Applied Performance
Research, education, and data working as one system — so every Baylor student-athlete trains smarter, recovers faster, and competes at their ceiling.
B.A.I.R. is Baylor's applied research engine, connecting competitive performance to R1 academic output in human performance and character formation.
What is B.A.I.R. (Baylor Athletics Innovation & Research)?
Baylor's applied research engine, connecting competitive performance to R1 academic output. We study how elite athletes between 18 and 22 develop — in body and in character.
Findings move from the lab into the weight room, the training table, and the meeting room. A steering committee chaired by Kenny Boyd embeds doctoral students directly in our programs. Partner with us by emailing us at Applied_Performance@baylor.edu.
Two tracks. Performance Academy teaches athletes the concepts behind readiness; Performance School trains the staff who coach them.
Track 1: Performance Academy - Student-Athletes
Structured education for student-athletes on the concepts that drive performance — delivered through sessions, modules, and guest speakers.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
- Sleep & readiness
- Fueling & recovery
- Injury prevention & contextual engineering
Track 2: Performance School - Staff
Applied education for sport staff, coaches, and athletic trainers — workshops, lunch-and-learns, and seasonal deep dives.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
- Minimum effective dose
- GPS & wearable interpretation
- Force plate literacy & RTP protocols
Force plates, GPS, and body composition feed automated reports that turn raw numbers into Monday-morning decisions.
We Turn Numbers Into Decisions:
- Force plate: CMJ & SL-CMJ jump strategy and symmetry gates
- GPS & wearables: external load on the NCAA SSI framework
- Body composition: DXA scans tracking lean mass over a season
- Wellness & readiness: Daily check-ins flag fatigue before it costs you
From Data to Decisions:
- CAPTURE: Morning CMJ & GPS
- Force plate jump and external load pull automatically into each student-athlete's profile
- COMPUTE: ACWR & symmetry
- Acute: chronic load ratio and limb symmetry index update against rolling baselines
- FLAG: Fatigue signal
- Jump heigh down 8%, ACWR over threshold - the student-athlete is auto-flagged amber
- DECIDE: Coach adjusts
- Practice volume trimmed before the session - not diagnosed after an injury
Request a sport assessment now by emailing Applied_Performance@baylor.edu.
MEET OUR STAFF
CONTACT US:
LOCATION: Simpson Athletics & Academic Center · 1500 S. University Parks Dr. · Waco, Texas
CALL: 254-710-3397
EMAIL: applied_performance@baylor.edu
