A new technology, VERT, has found a home on the volleyball court, and the implications of it have changed not only how players play, but how coaches coach — especially as the postseason nears.

The ISU volleyball team now owns a VERT device that monitors every player and the amount of jumps they take during each practice or match. VERT allows coaches to make practices lighter or stronger to prevent injuries to their players.

“It’s a newer program to the sport of volleyball,” said ISU volleyball coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. “We implemented this system so we can be healthy once it hits November and December time.”

This is the first year that Iowa State has used VERT, and so far the players and coaches are enjoying it. The program is simple to use, which makes it easier for the coaching staff to implement.

VERT requires players to wear small tracking devices on their body, usually underneath their uniforms. These trackers transmit data to a software program on the coach’s laptop, allowing the staff to monitor a player’s jumping habits throughout a practice or match.

For example, sophomore Alexis Conaway is a middle blocker, meaning she goes up for kills as well as blocks throughout a match or practice. Each time Conaway leaps in the name of a kill or block, a jump is recorded on her tracking device.

“After jumping so many times in a practice, you don’t even realize you’re jumping between 100 to 150 times,” Conaway said. “It’s nice to have these devices because then we don’t have two practices focusing on jumping in a row.”

Most of the harder practices consist of the hitters jumping between 120 and 150 times in a two-hour span. After a harder practice, the coaching staff might focus its attention on a different aspect of the game to give the players a breather. These types of practices will usually include about 40 to 60 jumps.

Junior Ciara Capezio sees VERT as a way to prevent injuries in the later parts of the season. Capezio, who has been hampered by injury on several occasions during her ISU career, has benefited from this system as it has shown the coaches when she’s been worked too hard in practice.

If a coach sees the numbers from a day, he or she has the ability to pull a player out of different activities for the sake of the player’s health. Capezio has had minimal injuries this season, and she thinks it’s thanks to the new jump monitor system.

“This system can definitely help a team stay healthier toward the end of a season,” Capezio said. “You need a team that is healthy, especially if we have the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament.”

Johnson-Lynch believes the future of VERT within the ISU program is bright, and she’s already seen a number of other volleyball teams adopt the program. 

The advantage provided by VERT that the team favors most is that it benefits not only the coaches but also the players. They are able to track their progress just as easily and accurately as the coaches can.

“I hope more and more teams utilize this program because it’s beneficial,” Conaway said. “The sport of volleyball needed this type of system, and now it’s here.”