PATNA: Whenever Craig Fulton addresses his team in the cauldron of the stadium, a small camera, tucked away in his meta glass, records everything. It listens to the conversations, captures how players react to his words and stores the data for later use.
Welcome to the world of elite coaching where a smart glass is changing the way Fulton and the support staff operate.
The cutting-edge tech has existed for a period of time but this is one of the first times an Indian coach is using it to get ahead of the curve.
"Sometimes, I use them to record my talks and some of the conversations that I have because coaching is difficult," he said in the mixed zone after the Asia Cup final against South Korea on Sunday.
When pressed on how the device helps him to connect with players on a deeper level — these glasses can cost anywhere between five and six digits — he said it helps him in the process of reflection. "You can actually get emotionally caught up in the moment, sometimes it's good to reflect or listen to, was I clear... that's why I use it."
Because hockey coaches have only three small in-game windows (after two quarters and one after half time) to try and affect match-changing team talks, the very nature of passing on information can be frenetic, chaotic. Fulton sometimes listens back to the recordings to see what he said to the players. "I watch them afterwards," the former Irish coach, who has been with the Indian team since 2023 May, said. "Team-talks after quarters, during half time, individual conversations... because I could go over 70 minutes and I may not know what I have said. So I can't remember everything I have said, all the conversations. So, that's good."
The next time you see him in the dugout barking out instructions to the players, look at the glass that will be gently perched on his nose.
In the heat of the moment, it's just a machine, quietly recording and noticing things. Once the debrief is over, the lights are switched off and the teams have left, it comes alive.