Youth Development (SEN Kids Basketball)

Feb 2022

Beyond the Scoreboard: Measuring Emotional Progress in Youth Sports

No. of Participants:	14 SEN Students from Grade 3-6 (age 8-12)
​Nature of Event:	On-going partnership
Products Used:	Upmood Mass, Upmood Insight
Metrics Collected:	Mood, Stress level, BPM, HRV

The Inclusive Sports Education (ISE) Program is a group of dedicated Hong Kong sports coaches with a mission to involve underprivileged children, including those with Special Educational Needs (SEN), in organized sports. Their ultimate goal is to help SEN students increase focus, improve emotional control, and manage stress through physical activity. To validate the effectiveness of their program and better facilitate student monitoring, ISE partnered with Upmood to integrate emotion tracking technology into their basketball training. This collaboration aimed to provide objective, data-driven insights into the students' emotional journey and progress.

A New Perspective on Performance 

In February 2022, 14 SEN students from grades 3-6 (ages 8-12) participated in the program. Each student was equipped with an Upmood Band, and the Upmood Mass system was used to monitor the emotional states of the entire group in real-time. Coaches used this live data to observe how different activities and drills affected the students' emotions. The insights provided by Upmood’s platform enabled the coaches to go beyond simple behavioral observation and gain a deeper understanding of each student's internal experience during the training sessions.

Why Upmood? 

Upmood’s technology was a perfect fit for the ISE Program's research objectives. The Upmood Mass system allowed for seamless, simultaneous group monitoring, which was essential for a program with multiple participants. Instead of relying on subjective feedback or one-on-one assessments, the Upmood Bands provided a continuous, objective stream of emotional data. Furthermore, Upmood Insight's robust analytics platform helped the coaches identify subtle trends and patterns in the students' emotional states, providing a clear picture of their progress in areas like emotional control and stress management.

Key Outcomes and Results

• Quantifiable Proof of Impact: The Upmood data provided concrete evidence that the ISE Program positively impacted the students' emotional well-being and stress levels.

• Finding Moments of Calm: The study successfully identified that the repetitive motion of basketball shooting was able to capture a moment of "stable calmness" in the students, offering a key insight into a therapeutic aspect of the sport.

• Activity-Driven Stimulation: The data confirmed that the basketball activities effectively stimulated the children, validating the program's overall approach to engagement.

• Enhanced Program Monitoring: The emotion data enabled coaches to track the progress of each student with greater precision, allowing them to tailor the program to individual needs.

Conclusion 

This research partnership with the ISE Program demonstrated how Upmood’s emotion monitoring technology can provide crucial, data-driven insights in the field of youth development and sports education. By quantifying emotional states, Upmood helped the ISE Program prove its value in helping SEN students increase focus and manage emotions. This case study shows how Upmood can assist other educational and non-profit organizations in creating evidence-based programs that truly foster emotional well-being in their participants.

Thank you!

We extend our sincere thanks to the Inclusive Sports Education (ISE) Program for their partnership and for their dedication to helping young people through sports. Their forward-thinking approach has created a new standard for using technology to enhance youth development.

If you're interested in conducting your own case study or trying out Upmood products, please send us an email at support@upmood.com