MENTOR, Ohio — Mentor running back Mitchell Waite said when he suits up, he places a tracking device under his shoulder pads. 

What You Need To Know

  • Mentor High School is using special GPS devices this year to track a football player's speed, workload and hit power

  • 22 Mentor players wear devices during practice and games

  • Ohio State and 9 OHSAA schools use the technology, according to the company that makes the devices
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“When you’re wearing it you’re not even feeling it," Waite said. "It’s not even noticeable."

The device isn’t just there to track where he is. It’s there to track what he does. It’s called a Catapult, and Waite is one of 22 players who wear one in practice and games.

This is the first year the program is using them. The company that sells the device said Ohio State and nine OHSAA schools use the devices. Waite said it doesn't change how he runs the ball.

“You don’t even think about it when you’re doing it," Waite said. 

The device tracks data on the players' speed and even how hard they hit and get hit. Waite scored on an 80-yard touchdown run earlier in the year. The data clocked his top speed at 9.56 meters per second on that play. 

Head coach Matt Gray can access all of this the data from his computer. 

“This first screen here is the distance, so it is the kilometers that they cover during the time they’re wearing the catapult tracking device," Gray said. 

And he takes the workload into account during a week of practice. 

“Guys will be able to tell you we're feeling good, we’re feeling good," Gray said. "But data here and having the science aspect of it really is able to give us an accurate depiction of what we’re looking for, for our guys.” 

Waite said the device helps him manage his workload, but it can also keep players at their best, since coaches will know how hard they’re working in practice and during games. 

“They know basically if a wide receiver jogs a route then they know that need to run harder," Waite said. "Or if my reps are higher than my average amount of reps, they know they need to limit it a little bit.”

This data came from their Week 1 game against Canton McKinley. They’ll be playing them again in the playoffs this week, so coach Gray already has a sample of how his team plays against them.