Sports Engineering, Inc. (SEI), the exclusive licensee of SmartSpringTM technologies, announced today the appointment of Keith Erickson to its Advisory Board. A former United States Olympic athlete and NCAA and NBA championship team member, Mr. Erickson plans to help increase the awareness of SEI’s SmartSpringTM technologies.
SEI believes that SmartSpringTM, will be a disruptive technology in the footwear space. The SmartSpringTM technologies were developed by Professor Christopher Brown and his student team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
According to Professor Brown, “SmartSpringTM technologies moderate loads that could cause knee, achilles, and ankle injuries to athletes. The same system can mitigate loads for increased comfort in all types of footwear.”
Keith attended UCLA on a Baseball/ Basketball scholarship where he played for the Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden. He played on UCLA’s and Coach Wooden’s first 2 NCAA Championship teams. In the summer prior to his senior year at UCLA, he played for the US Olympic Volleyball team in the Tokyo, Japan Olympics in 1964. Keith was inducted into the UCLA Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. After UCLA, he played in the NBA for 12 years, and was on the storied Los Angeles Lakers 1972 championship team. After retiring from the NBA, Keith became the color commentator for the Lakers radio and television broadcasts.
“Having had surgeries on both knees and one hip from playing sports on hard courts from an early age, I know firsthand the toll such activity can take on the body”, said Mr. Erickson. “With the statistics showing that surgeries are needed in alarming numbers in much younger participants than ever seen before, I look forward to spreading the word about SEI’s SmartSpringTM technologies. Having played for one of the greatest coaches in our country’s history and hearing Coach Wooden talk about the importance of teamwork needed to be successful, I am very impressed with the team that SEI has put together to make its mark in this much needed area of a ‘smart shoe technology’.”
“Keith’s multisport skillset and perspective will provide SEI with valuable input as the Company and its SmartSpringTM technologies progress,” said Ed Cowle, Chief Executive Officer of SEI.
“Our SmartSpringTM technologies have the potential to bring about serious and important change to footwear of all types and price points. We believe that the technologies can help reduce injury, enhance performance and provide comfort in ways not yet seen” added Robert Daniels, President of SEI.