Eleven early-adapter athletes from Chicago – including eight golfers – recently took the first steps toward markedly improving their games with help from zenoLINK™, a cutting-edge technology in sports performance.
zenoLINK™ is a proprietary biomechanics analysis tool that uses 3-D motion assessment to capture Ph.D.-level data related to functional movement. Developed by welch-e technologies of Endicott, N.Y., zenoLINK™ has broken new ground by making research-level, sport-specific analysis of individuals’ biomechanics available to the general public.
The Chicago athletes – a high school softball player, two baseball pitchers and golfers ranging in age from early teens to early 60s – participated in two-hour evaluation sessions, during which they underwent the zenoLINK™ functional movement assessment and were introduced to the first stage of their personalized zenoLINK Progressive Skills Training™ programs. The zenoLINK™ “boot camps” were held Dec.12-13 at the Links & Tees Golf Facility in Addison, Ill, in partnership with PGA Professional Lou Solarte, whose company Dynamic Sports Motion trains golfers and baseball players.
“At the end of the sessions, everybody was amped up and excited to begin training hard,” said Chris Welch, the biomechanical engineer who created zenoLINK™. “The progress everyone made in such a compressed time frame was phenomenal. The arm swingers began feeling core engagement, with more speed being generated by their legs and torso. They felt speed they had never experienced before.”
The premise of zenoLINK™ is that an understanding and application of biomechanics can help athletes improve performance and reduce the risk of injury. Not only does ZenoLINK™ capture Ph.D.-level data, but it also offers Ph.D.-level interpretation of that information.
Moreover, zenoLINK™ taps into the emerging field of neuromechanics, which is proving that limitations to an athlete’s “hardware” (body structure) can be mitigated by reprogramming their “software” (how the nervous system initiates muscle movement) by the use of specific drills designed to reproduce small components of overall movement. Before the advent of zenoLINK™, this level of functional movement analysis was available only to sports performance researchers and trainers who work with elite athletes.
Optimizing functional movement offers much more potential for performance gains than strength training or traditional technique coaching, although as Welch recommends, the ideal scenario is the coordinated implementation of all three components.
The Internet makes zenoLINK™ accessible to athletes anywhere in the world. The first step is a brief video session with a zenoLINK™ partner (typically a sports trainer, coach or therapist) during which the athlete is taped as he/she performs their activity (hitting a golf ball or baseball, serving a tennis ball, cycling, shooting a hockey puck or lacrosse ball). The video is evaluated at welch-e technologies’ headquarters and then the analysis can be accessed on the company’s secure Web site. Also posted under each individual’s account are the prescribed drills to begin zenoLINK’s Progressive Skills Training™ program. Progress is monitored via videos at 6- to 10-week intervals, enabling zenoLINK™ analysts to evaluate fresh data and modify the PST™ routine accordingly.
More zenoLINK™ “boot camps” will be scheduled at various locations, including suburban Chicago, in early 2010. To learn more about zenoLINK™ or schedule an interview with Chris Welch, contact Dave Richards at Resort & Golf Marketing, 248-642-6420 or dave@resortandgolf.com.
About welch-e technologies: Based in Endicott, N.Y., welch-e technologies (all lower case is correct and trademarked as such) develops and implements software applications for the measurement and analysis of human motion. Its zenoLINK™ application uses a 3-D motion capture platform and 3-D motion data. The company’s clients include athletes, trainers, clinicians and coaches, primarily in golf, baseball, softball, tennis, lacrosse, cycling and volleyball. Founder Chris Welch, 41, has authored numerous scientific papers and frequently is featured as a keynote speaker at symposiums on sport biomechanics and performance analysis.
Contact:
Contact: 607-786-9262, chris@welch-e.com
Web site: www.zenoLINK.com
