By Mike Young | SportStars
Santa Rosa residents Steve Goody and Tyler Scaturro believe they’ve found the “best kept secret in all of sports.”
And in the development of the Pocket Radar ““ an easy and accurate speed measurement device the size of a cell phone “” they might be right. The device has the potential to be a game-changer in the many aspects of training for baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis, lacrosse and more.
“If you go to a college program, whether it’s for baseball or volleyball, they’re using our product every day, for multi-skill,” said Scaturro, the marketing specialist of Pocket Radar. “In baseball it might be throwing skill, hitting skill or pitching skill. And its not just about speed, it’s about control.”
One of the many fascinating attributes of the Pocket Radar is that it allows athletes of any level to truly and accurately gauge their velocity in a multitude of ways. Not to mention it’s affordable, ranging from $199-299, compared to the traditional radar gun priced from $700-1,500.
Notable Bay Area programs already utilizing the Pocket Radar include the Oakland A’s, Stanford Women’s Volleyball and even The Total Player Center facility in Pleasanton. A traditionally very expensive method of training can now be used in anybody’s backyard.
“The magic thing that happens when you’re training with instant radar and velocity feedback, it doesn’t change the coaching process, it adds on to it,” said Steve Goody, founder of Pocket Radar.
With instant and accurate feedback, suddenly an athlete has a number to work with, and the ability to instantly see what motions in the fundamentals “” whether it’s pitching for baseball and softball or a serve in volleyball “” are working or not.
“I’ve watched coaches take athletes in an hour from a non-contender for college to a college-level hitter “” in one hour,” Goody said. “It causes an acceleration to occur in developing those new skills and heights in power and control. And it works across all sports.”
Coaches from volleyball to lacrosse have used the Pocket Radar to balance speed and accuracy, the ability to find the perfect speed and to be able to get that perfect shot or pass across the court or field.
Besides the obvious ease-of-transport benefit, the size of the radar gun allows it to be discreet and practically out-of-sight-out-of-mind for the training athlete. At the same time, it has an impact on an athlete’s motivation. Instant results can lead to new goals.
“There’s an immediate effect of motivating the athlete to find a new personal best,” said Scaturro. “If you couple that with great coaching, on how to break down the numbers and show to an athlete what adjustments to make, its automatic.”
Control is one of the most important aspects that the Pocket Radar can help athletes to master. Power versus control is something many youth level athletes struggle to balance. With the Pocket Radar’s instant feedback, that information is now accessible to the athlete.
The device can give athletes a baseline for their maximum velocity, for pitching, serving in volleyball, or shooting in lacrosse. It allows the athlete to see what is considered out of control, and dial it down to be able to get the most accurate performance with the highest velocity.
“As you know in sports, sometimes athletes view that the more violent the action is it feels like its powerful, but in reality the opposite in true,” Goody said. “Smooth and easy is usually where the added power is.”
With this product, Goody and Scaturro hope to change sports from how athletes train to keeping them safe.
“For a high school athlete, this is where it’s the most ripe,” Goody said. “We designed this product so that a high school, a family, or even an athlete could afford a pro-grade radar gun at a convenience. We really believe in the long run we are going to change these sports by making it accessible to more programs from high school and below. The college programs can afford everything, and sometimes the high schools and families can’t.”
For more information and testimonials of the product, visit their website at: “http://pocketradar.com” http://pocketradar.com.