Customer Highlight: Soccer Biomechanics Research at Sawmill Sports Hub
Great biomechanics research doesn’t just happen in the laboratory; it has the potential to make a real difference for athletes on the field. That’s exactly what’s happening at Sawmill Sports Hub, where researchers are exploring new ways to help soccer players stay healthier and perform at their best.
Recently, the team at Sawmill Sports Hub was featured on Chicago’s WGN-TV for an exciting project involving a new soccer cleat design aimed at reducing knee and ankle injuries. By studying how athletes move while wearing different cleats, the researchers hope to better understand how footwear can improve stability and reduce the forces that often contribute to injury.
As excitement builds around the 2026 FIFA World Cup, interest in soccer continues to grow across North America. More young athletes are taking up the sport than ever before, making research like this especially valuable. Finding new ways to keep players safe while helping them perform at their highest level benefits everyone, from youth leagues to elite competitors.
Helping make this research possible are four AMTI BMS400600 force plates, installed at Sawmill Sports Hub. These force plates allow researchers to accurately measure the forces athletes generate every time they sprint, cut, pivot, or land. That data provides valuable insight into how different footwear affects movement, balance, and joint loading; information that’s difficult or impossible to capture through observation alone.
This is a great example of why advanced biomechanics equipment matters. The more accurate the data, the more confidence researchers can have in their findings. Whether they’re evaluating footwear, refining training techniques, or developing new injury prevention strategies, having reliable force measurement technology is essential.
We’re proud that Sawmill Sports Hub has chosen AMTI force plates as part of its biomechanics laboratory. It’s exciting to see their work receiving well-deserved recognition, and even more rewarding to know that the research being conducted today could help make soccer safer for players of all ages in the years ahead.
Congratulations to the entire Sawmill Sports Hub team on their recent media coverage. We look forward to seeing what they accomplish next!