Cool aids: performance-improving sports training devices that are more than novelties.

Today's high-tech sports training aids not only help improve performance, they also provide a sense of realism during the workout process.

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Whether it's stepping up to the plate against a simulated pitcher, training in game-like conditions, or performing sports-specific routines to enhance muscle memory, there's a product right for your team and athletes.

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The VertiMax platform trainer from Genetic Potential can help in all phases of sports-specific training. Its V6, V6Plus, V8Plus models are specifically designed as a core device for speed, agility, and first-step quickness for sports such as football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, and hockey.

"Explosive power is important in any sport," said Mike Wehrell, President / Inventor of Genetic Potential, which introduced VertiMax in 1997. "The more explosive power you have, the faster you are. And speed, whether it's hand speed, foot speed, or lateral speed, is everything to an athlete. When you lift heavy weights it helps develop explosive power because you're exercising your fast twitch muscles. But if you want to be able to deploy or generate power at high speeds, the most extensive way to do that, from the studies that have been done, is through a very intense correlation between the velocity at which you train and the velocity at which you participate in your sport.

"So what everyone is doing now with functional training is simulating your sport. Once the athlete has his or her strength, they want to optimize their ability to deploy that strength or create power at high speeds. It's best to train at as close to high speeds as you can. The only way to really do that is to use a training system that can apply resistance with little or no mass."

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Now, Genetic Potential has taken the next step with its PTX Functional Trainer (available Jan.-Feb. 2007), which is basically a VertiMax V8Plus with two vertical towers attached to each side. The machine can attach four cords to an athletes shoulders and hips and place counter torque on the body from two directions.

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"In those towers, you have bands that extend horizontally," Wehrell said. "In the VertiMax all of the bands emanate from the ground, which is kind of hard to place resistance on a throwing motion. The four bands in the vertical towers can come either toward the athlete or away from the platform. So if you have them come away from the platform, that is when you can attach a baseball or football to them and go through your throwing motions."

The VertiMax models cost between $1,995 for the V6 to $2,495 for the V8Plus. The PTX will run about $6000-$9000 depending on accessories.

Wehrell recommends either the V6 or V6 Plus (each has six cords, while the V8Plus has, obviously, eight cords).

Said Wehrell: "The thing is, with a lot of high school athletes, they need to be supervised. They have to be supervised one-on-one. The higher the increment in terms of the model complexity, the more it can do for you."

Offering more options to the football player is exactly the reason why John Joseph, CEO / President, Shoot-A-Way, Inc., invented the TrenchMaster. He wanted to make the football locker room more proactive.

"Originally, I wanted to find some way for football players to be able to practice their hits and actually see how hard they can hit," said Joseph, whose company manufacturers arguably the best basketball trainers in the world. "Sometimes the weight room can be so boring. And if one player could get addicted to using it, that would be great."

The TrenchMaster is a power-punch machine specifically designed to teach proper technique, while increasing strength, timing, power, and quickness. The TrenchMaster measures and displays in thousandths of a second how quick off the ball players are, and how hard they hit, providing a benchmark to improve upon.

The concept originated from a friend of Joseph's who is a high school coach from Kansas who has won four State championships in seven-man football.

Said Joseph: "He had some itty, bitty lineman and he designed this thing so they could get down low and come up and hit on a 45-degree angle."

Joseph, whose company has shipped two TrenchMaster's to Ohio State, tinkered with the original design and introduced his own ideas. One of the keys was adding a life-like rubber mannequin, replete with shoulder pads, for the real feel of being in the trenches. Furthermore, the mannequin provides an added touch of swiveling for realism and control training.

Linemen get down in a stance and wait for a go signal, either a voice cadence or a blinking light at the base of the unit. As the player drives the mannequin up, the addition of an applied weight plate causes resistance. (The maximum weight is 300 pounds. But a 50 or 100 pound plate will do the trick.) The TrenchMaster, with an introductory price of $3,500, (excluding freight), also comes forward which causes the resistance to become four times as much weight, meaning the farther they go back the heavier it gets, so the players don't drive through the ball.

"The general idea is a way to practice all year round with the technique of hitting with the added element of an LED display to make it fun," said Joseph. "We want to get players better. Now they can practice all year. The whole idea behind getting better is repetition."

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME

Baseball training aids have come a long way since the days of flannel uniforms.

From Pro Batter Sports comes a pair of baseball simulators that combine a state-of-the-art computerized baseball-pitching machine with cutting edge video technology that permits a batter to take batting practice under game-like conditions.

The high-end Professional ($75,000) and lower-priced PX2 ($44,900) are capable of throwing fastballs, curves, sliders, splitters, cutters, changeups, and screwballs interchangeably to multiple locations at speeds up to 100 mph. Images of both right handed and left handed pitchers are displayed on the projection screen, from which a ball is delivered through a hole at the end of the pitcher's delivery.

"Timing is a big thing with our machine," said Adam Battersby, VP / Sales & Marketing for the Milford, CT-based company. "A batter will not go into any slumps with our machines due to timing issues. A lot of hitters do not use pitching machines during the regular season because of that timing issue. The machine is controlled by a touch screen: A batter can select between eight different pitches, any speed between 45 miles per hour to 100 mph, and any location inside or outside the strike zone."

Pro Batter's machines are used by the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese League, and the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple A affiliate of the Indians.

"We can offer the most game-like at bats," Battersby said. "A lot of the players who use our machines say they get ready for the season a lot earlier and quicker because when they use it, it simulates situational game at bats. And our machines are very durable. The screen is white-coated canvas attached to bungee cords to help absorb the shock of the ball hitting it."

An ATEC baseball feeder, located behind the screen, feeds baseballs or polyurethane balls.

Speaking of ATEC (Athletic Training Equipment Company), when it comes to baseball-oriented training devices, it is the No. 1 choice for Major League Baseball.

The Casey Pro, the official pitching machine of MLB, and the Axis pitching machine, are the company's top two sellers. The Power Hummer is an ideal machine for running defensive drills, infield / outfield, catching and blocking drills.

According to said Gene Grant, president, ATEC, Inc., the choice of machine boils down to how fast you want to throw the ball, or how far.

"A coach basically has an assistant, which is what we kind of call our equipment," said Grant. "It's an assistant coach on the field that helps you get in a lot of drills. Really, all of our machines are used on the professional level and we recommend them for the high school level. Some of the lower end models we don't recommend for high school because they just don't pitch fast enough."

Added Grant: The first thing I usually do if a coach comes up to me and says, 'I need a pitching machine, which one do you recommend?, is, I first qualify him by asking for what level and for what specific use. And then we kind of direct him to the right product. They all pitch. They all do some level of defensive work. Some do some things better than others. So it really depends what their focus is from that standpoint."

Repetition in any sport, at any level, is a fundamental and vital element for improvement. A professional baseball player knows he can hit a 90-mile per hour fastball. Nor is he worried about seeing a curve. The same cannot be said of a high school player who will be subject to a dearth of breaking balls on the scholastic level. That is the beauty of having a pitching machine at your disposal where you can hit a succession of curveballs. The only way to learn how to hit it is to see it.

"What we talk about on the training side is making your practices very, very efficient and economical, and getting a lot of repetitions," Grant said. "No matter if that is for offense or defense. We offer a product line that is very diverse. What we do as a training company is put you in a position to do that."

RELATED ARTICLE: BELOW ARE SEVERAL OTHER NEAT, NEW SPORT-SPECIFIC TRAINING AIDS:

* THE STAR KICK is the ultimate soccer skills device, the company says. Star Kick offers a handsfree challenge that allows players to maximize the number of times they can practice kicking. No more chasing the ball across a field, the Star Kick makes the ball come back to the player with each and every kick with realistic game speed. The patented design allows the player to develop a wide variety of skills, including kicking, shooting, trapping, and throwins. Great for general coordination as well, the Star Kick develops reflexes, reaction time, and coordination with both feet for maximum flexibility. The Star Kick retails for $12.95 and can be purchased online at www.starkick.com. * RZ TRAINER SOLO FOOTBALL TRAINER (www.rztrainer.com) was co-designed by Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana as the perfect trainer for every position, claims the company. This solo passing and catching trainer has a patented design that allows the ball to return in one bounce w/ speed and variable movement. Practice fumble recovery drills and see immediate improvement in passing and catching skills. Waist attachment allows for maximum mobility while practicing rollout and drop back passes. The high quality, composite leather ball with heavy-duty laces detaches from the trainer for use as a standard football. The RZ Trainer retails for $29.95 and can be purchased at online at www.rztrainer.com * THE V-TEE is a revolution in batting practice, according to the company, While traditional tees act as a platform for a ball, with the ball sitting on top, the V-Tee actually suspends the ball in midair through a barely noticeable loop hanging down from above the ball. Balls coming off the V-Tee roll and fly naturally and hitting off of it allows a hitter to most accurately practice the swing that he/she would take if the ball were actually being pitched. No subconscious adjustment for the tee stem. The V-Tee price has yet to be announced, but will be between $100 and $200.

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