Impakt Athletics wants to change the playbook on sports analytics

Analytics is a tool that can be incredibly useful, or incredibly overwhelming. Too much raw data is incomprehensible to most users, even if there are some gems buried inside. Des Moines startup Impakt Athletics is looking to simplify sports analytics for coaches by pairing stats down to the clearest and useful information possible. How Impakt…

CEO Zac McQuistan (center left) and Director of Marketing, Andy Campbell (center right) with SSAC hosts Daryl Morey (left) and Jessica Gelman (right).

Analytics is a tool that can be incredibly useful, or incredibly overwhelming. Too much raw data is incomprehensible to most users, even if there are some gems buried inside.

Des Moines startup Impakt Athletics is looking to simplify sports analytics for coaches by pairing stats down to the clearest and useful information possible.

How Impakt Athletics works

Impakt founder Zac McQuistan views his company as a digital assistant for football coaches. Every week, coaches get analytics reports on their next opponent that are two inches thick. Even the most avid statistics junkie’s eyes would glaze over at the thought of reading that.

“Every coach at the NFL and college level gets a stack of papers on their desk every morning with info about their opposing team,” McQuistan said. “Every coach I’ve talked to said ‘I don’t read it.’ There’s so much info that they can’t digest it, and if they did read it all, they can’t remember it. So what is the best way to receive it?”

Impakt distills that info when a coach needs it.

What play worked best the last time the opposing team was first and ten or third and short? How about if their backup quarterback was calling the play? What has worked in similar situations with this roster?

The information is delivered to the coach in a card-like format, with clear choices on what to do in any given situation, and which plays their team needs to practice to handle the situation.

Since college and NFL rules currently limit the use of technology on the sidelines, Impakt is primarily a web-based app, designed for use on a coach’s personal computer. But McQuistan foresees a time on the not-too-distant future when Impakt could be helping coaches mid-game.

Finding what coaches want

McQuistan said his initial vision with Impakt was a LinkedIn for athletic recruits. He quickly realized that players would be able to lie about their personal stats to appear more appealing to recruiters. McQuistan then shifted his focus to finding a way to make it easier for coaches to understand athletics.

He spent months on the field shadowing a team to make Impakt more useful to the game.

“I didn’t assert anything, I just sat and listened,” McQuistan said. “I don’t think people ever spend that amount of time with their customer. I felt like that was the pivot point for the company. When I would tell coaches we’re in analytics, they would say ‘I don’t want it.’ But if I tell them I can give them relevant information that is helpful, they’re more willing to listen.”

What comes next for Impakt

In 2017, Impakt won the MIT Sloan Startup Competition, earning the company $5,000 in seed money. This fall, McQuistan is looking to test Impakt with various teams to get more real-time feedback with coaches to move the program beyond the prototype stage.

After that, he hopes to get football programs at the college and professional level utilizing his tech. After that, he sees other sports as the logical next step for Impakt.

“We started in football because of our passion for it, as well as the amount of money spent. Football is a primary revenue maker,” McQuistan said. “But any sport with a complex game would see the value of making information easier to use. Hockey, soccer, basketball, even high school football. It’s a different problem to solve, but I do think it’s a solvable problem.”

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Joe Lawler is a freelance reporter based in Des Moines.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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