Guest Blog: 10 Years with Pocket Radar Technology

Carlye Satterwhite, Des Moines Roosevelt HS (Softball Head Coach)

Growing up as a pitcher, I would get excited to head to different local clinics around my area, for one specific reasoning. I was going to find out my pitch velocities. It was a treat to have instant velocity feedback, as radar guns in the 90’s were very few and far between, unless you wanted to pay an arm and a leg. After pitching through high school, I took my softball career to the next level, and decided to play at a Division III college. I was lucky enough to have instant feedback during each workout, however, we would have to carry the large briefcase with us across campus if we wanted to use the radar gun.

After college, I started my venture as a pitching coach where I have provided instructional support and guidance for student athletes ranging from 8 to 18 years old. Throughout my lessons, I started to think about how can I provide instant feedback for my students and track their progress overtime? What would I have wanted when I was starting to pitch? I started my research and came across the Pocket Radar company. I was discussing how great it would be to provide instant MPH and arm speed feedback with a parent of one of my lessons who owns a battery franchise. After further research, my client’s family decided to sell me the product in his commercial store as it was first of its kind. I was fresh out of college, and starting to pay my student loans, Pocket Radar’s first product was not in my budget. The family and I landed on a deal, where I would use the radar during our lessons, in exchange for trading lessons to pay for the radar. Once I finished with my final payment lesson, I was so excited to take it home and use it with all my lessons moving forward.

Over the past 10 years, my Pocket Radar has traveled many miles across the nation. From the Iowa Girls High School State Tournament in Fort Dodge, IA to community college tournaments in Sioux Falls, SD to recruiting trips in Fort Worth, TX. My Pocket Radar has been the most reliable and durable tool I have ever owned and used as a pitching instructor.

Pocket Radar has given my pitchers and my teams an extra advantage. These advantages have included both physical and mental side of the game of softball. My students ask on a regular basis to use the Pocket Radar, so they have a baseline to set specific and attainable goals. My high school and college teams have used the Pocket Radar for scouting and recruitment of players and developing specific practice plans which is driven from data points.

The power of using the Pocket Radar for instant feedback is essential for all my athlete’s development.

I am so thankful for the reliability of my original Pocket Radar but looking forward too many more years of their new Smart Coach app-enabled model. I will be a customer for life!

(Carlye's Daughter, Grayce, holding her mom's radar during a lesson)