Zendler speaks to Joe Lemire and John Portch about her work with Rimkus and the NBA and NBPA’s Wearables Validation Program.

“It was scary at the start. It was this white space of do we want this to happen? Can you make it happen?” says Jess Zendler.

The Program Manager of the NBA and NBPA’s Wearables Validation Program is discussing her first steps in the role with Joe and John on the People Behind the Tech podcast.

“Academic-type folks, we don’t like to set thresholds that exist for pass-fail,” she continues, as she explained the process of speaking to players and coaches and taking in all the relevant research.

“We want this to be rigorous, we want the players to have confidence in these devices, we know they’re generally hesitant to wear them and there is pushback.”

Zendler also spoke of balancing the need for commercial viability with real-world application, which chimes with her role as a sports science consultant with Rimkus, a worldwide leader in technical consulting and forensic engineering.

During the course of the conversation, we also discussed:

• The process for approving devices on the Wearables Validation Program [12:30];
• The challenge of bringing research to life in sport [17:10];
• The Wearables Validation Program’s relationship with the NBA and Players Association [21:00];
• Jessica’s role in creating the vision for the increasingly used Quality Assessment Framework for sports technology [28:10].

Joe Lemire LinkedIn | X

John Portch LinkedIn | X

Listen above and subscribe today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and Overcast, or your chosen podcast platform.