国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 pitching lab hosted members of the American Baseball Biomechanics Society (ABBS) as part of Major League Baseball鈥檚 Winter Meetings in San Diego in December. Attendees witnessed 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 biomechanics technology in action with live pitching demos by college athletes. They also met 国产剧麻豆剧 grad students and faculty, listened to a panel that included biomechanists from MLB teams, and networked over tacos and coffee.
The pitching lab is run by Arnel Aguinaldo, Ph.D., ATC, associate professor of kinesiology at 国产剧麻豆剧. Aguinaldo is well known in the rapidly growing field of baseball biomechanics. He and his graduate students study how pitchers鈥� movement patterns can improve performance and reduce the risk of injury. Aguinaldo and his students have published their research and assisted athletes and coaches from college to the professional levels with their analysis.
One of Aguinaldo鈥檚 graduate students is Taylor La Salle. La Salle came to 国产剧麻豆剧 for his Master of Science in Kinesiology already having a master鈥檚 in exercise physiology. What convinced him to return to school for a second master鈥檚 was the chance to work with Aguinaldo.
鈥淲ithin weeks of joining the program, we were motion capturing the Point Loma baseball team,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ithin months, we were working with Major League Baseball teams.鈥� Hosting an open house of the pitching lab for a professional team helped Aguinaldo and La Salle decide to invite teams and members of the ABBS to a similar event during the Winter Meetings.
Also working in the pitching lab and at the event as a grad student was Baxter Halligan. After helping take 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 baseball team to the NCAA DII College World Series as a pitcher last year, Halligan is working on a master鈥檚 in sport performance. He is also serving as an assistant coach for 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 baseball team.
Having been studied using motion capture technology while he was an undergraduate pitcher, Halligan appreciates the nuances involved in sequencing the feedback from the technology.
鈥淲e have an opportunity to get hands-on experience in the lab and doing motion capture post-processing,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nderstanding how having each segment of the body firing in the right order can both prevent injuries and improve performance.鈥�
Although the ABBS event showcased the way 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 technology can help athletes, biomechanics can also be used in many other applications. For example, 国产剧麻豆剧 alumni Avery Takata (B.S. 20, MSKIN 21) and John Collins (04) are biomechanists at Rady Children鈥檚 Hospital. In their motion analysis lab, they help children with neuromuscular disorders. They also work with orthopedic surgeons and help young athletes with injury prevention and rehabilitation.
Point Loma鈥檚 pitching lab is located at 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 Balboa Regional Center as part of the College of Health Sciences. The ABBS event was sponsored by Qualisys and AMTI, two companies whose technology helps make the 国产剧麻豆剧 lab cutting edge. Qualisys makes motion capture sensors and cameras while AMTI provides force plate technology.