Proper coaching is what separates recreational sport players from the pros, but not every athlete can have a top-tier coach guiding them. That is, until now.
On Friday, LA-based Mustard launched with $1.7 million in funding. The company was started by MLB and NFL throwing coach Dr. Tom House, mental performance coach Jason Goldsmith, former minor league pitcher Rocky Collis and former professional quarterback Luke Collis. These individuals are each accomplished in their own ways and their goal is to make professional-grade coaching available to anyone through the Mustard app.
The app uses motion analysis to measure an athlete’s throwing technique, and then give personalized guidance in order to improve. It leverages biometrics data from athletes around the world, collected over 40-plus years.
“Youth sports have become an expensive proposition, costing families thousands of dollars each year,” co-founder House said in a statement. “Too many kids miss out on the power of play and the many physical and mental benefits of sports — studies show that 70 percent of kids stop playing sports by the age of 13 due to cost and lack of access to quality coaching.”
He continued: “Mustard offers every young athlete access to the same coaching programs and extensive biomechanical analysis used by the best athletes in the world, and the same personalized training protocols that I use with the Hall of Famers I see in person. We want to make elite personalized coaching accessible to all.”
The Mustard app is free to download and initially free to use. At launch, the app will be geared toward coaching baseball players improved throwing and pitching techniques, but the company aims to expand to other sports in the future. Mustard also plans to use its funding to build out its AI technology and application suite, as well as provide a mental performance training platform.
Several athletes have hopped onboard as angel investors, including NFL quarterback Drew Brees and MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan. Meanwhile, a handful of other athletes are acting as advisors for the company, including Olympic gold medalist soccer player Mia Hamm, World Cup champion Meghan Klingenberg, NCAA softball coach Mike Candrea and more.
You can request access to the app by going to Mustard’s website.
