Playing sports professionally requires a ton of training, fitness, and discipline.
Because sports with strenuous activities are more popular, many people assume that sports players can’t wear wristwatches. At least, when on the job.
However, I disagree!
Sports players can wear wristwatches as long as it does not interfere with their performance on the field/ pitch. Wristwatches can also serve as a helpful tool to help keep track of vitals, receive important team updates, and much more.
In This Article…
Should Players Wear Wristwatches?
Of course, a sports player has every right to wear a wristwatch. However, it depends on the sports event that the player participates in.
For instance, soccer players wearing a wristwatch during a game doesn’t make a lot of sense. There is a lot of contact in this sport and wearing a wristwatch puts other players at risk of injuries during a game.
However, in a sport like tennis, both players play from a distance away from one another. Wearing a wristwatch while playing tennis doesn’t pose any injury threat to the opponent. So, for a tennis sportsman or sportswoman, wearing a wristwatch depends on their personal choices.
When off the field of play, a sportsperson is a normal person too. Thus, it makes sense that they wear a wristwatch for all the same reasons that the rest of us also do. From classing up their dressing to truly looking for something functional to tell the time with, the choice is theirs.
5 Reasons Why Sports Players Should Wear Wristwatches
Every sport has a time restriction. While this is enough reason for a sports player to understand the importance of time, there are other reasons to wear a wristwatch.
These include, but are not limited to:
Timekeeping
Asides from being a sports player, a sportsman or sportswoman have their lives to live. They also want to go out to see the movies, just like you and I. But in their situation, they don’t exactly have the flexibility of time like we do.
For a sports player, there’s a time dedicated for group training with the coaches and trainers alone. And for focused players, they should have personal time to train and improve themselves to the level that they desire.
To balance living their normal life and training sufficiently, a player needs to have a good sense of time. For this reason, a wristwatch will come in handy to help the player track time on or off the pitch.
Fitness trackers
Fitness training is crucial to all players, regardless of the sports they play.
The fitness training requires endurance and honesty on the part of the player. There’s an amount of time the player has to undergo the training and there’s a stipulated time required for the player’s rest.
With a wristwatch that’s giving a player information about their fitness, they can stay true to the process.
Therefore, in the absence of a coach, a player can stay disciplined with a wristwatch.
Fashion
Being a sports player doesn’t stop you from being fashionable. Numerous sports players have an eye for luxurious items. Other players love to wear colorful and beautiful wristwatches to complement their outfits.
For whatever reason, a player has a right to buy what they believe is fashionable.
Biofeedback information
Technology, these days, has continued to amaze me! A wristwatch does much more than tell you the time and set alarms or reminders. Some wristwatches give you an analysis of what you’re doing in an instant.
Some of this information includes the number of steps you’re taking, the speed at which you’re taking these steps, and your heart rate, among others. Some wristwatches take it a step further by telling you temperature conditions, oxygen levels, and heart rate variability.
With the information provided by these amazing wristwatches, a player and their trainers can take out their time to improve their training sessions to foster better results.
Programmable features
A notable improvement in the wristwatch game is the programmable features which now allow you to curate a personal experience with the watch better.
Since sports players will need more features from their watches than just telling the time, these kinds of watches come into the mix. If you play any sports, program your watch to track important metrics, keep you on top of certain schedules, or just about anything else that interests you.
5 Players That Wear Watches – and What They Wear
Numerous sports players wear wristwatches across the globe. Some wear the wristwatch while they are in action while the majority of these players wear their watches off the field of play.
Some interesting picks that are sure to catch your fancy are:
- Serena Williams: Veteran tennis player, Serena Williams, is a wristwatch lover having been caught wearing the Audemars Piguet brand on multiple occasions.
- Phil Mickelson: The American golfer is no stranger to good watches and is likely sponsored by the Rolex brand he wears while playing.
- Zlatan Ibrahimović: One of the best to kick the ball is a wristwatch lover with an eye for the Patek wristwatch brand.
- Lionel Messi: it is only befitting that one of the widely regarded best players of all time also prefers a limited edition wristwatch from the Jacob and co Epic brand.
- Kobe Bryant: The late basketball legend, Kobe Bryant, had numerous watches from the Nubeo brand. Some even claim he had investments in the brand.
Of course, these are not the only sports players that wear watches. Cutting across soccer, golf, and basketball into tennis, though, I hope you see that there are no sports rules keeping players from enjoying their watches.
What Kinds of Watches Are Good for Sports Players?
Players have the same needs as normal people when they are not on the field of play, but they also need tools that will better their game and improve what they offer.
That is reflective of the kind of watches that they will prefer to use also.
I’ve covered a broad range of spectrums of watches that sports players will love, and why.
Traditional wristwatches
For regular timekeeping and alarm reminders, wearing a normal Wrist Watch – analog or digital – should get the job done. While these wristwatches may be highly sophisticated, they are best for dress functions, a walk in the park, and enjoying a laid-back evening, among other things.
Sport watches
Sports watches are made to withstand abuse and high-impact situations. These are the kinds of watches that Casio makes, and they have excelled in that department for years.
Seeing as sports players will get into quite the number of situations where watch abuse happens, this choice makes sense as a training watch for them.
Smartwatches
A smartwatch is a way to have the features and functions of your smartphone on your wrist. With a smartwatch, sports players enjoy functions that include keeping an eye on temperature levels, oxygen levels, calorie intake, and fitness levels, to mention a few.
Final Words
Sports players love their watches as much as the next guy. Even though not all of them will wear one when playing, most of them will have their watches in hand when stepping out on a normal day.
Thus, if you see a player who doesn’t wear a watch at all, know that it is more of a personal choice than it is professional conduct. After all, we all have that one friend that doesn’t wear a watch too.
