Mustang in the News

Across the bay in Danville, Mustang Soccer League eagerly embraced AI over the past few years.

Fred Wilson, the league’s executive director, mostly wanted to differentiate Mustang from other clubs in the booming youth sports market. Wilson has been involved in soccer in the Bay Area for nearly four decades, including eight years at the Earthquakes’ youth academy, and figured technology and advanced analytics could distinguish Mustang. That initially meant an alliance with BePro AI (now just BePro) for analysis of game video. Mustang then connected with Darkhorse AI, a company founded in Menlo Park in 2019 and now based in Texas, to curate highlight videos and evaluate player performance.

Mustang also uses Beyond Pulse, wearable technology that provides data on a player’s heart rate and distance covered, among other information. Wilson enlisted longtime college coach Dana Taylor to become the club’s director of analytics. It soon became clear AI and other technologies held value beyond making Mustang stand out in the crowd.

Darkhorse AI takes video and spits out detailed analysis of a specific player — including shots on target (goal), completed sideways or forward passes and whether they’re short, medium or long. The technology also allows players to create a highlight reel with a couple of computer clicks, rather than hours or days poring over game video, and then email it to college coaches. That’s part of the motive at Mustang, which sends numerous players to college programs every year (former Earthquakes star Chris Wondolowski is among the club’s alums).

Brody Anand and Colin Huberty, who are seniors at Monte Vista-Danville and also play on Mustang’s under-19 team, both use Darkhorse AI as a recruiting tool. Anand described giving Darkhorse specific instructions — such as the types of highlight clips to create — and quickly receiving results. Huberty routinely uses BePro and Beyond Pulse, the latter to give him information on his fitness level.