Korea University's Upside Down Cruise and Biomechanics
Korea University's Upside Down Cruise and Biomechanics
Blog Article
Korea University is the team that will pay attention to in recent years. Amid the strong performance of two-year universities, he showed his power as a strong player for the first time in a long time and reached the final of the 2024 KUSF University Baseball U-League King of Kings. This is all the more eye-catching as the result reversed the expectation that Kim Dae-ho and Jung Ji-heon, who took charge of one-two punch last year, will be out of the team due to graduation and early draft, and will have a difficult season. Kim Ji-hoon, who replaced the manager in February, just before the opening of the season, did not have enough time to figure out the team, but he cruised, dispelling concerns.
Kim Ji-hoon had coached for the Doosan Bears and the KIA Tigers for quite some time. When he was a Kia Tigers coach, he also had a lot of experience as a scout team leader. Before taking the helm of Korea University, he had time to adapt himself to college baseball as a coach at Songwon University for one year. "Before starting the season, I focused on identifying strengths and weaknesses of players by playing more than 20 practice games," Kim said. That was the introduction of sports science. In cooperation with Professor Lee Ki-kwang's team at Kookmin University, he is striving to improve his skills by constantly digesting biomecanics programs and modifying and supplementing player movements.
"When I was a coach at Doosan, I was curious about Biomechanics and others and came to visit Professor Lee Ki-kwang recklessly. I introduced the technology as I thought sports science would serve as the foundation for player development," said Kim Ji-hoon. "Biomechanics explains body motion systems and other technologies with physics and mechanics when exercising," Lee said. "If a leader's eyes are X-rays, Biomechanics is like undergoing an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test. It can accurately identify problems in a player's movements." A player whose control was torn was considered to be a problem because his arm height was not constant. However, the Biomechanics' measurements showed that his upper body including his arms and shoulders was shaky because his lower body could not withstand it.
Some complain that if sports science such as Biomechanics is introduced into baseball, the role of a leader will be reduced. However, the coach said, "We can determine the direction of coaching through accurate diagnosis," adding, "Science is like a counselor who gives accurate advice." If not for Biomechanics, the pitcher whose lower body was a problem, he would have failed to find a solution and only corrected the height of his arm and wasted his energy.
Next year, Waseda University in Japan plans to take a closer look at how to incorporate Biomechanics and other technologies into baseball. Waseda University is one of Japan's two largest mountain ranges that lead sports science along with Tsukuba University. The university holds an international friendship exchange war with Korea University every year, and it is said that the university asked a Waseda university official to experience advanced science and baseball this year, which was accepted willingly.
Korea University has also invited mental coaches as well as Biomechanics to manage its players. "It is difficult for professional players to manage their mental skills, and it goes without saying for college players," Kim said. "It is no longer an era in which players' skills increase just by practicing." 스포츠토토 Practice also puts more emphasis on efficiency. The team focuses on sprinters that increase quickness and instantaneous explosive power rather than on long-term running. The sprinter is also practiced three to four times at the end of the exercise, not during the middle of the exercise. Sprinters are effective only when players do their best, because players tend to accumulate energy for the remaining practice sessions.
In the Korean baseball community, sports science is regarded as the exclusive property of professionals. "In the U.S., universities are leading sports science," coach Kim Ji-hoon said. "I want to turn Korea University into a mecca for sports science by providing various equipment in the long term."