Impact: from garage science to a coach-in-the-loop system
ColabSports exists because "trust me" coaching collapses when you scale teams, years, or stakes. The archive is the proof trail that turned experiments into repeatable coaching infrastructure.
2005-2025
pool, lab, deck
lactate, video, recovery
rigs, tools, displays
Plan and periodize as a living object.
Training cycles stay editable as new evidence arrives.
Capture readiness signals you can run today.
Short tests create clean checkpoints for coaches.
Visual proof that sticks for the next rep.
Side-by-side comparison makes change obvious and repeatable.
The narrative spine
Six acts from garage science to product system
Each act pairs a tension with proof artifacts, turning experimentation into coaching infrastructure.
Pool-deck science built the truth layer: lactate, drag, mechanics, and a shared training language. It also exposed the villain—data gaps filled with fiction.
What showed up
- Lactate and VO2 response patterns under real training sets.
- Drag and mechanics correlations tied to speed and efficiency.
- Capture friction made the need for integrity unavoidable.
Archive priorities
How to sort the proof trail
The operating system and evidence backbone.
- Training language and periodization tables
- Physiology curves for lactate and VO2 response
- Biomechanics capture and comparison mindset
- Resistance and assistance cycles
- Data integrity doctrine
The human texture that explains why the product exists.
- Constraints and blackout experiments
- Head-mounted feedback rigs
- Pool deck gas and oxygen trials
- Thermal recovery mapping
What failed, what changed, what became principle.
- What was unsafe in hindsight
- What was discontinued
- What became product rules
Timeline
2005-2025 impact timeline
Filter the archive by pillar. Each card opens the underlying experiment or framework summary.
Lactate ladder reality checks
Interval ladders exposed how context shapes lactate interpretation.
Drag curve notebooks
Velocity and resistance modeling made the cost of speed visible.
Training taxonomy v1
A color system tied physiology, biomechanics, and set design together.
Coach markers
Decision triggers defined when to pivot training.
Resistance and assistance cycle
Nine-week arc to show proof of change.
Head-mounted feedback trials
Fast cues mattered more than perfect visuals.
Constraints and breathing trials
Blackout sets and breathing limits sharpened pacing awareness.
Cross-sport recruiting apps
Discovery workflows to identify undervalued athletes at scale.
Olympic 100 free race visualization
Multi-variable bubble plots made elite performance readable.
Biomimicry paddle concept
Tried to reshape the hand-water interface, not just measure outputs.
First 3D print failure
Manufacturing reality forced iteration discipline.
AR swim overlay
DPC, HR, and velocity were surfaced during the rep.
Thermal recovery mapping
Recovery windows tracked as a time series, not a hunch.
Capture, compare, score
Video workflows turned technique changes into proof.
Colab world map diagram
A platform model for athlete, coach, team, and community.
Confidence and provenance scoring
Trust labels attached to every dataset.
Loop, bounce, echo systemization
Archive knowledge mapped into a single coach-in-the-loop flow.
Reverb visual packs
Side-by-side proof became the default review format.
Generative design workflows
Performance data became manufacturable geometry.
Applied product collaboration
Hydrodynamics moved from lab to race-day trust.
Team longitudinal dataset
Multi-year planning and readiness data connected to outcomes.
The lab
Browse by pillar
Core pillars organize the archive so new stories stay coherent as the dataset grows.
Race analytics lab
From splits to signatures
Race time becomes a multi-variable signature. Swap axes to see how the story changes.
This chart was a turning point: it made elite performance readable. Coaches could see how tempo, distance per cycle, and stroke counts shaped outcomes—fast.
It also exposed the integrity problem. If splits or strokes are faked, the story collapses. This is why Colab demands capture provenance.
Visual proof
Charts that anchor the evidence
Recharts visualizations turn the archive into a living reference for coaches and athletes.
The ladder set shows how quickly lactate can climb when rest compresses. The tempo set keeps accumulation lower, revealing a sustainable effort zone.
These curves informed the short tests that became bounce readiness signals. Capture consistency matters more than the absolute number.
Colab world map
Designing the container
Design system
The science needed a container
The map reframed ColabSports as a platform, not a folder. It connected research, products, and community into a system people could actually use.
Artifact library
Every experiment, framework, and dataset
Search the archive, filter by pillar, and open each item for details and assets.
| Artifact | Year | Pillar | Type | Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Physiology | experiment | med | Early interval ladders to see how lactate behaved under real pool pacing. | |
| 2006 | BiomechanicsHardware | experiment | low | Mapped velocity versus resistance to understand the real cost of speed. | |
| 2008 | Training | framework | high | A shared language connecting physiology, biomechanics, and set design. | |
| 2010 | TrainingIntegrity | framework | med | Decision triggers that told coaches when to pivot, progress, or recover. | |
| 2014 | TrainingBiomechanics | experiment | high | A structured 9-week progression from resistance to assistance. | |
| 2016 | HardwareBiomechanics | prototype | med | Early attempts at real-time visual cues between reps. | |
| 2017 | PhysiologyHardware | experiment | low | Exploratory work around breathing constraints and recovery windows. | |
| 2018 | Recovery | dataset | med | Mapped recovery times to temperature and workload context. | |
| 2019 | IntegrityBiomechanics | framework | high | A repeatable workflow to turn video into proof. | |
| 2021 | Integrity | framework | high | Data trust levels attached to every metric and clip. | |
| 2023 | TrainingIntegrity | framework | high | Unified plan, readiness, and proof into one system. | |
| 2024 | HardwareIntegrity | prototype | med | Side-by-side visualization packs for repeatable proof. | |
| 2025 | TrainingRecovery | dataset | high | Multi-year dataset tying planning to readiness and outcomes. | |
| 2015 | ProductDiscover | prototype | med | Mobile workflows to identify undervalued athletes across sports. | |
| 2016 | AnalyticsBiomechanics | dataset | high | Race time plotted as tempo, distance per cycle, and total strokes. | |
| 2017 | HardwareDesign | prototype | med | Exploded CAD concept to shape feel and flow at the hand-water interface. | |
| 2017 | ManufacturingIntegrity | story | med | A stringy prototype that proved tolerances and material behavior are real. | |
| 2018 | FeedbackHardwareAnalytics | prototype | med | Underwater overlay displaying DPC, HR, and velocity during the rep. | |
| 2019 | BrandDesignProduct | framework | high | Platform architecture for athlete, coach, team, and community. | |
| 2024 | DesignManufacturing | framework | high | Performance data converted into manufacturable geometry. | |
| 2025 | BrandDesignManufacturing | story | med | Applied hydrodynamics moved from internal lab to real-world manufacturing. |
Oddities
The weird experiments that shaped the product
Tasteful, safe, and honest. Each oddity comes with a lesson and a safety note.
Blackout goggle sets
What we learned: Small constraints can create big technique shifts.
Head-mounted cue feeds
What we learned: Simple cues beat complex visuals.
Pool deck gas trials
What we learned: Constraints sharpen pacing but require strict safety.
Blind swimming lanes
What we learned: Athletes adapt fast when the rules are clear.
Thermal recovery mapping
What we learned: Context matters more than any single method.
Prototype museum
Hardware, AR, and the grind behind the proof
This is the missing middle: the years spent learning how products actually ship, fail, and improve.
Prototype → test → learn → repeat.
Exploded biomimicry paddle
First print failure
From feedback to form
We stopped asking athletes to adapt to equipment. Generative workflows let the equipment adapt to the athlete.
Lattice STL
Performance becomes geometry
When theory meets reality
This was not a sponsorship. It was a working collaboration with a serious partner focused on hydrodynamics, materials, and real-world performance.