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On Wednesday, the Bombers Fastpitch organization headquartered in Texas and led by President Scott Smith, announced a partnership with Kevin Davidson, the CEO of DS Sports Ventures, which is the parent company that owns innovative tech companies Yakkertech, BaseballCloud, SoftballCloud and Aqueti.
Below is the official release, but first are some insights from Smith who shared with Extra Inning Softball’s Brentt Eads why he feels this will be a ground-breaking advancement not just with his club softball organization located in 13 states across the country, but also for the sport overall…
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Q&A with Bombers Head Scott Smith
Extra Inning Softball: How did this partnership between you and Kevin first get started?
Scott Smith: The partnership first started as a chance meeting that turned into a friendship that then progressed into a business partnership.
Back in 2019 I was seeking out more information in the data capture space to help our efforts in player development with Bombers Fastpitch. I had reached out to a handful of individuals and I took a chance of sending a twitter direct message to Kevin and he was the only individual that took the time to respond to me.
I hopped on a plane and flew out to Orlando and met with him and his staff and from that first meeting it was more of a friendship than anything.
EIS: What do you think makes this deal so significant? And have the financial terms been released?
SS: As far as the deal, the financial terms have not been released publicly to respect the privacy to all parties, but what really matters is the incredible scope of the partnership.
The fact that Yakkertech is about to change the game in regard to the way data is captured—with its new camera technology provided by its newest acquisition, Aqueti—is beyond anything the game has ever seen.
EIS: What are some first or immediate uses we’ll see of the relationship being used for the Bombers?
SS: The evolution of DS Sports Ventures and the process that has taken place in the development of SoftballCloud/BaseballCloud is what has spearheaded this process along with the acquisition of Yakkertech, which is the best product in the space in regard to data capture and, more specifically, “In Game” data capture.
EIS: How do you seeing the partnership helping your players improve their game?
SS: College softball is making a mad dash to the data capture process and its uses in player development, recruiting, broadcasting and fan engagement. These two incredible platforms position our Bomber players with unprecedented data capture and data insight tools to share with college coaches in the recruiting process as well our Bomber player development coaches will now have tools that up to this point have really only been available to the highest levels of baseball.
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Bombers Fastpitch Partners with Industry Leading Tech Companies
SoftballCloud and Yakkertech entered a first of its kind, long-term partnership with Bombers Fastpitch, one of the nation’s largest and premiere travel softball organizations.
SoftballCloud and Yakkertech will be the first companies to bring advanced in-game technology and analytics to the softball community. The partnership marks a significant milestone for both Yakkertech and SoftballCloud as they continue to expand into the softball market.
The Bombers organization has over 20 years of history developing young players to excel at the highest levels in softball. Yakkertech and SoftballCloud expand upon the Bombers mission by providing players the ability to play, obtain, and access their data through its platform and analysis reporting tools ultimately enhancing their ability to be seen by colleges.
This aligns with the Bombers belief in focusing on competition at the highest level as well as utilizing data and analytics to further the development of their players.
Scott Smith outlined the importance of this partnership for his programs:
“What this means for Bombers Fastpitch is beyond incredible,” he explained. “The technology we are talking about with Yakkertech is game-changing in so many ways. The sport has never had anything comparable to Yakkertech and to power that technology with the incredible data insight tools and applications that SoftballCloud brings is going to take our approach of player development to a whole other level.”
“These tools and technology are going to shape an entirely new approach to the recruiting process that is going to give our Bomber players unbelievable resources to share with college coaches!”
Yakkertech throughout the college landscape has opened new doors for the game of softball. It now brings enhanced analysis and visualization capabilities to players, teams and coaches in a variety of ways.
Here is a video of Kevin Davidson explaining the importance of in-game data:
The immediate focus on the partnership will be to increase and maximize player exposure. The explosion of Yakkertech at the collegiate level has now created a demand for coaches to have more information on players.
“As college coaches begin using this information, they begin understanding the numbers. They understand what types of players they have and want. And which ones will most likely have success in their program. The demand we have seen in collegiate softball is unprecedented.” says Kevin Davidson, CEO of Yakkertech/SoftballCloud.
Players will not only be able to leverage the data for exposure and development, SoftballCloud’s robust platform will allow captured data to be used in ways never imagined. In-stadium fan engagement apps, broadcasting enhancements, umpiring solutions, future VR and biomechanics integrations will power the future player experience.
SoftballCloud President, Joe Sleiman, highlights the importance of the deal for the industry:
“Our partnership with the Bombers accelerates our technology into the game of softball, so now we can provide data accessibility, exposure, and solutions for youth softball players nationwide. By bringing the Bombers into the mix, we lay the foundation of player identification and player tracking in softball.”
The partnership marks the first softball, program-wide deal for SoftballCloud and Yakkertech. Bombers Fastpitch, SoftballCloud and Yakkertech couldn’t be more excited for the future of softball player development and recruiting.
About Bombers Fastpitch:
The Bombers are a Junior Olympic Fastpitch Softball Program headquartered in New Braunfels, TX, which began competition in 2001. The Bombers provide elite softball players the opportunity to pursue collegiate scholarships and compete at the highest levels. Located in 13 states (Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Alabama, Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, Virginia) the Bomber organization and its players are committed to demonstrating leadership in community involvement and professionalism. Follow the Bombers at www.bombersfastpitch.net