Sports wearable technology startup SNYPR launched a new version of its connected wall ball app at the U.S. Lacrosse Convention this weekend in Baltimore. SNYPR kicked off the unveil by powering Under Armour’s Wall Ball Challenge, a way for players both on-site and across the country to compete to see who could record the highest number of reps, with the top wall ballers receiving prizes from Under Armour.
After downloading SNYPR on iOS or Android, players sign in with the Wall Ball Challenge team code and attach their smartphone to the right arm via an Under Armour shin guard sleeve.
Players could then follow a leaderboard inside the app and on site that tracked their reps in real-time. With the new iteration of the app, coaches can now also look at their team’s performance in private as well.
Want to win a cool prize? Participate in the @USLacrosse #WallBallChallenge right here at #LaxCon! Get those reps in! @snyprlax @UALacrosse pic.twitter.com/gW7qcynng0
— Megan Schneider (@mschneider713) January 20, 2017
Doug Appleton, CEO and co-founder of SNYPR, admitted that the counter isn’t “100 percent accurate” yet but that anyone can use the free app.
“We thought there was a natural fit with the Under Armour brand and how they’re focused on innovation and data analytics to really understand their athletes,” Appleton said. “If you look at some of their other partnerships and acquisitions in the wearable tech space, it’s clear that they have a very innovative approach to understanding their athletes. There was definitely a real fit on the technology side.”
Appleton — who along with one of his co-founders previously co-founded Talon Lacrosse, which was then acquired by Easton-Bell Sports in 2010 — started SNYPR 18 months ago. According to Appleton, he and his team “thought the future of sports training was in the wearable tech arena.”
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SNYPR was originally created as a hardware company that created a sensor for players to embed in sticks. However, over time, the thinking evolved to creating an experienced geared around an app versus selling a piece of hardware.
Last summer, SNYPR launched the inaugural version of the app with U.S. Lacrosse as part of a Wall Ball Challenge to promote the organization’s First Stick Program. For every throw, players’ sponsors donated one cent to the program to assist kids in need who couldn’t afford lacrosse equipment.
“Seeing how it has impacted young players and motivated them to play more has really been the driving force here,” Appleton said of founding the company.
Appleton said that the next evolution of SNYPR is potentially moving the practice experience off the smartphone and upper arm onto another part of the body.
“We’ve got very good prototypes and good working knowledge of what it looks like when you move it to the wrist,” he explained. “If you had a sensor like a smartwatch, you’re getting movement there. Now, what if it’s on the stick itself? We’ve got patents for sensors on both ends of the stick. … That’s what’s coming.”