MILAN, Tenn. — The growth of technology in sports is not slowing down anytime soon. It is even making its way into our local high schools.
Baseball season is still a few months away for Tennessee schools, however that does not mean they are not working to get better everyday.
Milan High School‘s team has a certain machine that helps them daily. Coach Taylor Patterson tells us why they got it.
“We started doing more research, me and him both got certified in Rapsodo and it just kind of took off from there,” Patterson said.
We were also able to talk to some of the seniors who have worked with this equipment over the past few years.
To put the technology to the test, the coaches had WBBJ’s Ryan Hodges do a few pitching drills to see, mainly, what he was doing wrong.
“Release height, you released it at 6’9. So you released way up here instead of getting it out here,” said Coach Craig Rogers.
It is also able to track hitting numbers to help teach you what you need to practice.
“You had almost an optimal launch angle there at 24 degrees,” Coach Rogers said. “A few times you had a negative launch angle, which means you swung down on it. This one you actually got a really good launch angle.”
The equipment takes video of whatever you are doing and you can watch it in slow motion afterwards. Coach Rogers tells us how this has helped them.
“In some cases we’ve had guys that over pronate and have some elbow issues,” Rogers said. “When we play that slow-mo video back and see the hand do that, then hey, we know exactly why you’re having some elbow issues.”
Coach Rogers told us that the technology that they have drives competition between the players to keep getting better.
“It builds that competition where they get in there and go back and forth and compete. Which is another thing you are trying to teach through sports.”
We asked Coach Patterson if this directs their practices or or helps them practice better.
“I think it’s more of an assist with practice. For them to actually go through it and see it, it’s been a big deal to us,” Coach Patterson said.
As technology keeps moving forward, it is certainly cool to see how our local teams are utilizing it to develop their players.
The coaches told us that their middle school baseball players are able to use the equipment sometimes as well. This means they can track their progress for quite a few years by the time they graduate.
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