Arizona Diamondbacks announce $1 million charitable gift to Banner Sports Medicine
06/03/2024
Diamondbacks Pitching & Hitting Tunnels make elite training available to all
The Arizona Diamondbacks recently announced a $1 million charitable gift from the team to the Banner Health Foundation to help make professional-level baseball training available to young players from across the Valley. Leaders from both Banner Health and the Diamondbacks were on hand at Banner Sports Medicine Scottsdale’s High Performance Center to officially dedicate the Pitching & Hitting Tunnels, which will bear the Diamondbacks’ name, when the gift announcement was made. Their generous support will give talented baseball players at all levels access to the same expert performance training that professional Major League Baseball players experience.
The fully instrumented, MLB-grade pitching and hitting tunnels include research-grade systems specific to pitching and hitting analysis. The Diamondbacks’ support ensures the tunnels will always have the latest instrumentation to analyze swing and pitching mechanics and that the technology and the training expertise within Banner Sports Medicine’s High Performance Center are available to any athlete who wishes to train at this level. Typically reserved for professional athletes, this equipment and sport-specific training expertise will allow the next generation of college and professional baseball players to maximize their performance on the field.
“One of the goals of Banner Sports Medicine is to ensure that athletes of all ages and skill levels can benefit from the best performance training, injury prevention, and when needed, expert sports medicine care and rehab, available right here in our community,” said Peter S. Fine, FACHE, CEO for Banner Health. “This support is going to make that possible for a whole generation of ball players, some of whom will undoubtedly make it to the pros. It’s an incredible gift to our community that will continue to have a positive impact for years to come.”
Derrick Hall, President, CEO and General Partner for the Diamondbacks, shared how this gift aligns with the team’s mission in the community. “We believe in the power of sports to transform lives and build stronger communities,” Hall said. “By partnering with Banner Health, we are thrilled to provide young athletes with access to top-tier training facilities and expert coaching. This investment not only nurtures future baseball talent but also promotes health, teamwork, and perseverance. We are excited to see the impact on aspiring players and our community as a whole.”
Hall also shared that the Diamondbacks’ NIKE RBI (Returning Baseball to Inner Cities) team will utilize the tunnels when training at the High Performance Center for 40 hours this summer. The team is comprised of young baseball players who do not have the resources to play club ball or train with private coaches and trainers. They will benefit from one-of-a-kind sports analytics and training, including the latest in sports science and biomechanics technology including force plate, Kinetrax 3D markerless motion capture camera systems, and Rapsodo, which allows coaches and players to look at key batting and pitching metrics such as pitching and hitting mechanics, exit velocities, launch angles, spin rates and spin efficiency.
Angel Valenzuela, 19, a member of last year’s NIKE RBI team and who is helping train this year’s team, shared with guests at the dedication ceremony the difference the training made for him. “Training with the team at the Banner Sports Medicine High Performance Center gave me great confidence in my ability headed into the Nike RBI World Series in Florida,” he said. “The hitting and pitching tunnels and technology, combined with the strength, conditioning and recovery helped me better understand the process of becoming the best version of myself. The Banner Sports Medicine team is extremely knowledgeable and supportive, and they helped me to set measurable goals for my health and performance. It was my first time receiving this kind of information and coaching and it was an invaluable experience for me as an athlete.”
Opened in May 2023, Banner Sports Medicine Scottsdale has already had 36,000 patient visits, while the High Performance Center has already hosted 12,000 athletes since opening last June. The three-story, 80,000 square-foot facility provides everything athletes need to reach peak athletic performance. Sports medicine services include orthopedic surgery, primary care sports medicine, concussion management, X-ray and imaging, injury prevention, physical therapy, and more. Located on the first floor, the High Performance Center features roughly 17,000 square feet of indoor space and a 29,000-square-foot outdoor training area suited for real-time, true-to-sport assessment and training. The center is Arizona’s most comprehensive collection for athletic training, diagnostic and monitoring systems, including the latest in force plate technology and motion capture camera systems capable of serving athletes across virtually all court, field and track sports.