Pocket Radar - Baseball Reviews

Smart Coach Radar Reviews

Dave Esquer, Stanford University (Head Coach)

“The new Smart Coach model from Pocket Radar has been a great addition to our daily practices. We use it on the field, in the batting cages, and for various training drills. We also use it in bullpen sessions to track the progress and workload of our pitching staff. In this day and age of technology in baseball, having a portable and easy to use device like the Smart Coach Radar allows us to track the data necessary to better coach our players!”

Danny Hall, Georgia Tech University (Head Coach)

The Smart Coach Radar has enhanced our training exponentially with our players. It allows us to sync our exit velocities and pitch velocities into our coaches and players iPhones or iPads for immediate display. We can analyze each swing or pitch immediately and then make a coaching suggestion for the next one. We have sent the clips to our players so they can see their video with velocities displayed in the clip. The Smart Coach Radar also enhances our campers experiences because we can email them their swings and pitches with velos from camp. Without question, the Smart Coach Radar is our best tool and most time efficient way to coach our players and campers with regard to exit velocities and pitch velocities. Thanks again for helping our program!"

Fred Corral, University of Missouri (Pitching Coach)

"The crew at Pocket Radar has improved on what I considered the top radar product on the market in their Ball Coach Radar. The uses for their new product is endless. By teaming up their new Smart Coach Radar to smart devices such as phones and tablets, coaches, athletes and parents now have a tool to handle many activities. Activities ranging from development, recruiting, and the marketing of their athletes to name a few. The list is only limited to the creativity of the individual using it. The system is easy set up and use and comes with enough information from tutorial and in app information. The end result of data entry and video footage with embedded radar readings are top of the line. My athletes really enjoyed the audio feedback module of the system in which we have a great value for it in our bullpen sessions. In trying to attain a feel for throwing different speed, the speeds are voiced out by the smart device we are using, whether it be by tablet or phone. On the recruiting side, communication on prospects have improved as video that is shared is embedded with radar reads allowing for greater understanding for the coach that wasn’t on site to see them pitch or hit. Again, the benefits of this product are endless. Get one for yourself and I am confident you will be equally impressed as I have been. In the time that it took you to have read this testimony on this great product you could have been up and running with the activity of your choice. It’s that easy."

Brad Boxberger, Milwaukee Brewers

AL Saves Leader & All-Star (2015)

"Pocket Radar has taken my off season training to a whole new level. I committed myself to really overhauling my mechanics and training methods, and the Smart Coach Radar with app is a crucial part of my throwing program. Being able to record accurate velocity anywhere allows me to maintain my throwing program, regardless of whether I am at home or at a training facility. In a baseball culture where data is everything, being able to analyze my own velocity and review mechanics through the video capabilities with Pocket Radar, gives me an awesome tool to improve my game."

A.J. Puk, Oakland Athletics

"Thanks to Pocket Radar it has been easy to monitor my effort level as I ramp up for spring training. Everyone at my training facility wanted to check it out, and it is a good training tool for all levels to monitor progress."

Tommy Milone, Toronto Blue Jays

“A valuable tool for me coming back from injury to be able to gauge my efforts and progress as my arm builds up strength. My favorite part is that I can use the radar and app when I’m throwing into my net by myself and it will voice my readings out automatically without me having to do anything. Its accurate, small and affordable. For anyone looking for a radar gun, this is your best bet!”

Asher Wojciechowski , New York Yankees

“Pocket Radar has been a great tool to use for my off-season throwing program. Being able to monitor intensity by seeing your velocity is a game changer. It is very easy to use and helped me tremendously. I used it while throwing weighted balls, long toss, and bullpens and it worked great for everything. It is a great product and I will continue to use it throughout my training.”

Ty Blach, Free Agent

"The recovery process from any injury is a balance between building strength and endurance, and monitoring output to prevent setbacks. While currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, I have discovered the importance of monitoring my velocity throughout my throwing program. As a pitcher, it is foreign to throw a ball at submaximal effort, but during rehab this ensures safety in the strength-building phase. Using the Pocket Radar I have been able to measure the velocity on each throw and safely remain at those lower perceived effort levels. The Pocket Radar's Smart Coach model shows the velocity overlaid with video. This allows me to break down my body movements so I can make mechanical changes that will help me throw harder and healthier going forward. I highly recommend the Pocket Radar for any player rehabbing. It removes the guesswork and gives physical data to ensure a safe effort level."

Perry Husband, pitching and hitting consultant for Major League and Collegiate championship winning baseball and softball teams

"Remote training, personal daily analysis, camps and creating instructional videos just got a huge boost. Portable and easy to set-up, with video for analysis and sharing, this product allows any player or coach to set up a wireless lab for pitching and hitting feedback. The Smart Coach Radar is the most complete tool for objective feedback that I have used when teaching Effective Velocity in baseball and softball."

Bobby Stroupe, CSCS*D RSCC*D FAFS
APEC Founder, President

"We have been using Pocket Radar products for years to help us train some of the strongest arms in MLB and the NFL. The new Smart Coach Radar allows us to overlap velocity monitoring with video analysis from any angle. The ability to video transformation zones from different coaching views while still getting an accurate velocity reading is huge! We leverage this technology for so many different ways at APEC. From sprint technique to QB training, pitching, exit velocity, med ball throws, you name it. The Smart Coach Radar will elevate your training with applicable technology in an affordable and convenient way."

Jackson Zarubin, Pitcher (Free Agent)

"Pocket Radar continues to revolutionize the radar gun industry. Their app-connected Smart Coach Radar is an essential tool for the development and longevity of my career. Velocity is a tool I need in order to pursue my dream of becoming a Major League Pitcher. Using the radar with my workouts allows me to track my velocity so I can see improvements and correlations to what I am training. In the past this has been difficult, given I train alone most of the time. I used to have to get a friend to throw with me or have my dad drive down when I really needed someone to hold up the radar gun for me. Not anymore. With the Smart Coach Radar, I am able to easily mount it to a tripod, connect it via Bluetooth to my phone, and receive instant velocity feedback after every throw. Not only that, but after my workouts I can go back and see which throws were harder than others and dive into what I’m doing right and wrong mechanically provided by the video clips the App auto-edits for me. If you train alone like I do, or want to maximize your training potential, this product is a must have. I won’t go a day without bringing my Smart Coach Radar to the field."

Austin Orewiler, Pitcher (Cincinnati Reds)

"The Smart Coach Radar is awesome. It’s easy to use, it’s accurate, and it fits conveniently in my bag or even in my pocket. It, combined with the App, gives you the ability to not only get readings displayed on your phone, but to also record video at the same time. I honestly can’t believe I’ve been ‘training’ without the ability to measure my results for so long, but now I don’t go a day without using it."

Alex Katz, Pitcher (Kansas City Royals)

“The new Smart Coach Radar & App is everything I could ever ask for in a radar gun. It makes it easy to get instant feedback without relying on someone to hold the radar and read the number out loud. I will continue to use the Smart Coach Radar for all of my off-season throwing.”

More Pocket Radar Reviews

Tom House, National Pitching Association (Founder)

"A break down in mechanics caused by fatigue is almost always the root cause of every pitching arm injury I have come across in my over 30-plus years working with pitchers. Unfortunately, many youth instructors do not realize that a young player has entered the injury risk zone until it is too late. I’ve been waiting a long time for a radar gun that is specifically designed as a training aid for young players, and Ball Coach radar is a perfect complement to our Velocity Plus pitching program as it enables our certified instructors to gradually develop a player’s arm strength and muscle memory with little risk of injury. A drop of just a couple of MPH in pitch velocity can be an indicator that a young player is at increased risk for sustaining a serious arm injury. The Ball Coach radar should be every coach’s early warning indicator for player fatigue."

Mark Prior, All-Star Pitcher and Los Angeles Dodgers (Bullpen Coach)

“The Ball Coach radar gun from Pocket Radar is a great tool for instruction and training. In today’s game where peak velocity is reaching new levels, the Pocket Radar allows us to work with pitchers to teach feel and touch without altering their deliveries. Controlling intensity levels in professional baseball can be a challenge for new professional pitchers. The daily maintenance of a pitcher during a 5 to 6 month period will break down the most physically fit person. The Pocket Radar allows us to monitor arm health as well as instruct players to add or subtract intensity levels based on readings. I encourage our staff to use it as a way to teach new pitches, change speeds on current pitches and control these intensity levels. The simple light weight product makes it easy for our coaches to keep it close to them at all times and use it effectively in bullpens, throwing program and Live Batting Practice environments.”

Dante Bichette, 4x All-Star and former Colorado Rockies Hitting Coach

"When it comes to hitting, ball exit speed off the bat is what it’s all about. Using the Ball Coach radar with professional hitters and youth hitters, I’ve learned that players at all levels need instant feedback to improve in the shortest amount of time. I love the Ball Coach radar’s convenient size and ease of use. I tested it against the other pro radar guns and the speeds were dead on. It stuns me that most people in baseball still don’t measure exit speed. Everyone knows what a 90 mph pitch looks like, but they don’t know what a good exit speed is. An extra 1 to 2 mph can make a completely different hitter. If you want to become a better hitter, you need to start measuring your ball exit speed."

Pat Murphy, Milwaukee Brewers (Bench Coach)

"In my years of experience, I have seen all types of radar guns mostly used for capturing peak fastball velocity. That's why I've found the Ball Coach radar to be much more valuable. Sure it can be used for short range scouting and recruiting, but it is a far more powerful tool for coaching and training. I use it with my son Kai to make sure his off-speed pitches have enough speed differentials to keep hitters off balance and disrupt their timing, as well as working on his hitting power by keeping track of his Ball Exit Speeds. Because its accuracy is dead on with the other pro radar guns, I have no problem using it with the professional guys in the bullpen or in the cages. The Ball Coach radar eliminates any second guessing and provides the hard data that players need to know to improve."

Jerry Weinstein, Colorado Rockies Offensive Coordinator (40+ years of coaching experience)

"I use the Ball Coach radar every day at practice. It has the same accuracy as our other pro radar guns, but is much more convenient and discreet. The hands-free mode keeps my entire focus on the athlete while still giving me the valuable speed readings I need. This allows me to study player mechanics instead of focusing all of my attention on operating the radar gun. After we’re finished, I access the memory to review and give the players feedback on their results. They understand the importance of being able to know their numbers, and what they need to work on to improve. The Ball Coach radar will help athletes get better at a faster rate and improve confidence in their abilities."

Ron Wolforth, Texas Baseball Ranch LLC. (Founder)

"Performance expert Ken Blanchard is fond of saying, ‘Feedback is the breakfast of champions!” At the Texas Baseball Ranch® we wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Blanchard. The challenge then always becomes: 'Is the feedback timely, reliable, valid, cost effective and useable?' The folks at Pocket Radar deliver magnificently on all fronts. In our estimation, every aspiring young baseball athlete whether he is a pitcher of a position player should have a Pocket radar device in his bag. Feedback is indeed the breakfast of champions and immediate, objective measurement absolutely changes the quality of anyone’s training for the better. 331 of our clients have topped 90 mph, 118 have exceeded 94 mph and 13 have broken 100 mph. Pocket Radar products are simply an integral part of many of our daily training processes at the Texas Baseball Ranch®. We view their company as a valuable partner in the developmental process of amateur elite baseball players."

Andy Lopez, Retired (2x National Champion and 3x National Coach of the Year)

"The Ball Coach radar provides easy and accurate speed measurement of pitching and hitting skills. Innovative features and small size make it the perfect radar gun. With the deep memory and hands free Constant-On Mode, it is the ideal training tool on the field and in the bullpen and cages every day. If you are looking to elevate player performance, you need to own the Ball Coach radar."

Stan Conte, PT, DPT, ATC (former Dodgers Head Trainer and Medical Services Director)

"The small size makes it ideal for training injured pitchers, as they need to slow their pitches while they recover from shoulder and elbow injuries, and pitchers tend to throw harder when they see a full-size gun. A player knows he is being monitored. It's like taking a picture on a cell phone, it's so small, they quickly forget you're doing it."

Kory Dehaan, Pittsburgh Pirates (Minor League Hitting Coach)

“The Ball Coach radars have been a tremendous addition to our coaching staff as we continue to ‘train to the truth’ in our practices. The players and staff both enjoy the immediate feedback. It keeps our focus more on having the players compete athletically rather than mechanically. Keep up the great work!”

Tracy Smith, Arizona State University (Head Coach)

"I love it. We use it to spot-check our pitchers in the cages, during pens, etc. Job well done." 

Dan Simonds, IMG Academy (Director of Baseball)

"The Ball Coach model from Pocket Radar is tremendous. The coaches at IMG Academy have found it to be an extremely useful and convenient tool in helping develop our pitchers. The Ball Coach radar has sufficiently addressed the issue of consistent, accurate readings and has replaced our use of the bigger and more expensive radar guns."

Josh Reynolds, Northwestern University (Associate Head Coach)

“The Ball Coach radar’s ease of use on a daily basis is invaluable in a bullpen setting. Instead of enticing the pitcher to throw max effort like they would when they see the larger radar guns, the discreet size helps keep the focus on locating pitches and mixing speeds. A great training tool to develop and maintain overall pitching performance.”

Brandon Hall, Director of Scouting for PBR NC (15 years coaching at UNC Charlotte)

“Today’s player has grown up in a fast paced world with answers constantly at their fingertips; the ability to look up any question and gain knowledge within seconds. As coaches, we are constantly striving for ways to communicate with our players and to speed up the learning curve. The ability to incorporate the Ball Coach radar from Pocket Radar, allows myself and our program to give our players information instantly – during bullpens, in the cages, and during BP. With the Ball Coach, I don’t have to plan to radar a bullpen – if we are working on a solution, I can see, and give, radar numbers that allow myself, and the player, to make corrections in an efficient manner.”

Steve Jaksa, Central Michigan University (Head Coach)

"I love it. We can use it to spot-check our pitchers in the cages, during pens, etc. User friendly, accurate (within 1 mph) every time. The size and portability makes them useful at any field, showcase or recruiting trip . In addition to bullpen sessions we use them during intrasquad games. Basically we can use the Ball Coach radar from Pocket Radar to also track exit speeds off the bat, and throwing velocities of our infielders, outfielders and catchers. A useful tool at any or all of our practices or camps. You will be very pleased with the improved accuracy of the velocity and how easy it is to use and of course it is very cost efficient."

Joe Carbone, Retired (ABCA Hall of Fame, 2019)

"Coaches, if you’re going to a ballgame or practice, make sure you take two things. Your wallet and your Ball Coach radar."

Brian Chapman, Millburn High School in New Jersey (2016 High School Baseball Div. 2 Coach of the Year)

“I have coached baseball for 25 years and had never made use of a radar gun in practice. I was sold on the benefits of the Ball Coach radar after one practice!  We’ve been using it with our pitchers but also with our position players to give them an idea of how they compare with other kids at their position. We recently began using it with our hitters, too. It is very easy for us to measure the speed of a pitch coming in and then the exit velocity of the ball off the bat with one push of a button. The Ball Coach radar is so easy to operate and so accurate that we are able to generate a ton of extremely valuable data in a short time! After using it for just a month, we can’t imagine training our pitchers without it. Even our lacrosse team has started using it at practice! It’s an amazing product!”

Bill Geivett, 21 Year MLB Executive, IMA PLAYER (Founder)

"After 28 years of working for MLB teams I had only had experience with traditional radar guns. Out of curiosity, I purchased a Ball Coach. I could not believe the accuracy and ease of the product. Side by side I held my radar gun and Ball Coach with not one discrepancy. I easily carried it with me in the batting cages or bullpens to get velocity readings anytime I wanted. I would never carry around a radar gun like that. The velocity data will help you improve your coaching anywhere and anytime. I think every scout or coach would be amazed at their experience using the Pocket Radar. Great scouting and development tool!"