When Sydney Swans captain Callum Mills announced he wouldn’t be playing in the 2024 AFL Grand Final due to a hamstring injury, Swans fans across the country shed silent tears in support of one of Australia’s greatest sportsmen missing out on such a major moment for his career.
Hamstring strains resulting in missed matches presented the highest incidence of all the injury categories in the 2023 AFL season — 4.71 injuries per club per season — causing an average of 14.34 missed AFL matches per club. It’s a disappointing statistic that sports scientist Jason Weber is all too familiar with, having spent decades coaching AFL players and athletes through such injuries.
The problem Weber identified with traditional injury management practices was their inability to identify the underlying causes of the injury. This is due to the limitations in current monitoring technology, particularly in the range, specificity, and analysis of the data captured.
It was this experience, coupled with a passion for technology, that led Weber to found SpeedSig, a data analysis software solution that is revolutionising the way athletes and teams monitor injuries while leveraging pre-existing motion capture technology.
Despite navigating the challenges of startup life, SpeedSig is poised for even greater impact with the company’s global expansion, landing key clients in the last 12 months in the NFL, English Premier League (EPL), and Scotland Rugby.
Growth and global expansion
From Perth to Texas, Weber’s year kicked off with a series of key international conferences, paving the way for major sporting team collaborations. “We raced to the US in January, and that opened doors,” Weber explains.
The trip resulted in several major US College and NFL teams signing on as his first clients, a domino effect that paved the way for him to gain greater market access. In August, a trip to the UK led to extensive exposure in the Premier League with meetings set with teams including Chelsea, Arsenal, and Aston Villa, followed shortly after by Scotland’s national rugby team.
“The response from teams has been incredible. They understand the value SpeedSig offers in managing athlete performance at a scientific level,” Weber told Startup News.
As a result of this swift traction, SpeedSig has now incorporated in the UK and US, established servers in both countries as well as Australia to ensure full compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and other privacy regulations.
Science-driven success
What sets SpeedSig apart is its scientific foundation. Weber, a PhD in biomechanics, designed the platform to close what he calls “the black hole” in performance data — where traditional metrics fail to account for critical factors in injury prevention and rehabilitation. “One of our clients, a major US college, told me SpeedSig provided exactly what they were missing,” Weber recalls.
By combining complex algorithms with a user-friendly interface, SpeedSig provides teams with actionable insights that enhance player performance while reducing the risk of injury. A recent case study was conducted with an injured 19-year old professional academy soccer player with a history of five hamstring injuries on his left leg, the most recent requiring surgical intervention. The player’s support team were at a loss as to how to help him regain his strength and speed with previous testing failing to reveal the causes of his subdued performance.
By analysing the results of the traditional monitoring tests against SpeedSig’s analysis, Weber and his team were able to identify a specific deficit in the capacity of the injured limb and more importantly, propose a tailored approach to the player’s recovery to help him regain strength and propulsion — a solution that wouldn’t have been detected without the help of SpeedSig’s powerful data analytics.
Weber’s Curtin Accelerate experience
Weber attributes his ability to handle the company’s growth to the skills and mindset he acquired through Curtin Accelerate — Curtin University’s flagship accelerator program. “Before Accelerate, I had no idea what it really took to launch a startup. The program saved me 100% — I would have blown the idea and wasted my time without it,” Weber admits.
Accelerate equipped Weber with essential entrepreneurial skills, from understanding market positioning to refining his business model. “Everything I learned in Accelerate has been integral,” Weber says. “The program taught me how to handle R&D rebates, develop customer relationships, and navigate the complexities of growing a business.”
One key takeaway for Weber was learning to target early adopters and innovators within the sports industry — those willing to embrace cutting-edge technology. “I realised through Accelerate that our market is not the entire industry, but rather the teams that understand the value SpeedSig brings,” he explains. This approach has been central to SpeedSig’s strategy of building strong, lasting partnerships with forward-thinking sports organisations.
Weber continues to benefit from the connections and resources provided by Curtin Accelerate. “The relationships I’ve built through the program, and the ongoing support, have been invaluable. I even have Curtin engineering students working on aspects of our product,” he adds.
Looking ahead:
With new clients, including EPL clubs and NFL teams, SpeedSig is set to grow further. However, Weber emphasises that the company is still in its early days, focused on building long-term relationships with innovators and early adopters in the sports industry. “We’re not chasing the entire market. We’re looking for the teams that understand the value we bring and want to be at the cutting edge of sports science,” he explains.
Weber also continues to draw on his connections with Curtin University, collaborating with engineering students and tapping into the university’s network for R&D support. “I see the relationship with Curtin as a key part of our future. Having that academic link gives us credibility, and I’m proud to say we’re a company that values science as much as results,” Weber adds.
With its groundbreaking technology and a founder committed to scientific innovation, SpeedSig is poised to change the landscape of sports performance analytics. As Weber puts it, “it’s such a new area in sport with only so many ahead of the curve but luckily for us, those who are get it and are on board with us from the moment we meet. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches up.”