Pitch Location Tracking App

Sep 22

From Idea to App, Who Created Hitting Approach?

All great software products start with problem, a need, or a shortcoming. Hitting Approach is no different. Jon Shehan, head baseball coach of Millersville University became frustrated with paper charts and the lack of affordable data to work with when coaching players at the NCAA Division II level. So he reached out to colleague Josh Lapp, a software engineer who had experience developing apps as well as playing collegiate baseball.

“One of the problems with hitting is that you can do everything right: make a good decision to swing at good pitches, put a good swing on a pitch, hit it hard and still make an out. Helping our hitters understand when they are having success, even though the box score would say otherwise, is a huge battle for hitting coaches.

I wanted to build on the postgame cards we were using by helping our hitters understand whether or not they were making good decisions at the plate.”

— Shehan

After a few meetings and months of development, a prototype was created which was used by the Millersville Baseball team in the spring season of 2020, until covid-19 cut the season short. The first beta version of the app was a success that spring season.

Hitting Approach expanded the user base for a final beta test during the spring 2021 baseball season. The app was used by the baseball programs at Lebanon Valley College, Lampeter Strasburg High School, and Millersville University. This version included a completed website where coaches could view their data, apply filters, download reports, and utilize a player post game feedback and self-assessment feature.

Final adjustments to the app and stats website were made in the summer of 2021 based on the feedback from beta testers, and the app was officially launched on the iOS App Store in July of 2021.

The app tracks pitch location, pitch type, and result via manual input from someone watching the game. The data collected in the app is sent to the cloud where coaches log in to a website to view and download charts and reports. The images below are samples of charts and reports that are available from the Hitting Approach website.

Batting Average Heat Map