Pocket Radar Aims To Make Coaching Easier

Pocket Radar already had the best-selling radar in sports. Now, the company has embraced baseball’s love of data even further by creating an app that turns that data into teaching points for coaches and players, all designed to provide insights and metrics into hitting exit velocity and pitch speed to help improve technique.

“We spent a lot of time talking to coaches,” Pocket Radar CEO and co-founder Steve Goody said. “With the new Smart Coach Radar, coaches and athletes of all ages are able to capture accurate speeds integrated with video of their mechanics, or get immediate feedback of their speeds delivered wirelessly to their smartphones. Now, any youth athlete can use the same technology in their backyard that professional players and teams use on the field every day.”

The Smart Coach Radar app includes video recording abilities with an embedded speed display to measure speed and control. The app provides instant feedback with audio and speed display, and it will track results over time, available for export. Players can share videos recorded from the app for others to review or for social media integration. The app stores data and can create a compiled report of progress over multiple years. 

Pocket Radar co-founder Chris Stewart said that coaches tell them they waste a lot of time trying to verify the validity of stats sent in by players. Having the Pocket Radar video synced with velocities as part of the new Smart Coach Radar eases that concern. The video portion of the app also helps with training mechanics.

The app has features that allow players to record entire training sessions and can also create video clips for athletes automatically, allowing for instant sharing after a training session.

“It is a convenience and labor-saving feature,” Stewart said.

Pocket Radar expects the integration of video with the radar will save time for coaches in the recruiting process, but will really become a key tool in training, even opening up the ability for remote coaching.

“There is a long, long list of features we will add to the platform,” Goody said. “Our company vision is to create revolutionary technology that changes the landscape of speed measurement. Introducing the first smart radar gun with pro-level performance sets another new standard.”

The setup allows for the radar to be hand-held or go into continuous mode on a tripod to record sessions without someone holding the radar. It can run on a portable charger to ease battery concerns.

“This will empower remote coaching,” Stewart said. “We will evolve the app for live training sessions. This is just the very beginning of what is possible.”

At 4.5 ounces, the Smart Coach Radar, priced at $400, can also act as a stand-alone radar gun with the features of the Ball Coach Radar.

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.