The Dallas Cowboys are making the most of the technology available today through the use of drones in their training sessions, but not everyone saw this as a good idea.
When asked “why?” we do something, a common response is to ask another question; “Why not?”, and the Q&A will usually stop there. In this case, however, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) had an answer for the Dallas Cowboys.
FAA safety regulations state the following;
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A drone must be operated in low-risk, controlled environments, or applicants must be able to supply information about everything from a system’s design to details on quality assurance procedures.
In this case, an exemption waiver from the FAA was required.
Fortunately for the Cowboys, this waiver has been given, and the team can now continue to use drones in their training sessions – on this occasion, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett’s attitude of ‘try first, ask questions later’ has paid off.
When asked about the use of drones in training, Garrett said the following;
“The drone angle is interesting because it gives you a chance from behind to see all 11 guys on offense and all 11 guys on defense, but from a lower angle. Oftentimes, you have to kind of pull yourself way away to get the all-22 shot. This allows you to be a little closer, so you can coach better. You see hand placement, you see where (players) have their feet and where they have their eyes. I think that’s important. You can look at the players and coach them better when you’re that much closer to the action.”
In an age where we have the ability to better assess the physical status of an athlete; to better determine the most effective plays to use against an upcoming opponent… through the use of drones we now also have the ability to better coach teams in real-time, thanks to the greater perspective offered by this piece of technology.
The training ground is where it all begins… could this become the proving ground for drone technology in sports? Could this be a game-changer for the Dallas Cowboys? Maybe not so much so soon but it certainly has the potential to help teams prepare better.