Data is the lifeblood of modern sports. It powers decisions, strategies, and player performance. From advanced analytics that fine-tune athletic techniques to the fan engagement that data-driven insights provide, its role is undeniable. How can harnessing data be the game-changer you've been looking for?

In this episode, I had an enlightening conversation with Maya Love, Founder of Mile High Analytics, an organization that helps young student athletes through data-driven curriculum. We discussed the powerful application of data for positive outcomes, differences between generation gaps, and community support. Our conversation also touched upon the significance of support networks, diverse perspectives, and striking a balance between challenges and action.

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Elevate Your Game through Sports Analytics with Maya Love
Welcome to Action’s Antidotes, your antidote to the mindset that keeps you settling for less. We live in an era of big data. There's a lot of data being collected, a lot of data being used, and a lot of it being used for many different purposes, and one of the things that's always fascinated me is how do we use this data for something good? How do we use this data for something that's really going to help humanity as opposed to the joke I always make, help Instagram identify the moment you get pregnant so they can bombard you with diaper ads? My guest today, Maya Love, is a college basketball player as well as the founder of Mile High Analytics, where she helps people and organizations use their data for a lot of these kinds of good outcomes.
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Maya, welcome to the program.

 

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

 

Well, I'm so excited to have you here because I do want to understand we tap into a lot of power with all this data collection that started really in earnest roughly when Google became the default internet search around 20 years ago or something like that and, obviously, kind of like how money is, kind of like how influence is, all these things, they're all tools, they’re tools that can be used for --- they're neither good nor bad until they're used by someone to do a certain thing. What do you see as the biggest challenge in this era that we've kind of somewhat recently entered where we have all this data and want to use it for things that are really going to help humanity?

 

Starting off with the heavy hitters. I think a main challenge is to understand that these things are tools. I think I come from Gen Z and probably on the older side of Gen Z where a lot of our experience with these tools, per se, actually were intertwined with identity. When you look at Instagram, it's less about networking or connecting with maybe a friend you --- I know you used to have pen pals that you kind of met in a nice Discord chat but now, it can easily become an identity, how many likes, how many posts, have to have everything perfect layout, and so I think the first step is acknowledging that it is a tool, a very powerful tool, with so much information and access out there and with identifying it as a tool, I think next comes the educational piece, which I really like to be in that kind of wheelhouse with sports and data. There are so many ways to get out there and play, be active, and you can incorporate the data so whether you're trying to perfect your shot, Steph Curry did that with the researcher at Berkeley using machine learning, or you're really just trying to understand, okay, how does Messi kick, I'm this intrigued six-year-old, and getting out there and still going outside in nature. So I do see a balance of these tools but kind of having to break it down and being very intentional and I think that comes from the leaders around us and being intentional on how they're describing it, kind of the rules of play, but also just being innovative and not scared of it and allowing it in t...