AUBURN, Ala. – In conjunction with the Auburn University School of Kinesiology, Auburn baseball has completed its installation of KinaTrax, a markerless motion capture technology that delivers precise 3D imaging and biomechanical analysis.
A process that was initiated through conversations with Dr. Gretchen Oliver, a professor in the kinesiology department and the President of the American Baseball Biomechanics Society, Auburn is one of the very first NCAA baseball programs able to utilize the technology.
"To me, it's a no brainer from going through all the stages of analytics and getting to the point where it's not only acceptable, it's desired and needed," head coach Butch Thompson said. "When we heard about the possibility, we were we were two thumbs up and all on board."
A 16 camera-operating system with eight cameras focused on the mound and eight on home plate, KinaTrax captures biomechanical data that provides insights for injury prevention and sports performance, among other capabilities.
"The amount of data that we can collect just in one game, let alone over a whole season, is tremendous," KinaTrax Director of Biomechanics Scott Coleman said. "The competitive advantages come from an injury prevention standpoint, from a sports performance standpoint, and it can be used for scouting. This kind of data provides a lot of different insights. It's really what questions you're trying to answer."
KinaTrax currently works with 15 Major League Baseball organizations, spanning from the big leagues to the minor league and international affiliates with more than 40 operating systems installed in professional ballparks and batting cages.
"Not only is this a next step of what you would do in enhancing your analytical capability, this is like five steps in one," Thompson added. "I would imagine in three to five years this will be at the majority of college ballparks, just like the last decade or so with TrackMan."
With the installation of KinaTrax, Auburn moves to the forefront of college baseball in terms of utilizing its analytical capabilities to develop both current and future student-athletes.
"Recruiting never stops in the Southeastern Conference," Thompson said. "For a young, aspiring ballplayer that's talented enough play in the SEC and a family that's going to commit to give us their son and have him developed on the road, because most of these guys want to be eventual professional ballplayers, for them to entrust our program, I think they want to see us answer the question of how we're going to develop their son.
"KinaTrax puts us at the forefront," Thompson added. "We're one of the first to receive this information that we can use day-to-day to help develop our players. We've always strived to make sure that we're second to none in being able to have the equipment available, the staffing available, the coaching experience available to develop our pitchers and our student athletes."