with existing health and wellness apps.
Utilising Falcon Frames, the team will develop a set of training routines best suited for tennis, where players face average incoming serve speeds of 160km/h (100 mph) and absorb, process and analyse information on ball flight, distance to net and lines – as well as the position of the opponent – in a split second.
Ocuray is the fitness tech division of Evolution Optiks, a US-based company founded in 2014 specialising in light field, optical and digital products.
Raul Mihali, president and CEO of Evolution Optiks, said: "The physical condition of an athlete can be trained to perfection, but that is simply not enough.
"The connection between eyes, brain and body is the missing link and we're developing Falcon Frames precisely for that.
"Working with the coaches at JMTA to adapt Falcon Frames to the specific requirements of tennis and develop the training routines best suited for the sport is a privilege."
The JMTA was founded in September 2010 by tennis legend John McEnroe in partnership with Sportime Clubs.
JMTA's flagship location is at Sportime Randall's Island in Manhattan, New York, US, with additional locations in Syosset, Long Island, in Lake Isle Park, Westchester, and in Amagansett in the Hamptons.
A new JMTA site will be launched later this year at Sportime Port Washington, which is located at the former Port Washington Tennis Academy, where John McEnroe trained as a junior. This will bring the total number of JMTA tennis courts to 96, serving more than 2,000 players annually.
Bennett Schlansky, the senior managing director of JMTA, said: "The device has enormous potential to enhance the performance of our students.
"Our goal is always to develop complete players and to give them an edge, and to this end, the importance of excellent vision skills cannot be stressed enough.
"We look very much forward to testing and using this piece of high-end technology in our programmes."
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