Hey there! I'm Zach Day, former MLB pitcher and co-founder of Newtforce. Today, I have the pleasure of connecting with Sean McLaughlin, owner and Director of Pitching at Maven Baseball Lab. Sean has some fantastic insights to share about his experience with our Newtforce mound. But before we dive in, let's get to know him a little better. Sean, could you tell us a bit about Maven and your role within it? And how did you first come across Newtforce?
Sean: My name is Sean McLaughlin and I am the owner and Director of Pitching at Maven Baseball Lab. We leverage state of the art technology at Maven Labs, including Newforce, to create objective feedback and individualized development plans for players to reach their potential.
I first came across Newtforce mound when I was a player in the minor leagues.
CHALLENGES
What challenges do you face improving the performance of your pitchers?
Sean: The biggest difficulty in training pitchers comes down to communication. The best coaches I had during my career were able to put themselves in my body and communicate the best feeling to get me to perform the movements they believed would help me the most. Having the most information available with tools that help visualize and educate players leads to the best communication.
APPROACH
How did you decide to implement Newtforce pitching mounds as a solution to these challenges?
Sean: I wanted to use Newforce to improve communication with my pitchers and better assess their needs. First, each player does an initial assessment of their physical system. We grade out their mobility, power, acceleration, deceleration, etc. Then each player will throw 15 pitches on Newforce and our other technologies. Once we get the results back, the player’s data is analyzed against our HS, College, or MLB data sets. Our goal with Newforce is to properly measure how a player is using the ground and his lower half to accelerate, transfer, and decelerate. There are certain principles in the Newforce data that lead to better health, command, and velocity. The style in which that gets done is up to the player. Using the results from the physical system’s test and Newforce, we create an individualized development plan based on the players strengths and weaknesses.
IMPLEMENTATION
Can you describe the implementation process of the Newtforce pitching mound?
Sean: We hit the ground running with NF. I had some prior experience from my time with my professional organization, but Newtforce and Kyle Barker were a huge help. Like anything with data, sample size is very important. The biggest hurdle was getting enough data to be able to draw conclusions from. Getting guys assessed and throwing bullpens on the mound as much as possible was imperative. I received my mound right before our MiLB and MLB clients were getting ready for the season. Learning what the best in the world do was a huge help in knowing what to look for and study in the data. We started with “assumptions” in the early stages, then grew to “conclusions” as our sample grew.
RESULTS
What improvements did you see in your pitchers' performance after using the Newtforce pitching mounds?
Sean: Newforce measures the “inputs”, everything that happens before the ball is released. While other technologies like Rapsodo and Trackman measure the “outputs”, everything that happens after the ball is released. As pitchers, we need to make sure the velocity, movement, and location of the ball are all getting better for us to improve. Using Newforce we changed ground reaction forces in order to impact the outputs of the baseball. We tracked spin, movement, velocity, and location for all of our pitchers during each pitch thrown on Newforce. We saw some amazing strides made in changing mechanics and forces leading to better ball velocity, movement, and location.
LESSONS LEARNED
Based on your experience using Newtforce mound, what lessons have you learned about training and developing pitchers?
Sean: The best practice in training pitchers remains communication. Newforce allows us to better vocalize and visualize what players are feeling. Combining a player’s feels with what is really happening has delivered the best results. When a player is armed with actionable information about how their body is moving they are better able to make adjustments. Teaching a player to be their own pitching coach or their own Newforce mound out on the game mound is my ultimate goal and led to our best successes. Removing the opinion component from a coach and making it objective data resonates with players. There is no more lying to a player, it is simply, this is what is happening now let's make you better.
IMPACT
Overall, how would you describe the impact of Newtforce pitching mounds on your organization?
Sean: This technology has taken my facility and pitchers to another level. The objective feedback and data visualization has allowed me to better communicate with my players. The more digestible information a player has, the better chance they can reach their full potential. Ground forces are one of the few remaining competitive advantages left in pitching. Ground force reactions have been used by every pitcher who has ever thrown a ball, now we can measure it. Time to take advantage of Newforce.
Thank you so much, Sean, for sharing your valuable experience and insights with us. It's truly fantastic to hear about the impact that Newtforce pitching mounds have had on your organization and the success you've achieved. The way you've been able to leverage objective feedback and data visualization to improve communication with your pitchers speaks to why Newtforce exists. Here's to continued success.
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