Looks like high school football has made technology its new friend. Well, as you all must be aware, there goes a lot of effort into what you see on the field. At first, the gridiron needs to be in the perfect shape. And that’s where Crowley High School Football has come up with something very unique. You can now see a robot doing the job, making rounds of the whole field. The Crowley High School gave their new employee, who is not a human, a cute name—Turf Tank. 

Till now, Crowley High School made it to the headlines because of its notable alumni who made their alma mater proud in the NFL, like Tyler Smith and Milton Williams. For a change, the football team has been the center of attention for their master move in introducing technology. Meet Turf Tank and as the name suggests, it carries a tank with itself. Donning a peppy green color, it’s impossible to believe that the little robot is better than humans. So, what are its functions? 

Turf Tank can paint a whole football field in less than five hours. Can you imagine? A normal high school field takes double the time, which is near about 10 hours. Plus, as Crowley High School HC Brian Ellender revealed, he as well as other coaches join hands to paint the field in one go. The HC couldn’t help but obsess over the robot: “It’s a job that takes six to eight coaches and takes numerous of hours; Turf Tank allows us, one to two coaches to do the job of eight coaches and get it done in about half the time.” Already the coaches go through a lot of mental and physical toil; after all, they are pillars driving the high school athletes forward. Also, since the robot can paint on natural grass, dirt, and synthetic turf, it makes it suitable for every field. Now you must be wondering whether the workers might lose their jobs, right?

Not at all. Turf Tank’s regional manager, Hunter Pratt, clarified it helps in enhancing productivity: “Instead of having to allocate three to four guys to pull strings and drag stencils, one guy can come out here press start, and as the robot is painting, he can be edging or mowing or doing multiple other task.” Looks like technologies have only made the games easier. 

Tech revolution in high school sports

Technology has gifted football with a new era of physical transformation. For instance, the Player-Tracking Technology with the evolution of GPS and LPS systems has been a great boon for both high school and football athletes. It helps in keeping the players on the path towards achieving their specific goals, which can be individual, position-specific, or team-related.  So this saves the coaches’ efforts to go individually to each player and take care of their individual interests. 

Just like Crowley High School made Turf Tank their best friend, a Minnesota high school football team has invested in Riddell sensor nets that are fitted inside the players’ helmets to measure impact. Not only gadgets, but apps like GameChanger are also becoming popular that track scores and stats. Also, there is another one named Coach’s Eye that provides a split-second analysis of moves before the coaches can arrive at a conclusion. 

As Angela Lumpkin, chairwoman of the sports management department at Texas Tech University stated, “Lots of high schools in this country now spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, even a million, on football. Over $3 billion nationally wouldn’t surprise me. With all the emphasis on winning games, getting players to the next level, the tech companies can smell the money.” What an innovative era for high school football!