Revisiting Vendors from Prior Years at ABCA 2025

Posted on by David Navarre

Not only are there new vendors with new products, but also vendors we’ve met before that have created new products or modified existing ones with the experience they’ve gained.

Krato Sports

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Back in 2022, we visited with Justin Kuhn and Rick Weaver to learn about their innovative bat weights. They screw onto any part of your bat and, like the RITEND weight we first saw yesterday, can be used in batting practice as well as dry swings. These have been upgraded, with plastic coverings and longer bolts to avoid breakage. They’ve also created some new products to save coaches money and provide more opportunities to improve our players.

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They’ve got Tee Toppers (and tees), plyo balls (with or without “laces”) and nets to hit or throw into. Since it’s a few guys who coach together, they collaborate and they know that coaches/programs don’t have any money to waste. Check them out at Booth #105.

The Nexus Mount

I was very excited to see the latest products under development at The Nexus Mount, who we met last year.

Brandon Miller has an iPad mount in prototype (rumored to be used in MLB spring training) that I’ve been hoping for since I needed to get an iPad to maximize my PitchLogic data review. It looks really good to me, with all the design elements of the OG Mount, only big enough for an iPad. It is due for pre-orders in February or March, so you might have it during school seasons and certainly will be seeing it during summer ball.

There’s a new swivel ball mount they’re coming out with, since some cameras need that when used in the mount to keep the view level. I didn’t get a photo of this, but it is really cool.

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Also available for pre-order soon is a stand for your mount, for when you’re not allowed to have it hanging from the screen or maybe even not touching the screen. You can have the stand on the wall of the backstop, which is way easier that doing that via tripod (which was part of the reason to use the Mount in the first place!) I know I’ll be getting one of these after my pre-order in February or March.

Less than 24 hours til the Trade Show Closes!

They’re on a break until 4pm, with the Coaches’ Social running until 6:30pm tonight, but you have to see and purchase your products either tonight or tomorrow. Otherwise, you won’t have this opportunity until we get to Columbus for ABCA 2026.

Meeting New Vendors at ABCA 2025

Posted on by David Navarre

Every year, I hunt around the Trade Show floor trying to find innovative products and interesting vendors. I want something useful, and a story to go with it. This year is no different!

RITEND Bat Weight

Almost hidden in the corner of the Trade Show Floor is RITEND Bat Weight, staffed by new President, Jakob Lindemann, son of the founder, Skip Lindemann. Skip always stressed getting your hands through the ball when coaching his son and his teams. So, he developed a bat weight for the right end of the bat – the RITEND bat weight is down on the knob. Jakob’s recent engineering change to the weight was to go from aluminum to steel, allowing a more compact weight. It’s easy-on, easy-off and is worth a look to see if it’s the tool for you. See them in Booth #152, in the corner.

Dobre Breaking Ball Trainer

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Back in Asheville, at Bob Lewis Ballpark, I ran into Michael Dobre, who was showing and selling his Breaking Ball Trainer. One of the things that sparked my interest was that Mike is a veteran. He was an Army Ranger (airborne-qualified, too) who was in the 2017 Best Ranger Competition (one of 53 teams of truly qualified soldiers). His trainers are baseballs with a ridge on them to allow players to learn the grips and how to throw the pitch with the best movement. He’s in Booth #118

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I spent some extra time, talking to his Dad, who served in the Marines. I always carry my coin for Jordan Haerter, so I shared with him the story of Haerter and Yale in Ramadi – the “Six Seconds” speech that General Kelly gave. It was great to be able to share that story and talk about developing youth both through Scouting (I was a Scoutmaster before I was a baseball coach) and through baseball.

While I was there, Juahn Clark, who is the ABCA Trade Show Director, happened by to share how much his daughter enjoys using the trainers that Mike developed for softball. Designing his softball trainers involved a lot of research and Juahn testified that they both work AND are liked. He noted that a good tool that players don’t like might as well not exist.

Trade Show Coaches Social

Don’t forget, the Trade Show floor will shut down for an hour to give them a break before reopening for the Social Hour at 4:00pm. Your drink tickets are attached to your badge!

Ever had your streaming camera overheat and fail? There’s a fix for that!

Posted on by David Navarre

Walking the exhibit floor and Morgan Miller put some swag in my hands. So, I stopped. I’d walked by the Nexus Mount booth a couple of times. I thought to myself, “I have a tripod. Why would I need these fancy things?”

So, I stopped to look and she began to explain. I’m not the streaming guy on our team, but when I run our bullpens at practice, I’ve got my phone, my iPad and my PocketRadar, all of which might be mounted on tripods or on the fence with a universal mount. I had the tripods from when I did video of WWII veterans at reunions (like this funny Thanksgiving 1944 story), so I don’t know if the expense counts, but I have put more money into what I currently have then what it will take to replace it with a product that is more versatile, more reliable and easier to set up while also avoiding overheating.

Brandon Miller was frustrated with his phones and radars overheating, causing shutdowns and destroyed devices. He’s a problem-solver, so he built a mount that would shield his devices from the sun and secure them properly to a fence or net. People saw it and asked if he could make one for them.

In 2023, when they set their goal for selling some devices, they thought that 100 was a reasonable amount. They’ve sold 2000.

These mounts are made of aluminum, so they’re lightweight. They mount quickly and securely (you can check a video of that on their Tiktok) and you can get an ABCA discount if you order soon (code ABCA24!)

One of the great things about ABCA is running into a family-run startup, like Hit Them All (blog post: If you can hit a chickpea, you can hit anything) and Krato Sports (blog post: https://oldmenplayingbaseball.com/2022/01/06/abca-2022-first-day/). Whether you get to go to ABCA conventions or not, check them out!

If you can hit a chickpea, you can hit anything

Posted on by David Navarre

I’m a sucker for a good story and especially for a good story behind a new business in baseball. Last year, I got to meet Rick Weaver and Justin Kuhn, who started Krato Spoorts (we will have a follow up this weekend!) and this year, I met Felix Fernandez.

Growing up in the Bronx, Felix would hit chickpeas to improve his hitting skills. When he got the chance to create a tool to make that easier for players to try, he started FLE-Innovations. So now we can all try to hit them all!

I was leaning in and Angel Jorge, who’s working for Felix part-time, saw my interest and built on it. The little machine fires bio-degradable balls for you to hit – each the size of a chickpea! You don’t need a partner. You don’t need a field or a net. You could be in a tiny yard just big enough for you to swing in, or next to a chain link fence (hook the machine to the fence!) or just about anywhere. The balls disintegrate on impact and biodegrade over team.

They’re running a $50 off special, so the machine and your first 120 balls are $199.99. You can get another 400 for $25 and 800 balls for $40.

Felix is here in Booth #2812 at ABCA 2023 and there was a swarm around their booth. Get in there!

While you’re there, congratulate Felix on his baby (his wife isn’t here so she can care for their 9-month-old).