Michela Messina is a 7th grader from Fairfield, CT. She invented the Pitching Pro, a patent-pending invention, which upgrades a regular softball pitching rubber with a self-retracting string to act as a measuring tape to set the perfect distance. The device includes a torsion spring inside a 3D printed base that pulls the string back when you pull it out. In its latest version, she has made the retraction mechanism removable with different covers so that it can be customized for multiple sports. For Michela, the most challenging part was trying to make the mound thinner and sturdier. It took 5 tries to get all the strings to fit in the 3D printed base.
She believes that pitchers that are trying to practice or warm up before a game or scrimmage with no set distance (like the outfield) would benefit from her invention. It can also be used anytime someone is practicing some place without a mound. She hopes that in the future that the device can be mass-manufactured and used for other sports. Michela is an avid softball player, where she pitches for her travel team and local Little League All Star team. She found inspiration for her invention while pitching in the outfield without a proper bullpen and came to the realization that other pitchers would benefit from a solution to this issue. You can help Michela market her invention through testimonials and patent it as well
