Connected Coaching offering connects the right athlete with the right coaching on the right equipment at the right time.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 10, 2017 - Today, asensei, Inc., a Connected Coaching (TM) company specializing in digital sports coaching and smart apparel technology, announced a partnership with Concept 2 New Zealand to deliver a combined rowing coaching product to market by offering coaching subscriptions delivered by asensei alongside the lease and purchase of Concept 2 Indoor Rowing machines.
Former New Zealand Olympic Single Sculler and owner of Concept 2 New Zealand, Gary Reid said "As an equipment provider, we have been looking for a way to make the purchase of a rowing machine the beginning of our relationship with an athlete, not the end. Working with asensei over the last year in the region while they test and trial the product with local rowers, we are embracing the idea of offering our customers a subscription that includes the Concept 2 rowing machine paired with a goal-specific coaching program. Whether they're a high school rower who want to get recruited by a US university, a master rower who wants to bring purpose to their practice, or individuals who recognize rowing as a low-impact and high-effectiveness workout for weight-loss or recovery from injury, we want to help our customers reach their goals with subscription coaching offerings."
Connected Coaching defines a new category of sport and fitness applications that advance the state of the art for digital sport and fitness. Rather than simply counting or cheering as someone practices their sport, connected coaching allows an athlete to be guided through personal training programs that can be weeks, months or years long. Connected coaching programs are delivered by world-class coaches and athletes, but personalized and delivered in real-time by asensei based on the athlete's practice, progress and performance.
asensei Kinetic Capture is a technology offered to sports wear manufacturer, allowing motion capture of an athlete's posture and technique to be analyzed in real-time by asensei. In addition to tracking an athlete's posture and movement in real-time, asensei talks with the world's best selling Concept 2 rowing machine in real-time, to track performance and metrics. This allows asensei to monitor the performance of the athlete over every stroke, and focus technique and skill training towards opportunities to improve performance and metrics.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and advisor to asensei, Helen Glover, said of her Olympic training, "I worked out that in an Olympic cycle, I take about 4 million practice strokes. For every stroke in an Olympic final, I've taken 16,000 practice strokes. This realization highlighted for me the quality of practice - it's not just being out there taking those strokes, but making sure I'm doing the right thing and having the right learning to make sure I'm ready to perform. This is why I was excited when I was introduced to the team at asensei, and look forward to helping them help more athletes discover and unlock their potential with perfect practice."
On the opportunity of bundling coaching subscriptions with equipment sales, asensei CEO Steven Webster said "For too long, the equipment industry has had little or no insight into the why behind the what. When someone buys a rowing machine we don't distinguish between someone trying to get recruited by an Ivy League school in the US, or a rugby player training endurance in the offseason. Bundling world-class coaching with world-class equipment allows us to build better educated athletes, and better performing athletes."
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Equipment manufacturers can create their own coaching and education programs on the asensei platform, offering them recurring subscription revenue alongside an equipment transaction.
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Brand ambassadors, coaches or former athletes can additionally create coaching programs targeted at different constituents of athletes that drive further equipment sales.
On the opportunities for customer acquisition, engagement and retention, Webster continued "We've met Yoga instructors who didn't know they could use suspension trainers to teach balance poses. We meet rowers who don't know what strength training with barbells, dumbbells or kettlebells they should be incorporating into their cross-training. We've found football and rugby programs who incorporate rowing into their offseason and pre-season training. And in gyms and health-clubs around the world, members don't know how and when and what to use. There are tremendous opportunities to introduce the right athlete, to the right equipment and the right coaches, at the right time."
Initial coaching programs will simply require a Concept 2 and iOS device, with other platforms to follow.
Athletes who sign up for asensei in the coming weeks will be slowly let into the program on a first-come, first-served basis. asensei will be giving away a number of lifetime and discounted memberships in a flash sale at a surprise date in the coming weeks. Whether a current or aspiring rower, or keen for asensei to coach a different sport, athletes are encouraged to visit www.asensei.com and sign-up to be notified of the membership sale.
Enquires should be directed to partners@asensei.com.
About asensei:
asensei is your personal trainer who knows your every move. With sensors throughout your clothing, she tracks your posture and movement. She guides and monitors your practice, and provides feedback on form and progress, all delivered in real-time in your ear.
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World-class coaches trust asensei to deliver their coaching to athletes exactly as they taught it to her.
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Athletes trust asensei to connect them with world-class coaches and guide them towards their goals.
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Our patent pending Kinetic Coaching platform allows asensei to work with apparel companies and fitness equipment manufacturers to make world-class coaching accessible to athletes of all levels in the sport of their choosing.
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Apparel companies upgrade their apparel with our motion capture sensors so that asensei can make sense of movement and coach athletes in their apparel.
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Fitness equipment manufacturers integrate with asensei to share real-time metrics so that their equipment is invaluable to athletes and coaches.
Launching in 2017, asensei will first work with athletes, coaches, apparel and equipment manufacturers in the sports of Rowing and Indoor Rowing, closely followed by Olympic Lifting and Yoga. For more information, visit: www.asensei.com/rowing.
About Concept 2 New Zealand:
As the only official supplier of the worlds best rowing machine in New Zealand, Concept 2 has provided Indoor Rowers for a number of people and organisations including the nation’s rowing clubs, gyms and health clubs, as well as a large and growing number of individual indoor rowing enthusiasts who choose to train at home to get healthy, stay healthy or get very fit.
Headed by Gary Reid, New Zealand's single sculler in the 1984 Olympic Games, Concept 2 New Zealand are headquartered in Mount Maunganui in the Bay of Plenty and have been supplying rowing machines and associated products since 1994. For more information visit www.concept2.co.nz.
