Jean-Baptiste was among those participating in the miCoach trial ahead of a league-wide rollout next season. As four Adidas reps roamed the sideline holding iPads displaying real-time readings from the field, coaches and team officials filtered by with raised eyebrows and the occasional question. Everything was proceeding as expected until Jean-Baptiste took off on a sprint across the pitch and his measurements exploded.
“Ten to 12 teams’ staff people crowded around me at once,” said Jan Mueller, a manager for the miCoach line. “They were watching intently, and then began asking a lot of questions.”
“You could see by looking at him that Jean-Baptiste was a physical specimen, but the numbers on miCoach showed that this guy was a freak of nature as far as the physical stuff was concerned,” said Sean Rubio, video coordinator for the San Jose Earthquakes, who handles much of the team’s statistical analysis. “Eyes up and down the sideline were popping at those numbers.”
