Smart Dash Appointed Club Supplier for Tokyo Verdy's 'Verdy Sports Innovation Hub'

Smart Dash (operated by Iin-ja Inc. / Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo / Smart Dash Project Lead: Takafumi Iguchi) has been appointed as a club supplier (innovation partner) for the 'Verdy Sports Innovation Hub' operated by Tokyo Verdy Co., Ltd.

Smart Dash Appointed as Club Supplier for Tokyo Verdy's 'Verdy Sports Innovation Hub'

Support for Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina (hereinafter 'Menina')

Targeting designated players from Menina, Smart Dash applied its proprietary system—customized from track and field's 'running mechanics' to suit soccer's unique demands—to professionally analyze and improve each athlete's running form, supporting them in acquiring game-relevant 'speed'.

Support delivered through a 3-step process: 'Initial Diagnosis → Improvement Support → Monitoring'

1. Initial Diagnosis — Measuring four key physical functions essential for running to visualize each player's specific challenges

2. Improvement Support — Providing tailored training and movement consolidation based on diagnostic results

3. Monitoring — Continuously repeating analysis and improvement for sustained progress toward greater speed

Running analysis grounded in Smart Dash's 'running mechanics' model, backed by data from over 1,100 amateur and professional athletes

Smart Dash's Running Improvement Methodology

Rather than directly applying track and field training to other sports, Smart Dash begins with precise measurements of each athlete’s physical attributes—such as strength, explosive power, and flexibility.

Using AI trained on data from over 1,100 track and field athletes (professional and amateur), the system analyzes and decomposes the relationship between running data (joint angles, stride length, timing, etc.) and body movements, generating personalized training programs as its core feature.

Beyond delivering data and reports, Smart Dash emphasizes human coaching that AI cannot replicate. The company integrates explicit knowledge from data analysis with tacit knowledge derived from coaches’ experience and intuition—many of whom have competed or won at national championships—creating a comprehensive support system.

Dedicated coaches engage closely with each athlete’s individual sensations and awareness, clearly explaining the purpose and intent behind each training session and how it connects to performance and long-term development. This deep understanding empowers athletes to take ownership of their training, fostering a self-driven cycle of identifying challenges and implementing improvements.

By combining AI-powered scientific analysis with human-driven motivation, Smart Dash delivers a completely new solution unlike traditional training environments.

Soccer-Specific Diagnostics

In addition to its established track and field approach, Smart Dash introduced a new diagnostic element for soccer:

'Curved Sprint Measurement'—assessing curved running performance, a critical aspect of soccer-specific movement.

For curved sprint measurement, Smart Dash uses SmartSpeed timing gates, widely adopted internationally. Reference: https://note.com/vald_jp/n/n580a4ea15ee6

Approximately 85% of peak-speed moments in soccer matches occur during curved sprints, not straight-line sprints (Caldbeck & Dos'Santos, 2022).

Players often sprint along curved paths to evade opponents, followed by rapid deceleration.

In attacking and defensive scenarios, the quality of movements such as 'running while turning and stopping' becomes crucial.

Therefore, Smart Dash used internationally recognized timing gate systems to measure curved sprints along the penalty arc of a soccer field, quantifying and analyzing the following three aspects:

Left-right asymmetry — Players run both clockwise and counterclockwise along the penalty arc to reveal imbalances in turning ability, often unnoticed by the athletes themselves.

Deceleration quality — Evaluates how effectively players maintain speed until the last moment and execute sharp stops. Metrics indicate that 10–20% deceleration is good, 20–25% is average, and over 25% requires improvement, enabling objective assessment of player performance.

Curved running power — Measures the actual ability to run while turning—a capability not captured by straight-line tests and directly relevant to match performance.

This measurement captures not only raw speed but also the precision of turning and safety of stopping, all quantified clearly.

Early identification of movement quality in turning and stopping not only enhances performance but also helps detect risky movement patterns, preventing injuries before they occur.

Scene from curved sprint measurement (curved running assessment)

Background of Sprint Analysis in Soccer

Although originally developed for track and field, Smart Dash identified during its business expansion that demand for running improvement in ball sports—particularly soccer—was high, yet effective solutions and options were insufficient.

Soccer, in particular, was the most popular sport among junior athletes using Smart Dash’s services.

Despite the importance of speed and sprinting in soccer, there remains a significant gap in specialized coaching.

Analysis revealed that even world-class soccer players often record 100m times slower than Japanese middle school track athletes.

Even elite players could further enhance their performance—and evolve the sport itself—by integrating track and field sprinting expertise in ways that complement, rather than interfere with, soccer-specific movements.

Thus, applying sprint knowledge from track and field to soccer’s unique demands to solve real-world challenges represents the core significance of the collaboration between Smart Dash and Tokyo Verdy—the driving force behind this initiative.

Diagnosis session: Thoroughly analyzing personal results and supporting movement consolidation

About Smart Dash

Smart Dash Project Lead: Takafumi Iguchi, Iin-ja Inc. CEO: Yuki Watanabe

Smart Dash operates a track and field academy focused on analyzing and improving running mechanics based on scientific research.

Under the concept of 'using data and AI to scientifically improve running speed,' Smart Dash hosts 'Running Diagnosis Sessions' for juniors (grades 4–8) at four locations in the Kanto region: Setagaya, Koto, Wako, and Kawasaki.

Serving over 1,100 individuals and teams annually, participants include top athletes such as a runner-up in the 400m hurdles at the All-Japan Championships.

Smart Dash Key Features

- Coaching by team members with experience as former national championship athletes - Backed by authoritative research and academic papers from overseas universities and institutions - School curriculum designed based on physics principles - Training focused on fundamental issues from an anatomical perspective

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