A Triad company is making a ball that they hope will deliver greater success for baseball pitchers.
F5 Sports, a Winston-Salem company led by Jeffrey Ackerman and Steven Cukiernik, has launched pitchLogic, an instructional video product including a specially made baseball with inserted microchips giving feedback to pitchers through an app to help them improve their mechanics.
For $30 a month, customers receive a special baseball — replaced every six months if they remain customers — and a system that provides feedback and suggestions to improve their performance.
Ackerman and Cukiernik said customers include coaches at the youth league, travel league, high school, college and professional level — as well as some Major League coaches.
He said “the sweet spot” for youth using pitchLogic is age “12 or so.”
Ackerman and Cukiernik suggest users continue to work with coaches or instructors to maximize use of the information gained from the product.
“One Major League pitching coach told me, ‘I always have one in my bag.'” Ackerman said.
Ackerman said the company, which has its office at 4410 Providence Lane, has raised more than $5 million.
The balls — made in Winston-Salem — have hand-sewn leather covers like Major League baseballs and are official size and weight, with chips inside. The balls take about 45 minutes each to make.
Though pitchers won’t notice much difference between the pitchLogic ball and regular baseball, the company recommends against hitting the balls, because such contact can damage the chips inside the ball.
F5 has had a patent pending since 2019.
Cukiernik, who has a mechanical engineering degree from Virginia Tech, is the chief technology officer. He created the chips and the app. Ackerman, the CEO, has been involved in small businesses with software for golf, hockey and baseball. Both are avid cyclists.
The video and feedback, which can be viewed via an app on a phone, include suggestions about arm pitch angle, spin rates and other mechanics. Unlike standard video feedback, pitchLogic doesn’t require an expensive, high-speed camera.
“With a few throws, people can immediately see results,” Ackerman said.
For example, a common fixable problem for young pitchers is a release that imparts spin on a fastball, causing it to cut, reducing the velocity and location control, Ackerman said.
The app can also help pitchers make adjustments to ensure that their angles and other mechanics look much the same regardless of the pitch thrown, taking away indications about the pitch from hitters.
“Our goal is to make this available to the masses,” Ackerman said.
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