The Point Loma Nazarene University and the San Diego Padres state-of-the-art biomechanics lab is officially open!
The biomechanics lab will allow everyone in the Padres system, from the majors to the minors, as well as Sea Lions student-athletes, to train there and gain insightful information to improve performance, minimize injury, and prolong careers.
Another key feature of the lab is the positive impact it will have on graduate students in PLNU's College of Health Science programs to gain experience that will set them up for success in their future careers. PLNU biomechanics professor Arnel Aguinaldo, who leads the lab shared with the Athletic how this new facility will benefit PLNU students in the M.S. in Kinesiology program, "You've got grad students who are motivated, who are learning about the science, who are doing their theses on some aspect of baseball biomechanics. You've got people who live and breathe biomechanics and learn. And subsequently, because they know about biomechanics, they're able to interpret the results and convey them in a layman's fashion to the players and coaches.” Position players also will have their movements tracked, recorded, and analyzed – opening new insights for teams into both pitching and hitting biomechanics.
Learn more about PLNU's M.S. in Kinesiology
A typical session in the PLNU & Padres Biomechanics Lab involves
- PLNU grad students use the technology to gather data on an athlete.
- A summary of the biomechanical movements tracked with inefficiencies and opportunities is created.
- The results are sent to the team to then work with the athlete based on the recommendations.
The PLNU & Padres Biomechanics Lab Equipment
- Full motion-capture technology that shows pitchers how they work from the inside out.
- Ball tracking equipment including Trackman, Rapsodo, and Edgertronic.
- Devices that instantaneously tell a pitcher how he’s releasing a pitch and what it does in the air.
- Mound and batter boxes equipped with force platform technology to gauge balance and power distribution.
- Senor-rigged bats that show hitters how to best attack the strike zone.
The PLNU & Padres Biomechanics Lab in the News
- San Diego Padres: Introducing the PLNU x Padres Biomechanics Lab!
- The Athletic: Why the Padres partnered with a local university to create a biomechanics lab
- MLB: Padres, PLNU unveil state-of-the-art pitching lab
- NBC San Diego: 'Rocket science applied to baseball:' A trip inside San Diego Padres and PLNU's new biomechanics lab
- 10 News: Padres, PLNU unveil new world-class biomechanics lab
