SANTA ROSA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ushering in a new era in technology-based training, Pocket Radar, Inc. announced today the newest addition to its award-winning lineup of palm-sized radar guns, the Pocket Radar Ball Coach™ radar. Building on the break-through success of the original Pocket Radar Classic, the new Ball Coach radar is equipped with an advanced suite of features specifically designed to provide coaches and athletes with immediate access to speed based metrics that are critical to player training and proper development.
Relied upon by professionals and amateurs across multiple sports (baseball, softball, hockey, tennis, volleyball, lacrosse, cricket and more) as an essential tool for improving performance and skill level, the Pocket Radar Ball Coach’s intuitive features include an exclusive ball tracking technology that measures the peak velocity of a ball during its flight, a Constant-On Mode that enables hands-free operation, and an Automatic Triggering function that eliminates human-error and delivers reliable and accurate speed measurements every time. The addition of an expanded internal memory keeps an archive of the previous 25 speed measurements, making Ball Coach radar the ideal tool for tracking and reviewing training progress.
“Previous radar guns are limited in that they measure a ball’s speed only at the point where the trigger is pressed by the operator, allowing for a high percentage of user-error and a reading that is not a true measure of the player’s ability,” said Steve Goody, Pocket Radar’s CEO and cofounder. “The ball tracking technology eliminates any trigger timing issues as it automatically finds and records the peak velocity of a ball's flight, and in doing so, the Ball Coach radar empowers coaches with access to the real-time data they need to make informed decisions and adjustments as to a players strength, development and injury potential.”
Named Best of Show at the 2014 American Baseball Coaches Association national convention, Ball Coach Radar’s innovative technology is already being used by elite youth coaches as an invaluable tool to develop player pitching and hitting mechanics as it provides the speed of an incoming pitch as well as the exit speed of the ball off a hitter’s bat, a metric that is often overlooked.
“When it comes to hitting, ball exit speed off the bat is what it’s all about. Using the Ball Coach radar with professional hitters and youth hitters, I’ve learned that players at all levels need instant feedback to improve in the shortest amount of time,” said Dante Bichette, former MLB player and hitting coach. “Everyone knows what a 90 mph pitch looks like, but if you want to become a better hitter, you need to start measuring your ball exit speed. An extra 1 to 2 mph exit speed can make a completely different hitter.”
The Ball Coach radar was developed as a direct result of feedback from top college and professional coaches expressing the need for an ultraportable, easy to use, radar gun with a functionality that complements, instead of distracts, their focus on a player mechanics and progression. As experts cite an increase in the number of athletes undergoing Tommy John surgeries as a result of injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament, many coaches and athletes are utilizing radar guns as a method of reducing injury potential by improving muscle memory and mechanics.
“A break down in mechanics caused by fatigue is almost always the root cause of every pitching arm injury I have come across in my over 30-plus years working with pitchers. Unfortunately, many youth instructors do not realize that a young player has entered the injury risk zone until it is too late, ” said Tom House, National Pitching Association founder and former MLB pitching coach. “I’ve been waiting a long time for a radar gun that is specifically designed as a training aid for young players, and Ball Coach radar is a perfect complement to our Velocity Plus pitching program as it enables our certified instructors to gradually develop a player’s arm strength and muscle memory with little risk of injury. A drop of just a couple of MPH in pitch velocity can be an indicator that a young player is at increased risk for sustaining a serious arm injury. The Pocket Radar Ball Coach should be every coach’s early warning indicator for player fatigue.”
Stan Conte, head trainer and medical services director for the Los Angeles Dodgers added, “Its small size makes Pocket Radar ideal for training injured pitchers, as they need to slow their pitches while they recover from shoulder and elbow injuries, and players tend to throw harder when they see a full-size gun. It's like taking a picture on a cell phone, it's so small, players quickly forget you're doing it.”
Built from the same high-impact plastic as football helmets, the Ball Coach radar will measure ball speeds from 25 to 130 MPH (40 to 209 KPH), with an accuracy of +/- 1 MPH (+/- 2 KPH) at a range of 120 feet on a baseball/softball and 70 feet for a tennis ball. The Ball Coach radar is powered by two standard AAA batteries.
The Pocket Radar Ball Coach radar has a suggested retail price of under $350 and is available now through Amazon, OpticsPlanet, Team Express and Pocket Radar.
Visit the National Pitching Association to learn more about the Velocity Plus Program and product bundles featuring Pocket Radar Ball Coach.
ABOUT POCKET RADAR, INC.
Based in Santa Rosa, Calif., Pocket Radar, Inc. designs, engineers and manufactures the world's only pocket-sized speed radar devices that deliver accurate real-time speed measurements with the touch of a button. Utilizing a new break-through Doppler radar signal detection and processing system coupled with re-engineered microwave and antenna components that fit into a tiny planar structure the size of a credit card, Pocket Radar, Inc. employs proprietary digital signal processing algorithms and state-of-the-art intelligent target acquisition techniques to provide users with industry leading accuracy and speed measurement across all ranges. The Pocket Radar technology has been independently tested and certified accurate by the official test lab for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, (IACP). The same laboratory that certifies all of the radar guns for use by law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada. With multiple products designed for all areas of speed measurement, Pocket Radar, Inc. provides full-sized performance in palm-sized packages. www.PocketRadar.com
