What is the BreakAway app?
The BreakAway Pro app from BreakAway Speed captures a 20-yard sprint to help evaluate general athleticism. It's part of every level of MLBU BASE, including Core, Premium, and Prospect. The app runs on a phone, and capturing a sprint is as simple as hitting record, having the athlete run, and hitting stop.
Sprint is one half of the general athleticism component of MLBU BASE. Jump is the other half. Learn about jump performance here.
Why 20 yards instead of 60?
A 60-yard dash measures endurance as much as speed. BreakAway splits a 20-yard sprint into two parts, so each one tells you something specific:
Acceleration: 0 to 10 yards
Sprinting: 10 to 20 yards
Why is sprint part of every BASE evaluation?
Every baseball and softball player is an athlete first. A strong athletic foundation supports a healthier player and gives every other skill something solid to build on.
Sprint shows how fast an athlete is. Beyond stealing bases, top-end speed correlates to outfield defense and range. Faster players have a better chance of staying in the middle of the field as they get older.
What do the sprint metrics mean?
The most useful metric is top speed in each part of the sprint:
Metric | What it measures |
Acceleration Top Speed | The fastest the athlete moves in the first 10 yards. Reflects how quickly they get going. |
Sprinting Top Speed | The fastest the athlete moves from 10 to 20 yards. Reflects their top-end speed. |
Top speed is shown in feet per second, the same measure Major League Baseball uses to track sprint speed for every big leaguer. For reference, 30+ ft/sec is advanced at the MLB level, and anything under 25 ft/sec is on the slower side.
How do I read my sprint results in Stacks?
Stacks shows a percentile for each sprint metric. Percentiles help athletes see where they stand out, where they're average, and where their training time will make the biggest difference. They're a guide for what to work on next, not a grade.
How often should sprint be measured?
Sprint is most useful when it's measured regularly during a training period. Because the BreakAway app is quick and easy to use, it works well as a check-in between BASE sessions to confirm an athlete is trending in the right direction.
What if my sprint metrics are trending down?
A downward trend usually points to habits, not ability. Common causes include:
Poor sleep
Poor nutrition
Too much training
If sprint numbers are dropping, it may be time to adjust those habits or put more emphasis on speed development.
What if my sprint metrics are below average?
Sprint speed is improvable with the right training:
Acceleration: building lower-body strength often helps most.
Sprinting: becoming more explosive and spending more time running at full effort often helps most.
Talk with your coach or instructor about building speed work into your plan.
View your sprint results
Log in to Stacks to see your sprint metrics and percentiles.
Want to learn more?
Read the full breakdown from Team 1845: BASE: Using BreakAway Speed to Measure a Sprint
Follow along on Instagram at @est1845official.