FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Perfect Game Series is set to begin its third year in 2017 with some major additions on the horizon, including a new dynamic to the type of testing being done and the introduction of the PG Series Challenge to the event schedule.
PG Series events are centered around testing a players’ various athletic and baseball skills such as the 30-yard dash, 5-10-5 pro agility shuttle, reaction testing, broad jump, throwing velocities, and ZEPP testing. These tests give the players the opportunity to compare themselves to other players in their age-group from around the country and to see which aspect of their game they need to improve upon.
With the addition of a Grip Strength Test and two new state of the art laser measuring systems – the Witty Laser System and OptoJump – the PG Series is providing players with the opportunity to measure almost every aspect of their game.
The Witty Laser System combines precise Laser measurements with agility testing to help determine a players quickness and reactions. The Witty System can be configured to incorporate a sequence of different tests along with making minor changes to duration or different difficulties.
The OptoJump software is a groundbreaking laser system that can record and analyze thousands of data points on how athletes move and react. Used by the Tampa Bay Rays, the PG Series is incorporating the OptoJump system as a main component of the PG Challenge.
Using this equipment, PG can identify important aspects of each athlete's speed, agility, power and reaction. Every measurement collected will go into making an athletic testing score, which can be compared to other participants and used to help improve a person's athletic weaknesses.
Kevin Barr, the former strength and conditioning coordinator for the Tampa Bay Rays, first started using the OptoJump software and equipment with Rays’ players and noticed its importance not only from a training aspect but also in the rehabilitation process. Barr has been working closely with the PG Series staff to incorporate the methods he found to be so useful during the time he was with the Rays.
Improvement is not measured only by gaining a miler-per-hour on a throw, or a 10th-of-second in a 40-yard dash, but also by making gains in all athletic skills that comprise PGAME: Perfect Game Athlete Metric Evaluation. PGAME is the proprietary scoring metric used in determining overall and sport specific athletic ability.
The new PG Series Challenge events will be single-day events that give players the opportunity to take part in all of the testing and measurements that are now standard for the PG Series.
The Inaugural PG Series Challenge event will be held in Fort Myers, Florida on Dec. 17, 2016, with the addition of other PG Series Challenge events in several other states in the spring of 2017. These events will help identify players who could be invited to participate in the PG Series Classic events in the summer of 2017.
To learn more about the PG Series, and PG Series Challenge please click here. For more information or any questions please contact PG Series Assistant Directors Ryan Normoyle, or Bill Perry.
rnormoyle@perfectgame.org bperry@perfectgame.org