Mustard App
A Review and Why All Throwers Should Have It
Mustard is a motion analysis application that provides pitchers with same-session feedback and personalized instruction from the world’s best coaches. Although, Mustard is much more than simply a pitching mechanics app - which is already incredible on its own. The Mustard team offers weekly calls for athletes, parents and coaches to discuss the mental and emotional aspects of pitching, strategies and tactics, functional training, and athlete nutrition. 
Perhaps most notably, its personalized training comes from one of the greatest throwing coaches in the history of sports, Tom House, Ph.D. Dr. Tom House has been called ‘The Father of Modern Pitching Mechanics’ and ‘The Professor of Throwing’  due to his impressive coaching history, his professional background and extensive education. 
Along with Dr. House, Mustard was founded by performance coach - Jason Goldsmith, former minor league pitcher - Rocky Collis, and professional quarterback - Luke Collis.
The app is a wonderful innovation that provides athletes with game-changing data. This review covers major aspects of the app that, in my experience, have been good and some elements that could use some improvement. Again, I emphasize that the following is based on my personal experience with Mustard. Other users may have had a different experience with the app.
The Things Mustard Does Well
It's Simple
Mustard is an extremely simple app. The app is organized into three main pages - one that houses all previous pitching sessions, a page that opens the device’s camera for recording a new session, and another page that provides a training plan and an overall mechanics score. Everything an athlete, coach or parent needs on three simple pages. 
To use the app, all the user has to do is record the athlete. A coach can hold the device and record an athlete, or an athlete can set up a tripod to capture video when they're by themselves. Once the recording session is over, the app will process the video and deliver your results. No video editing skills required. 
It's Fast
Uploading and processing videos can take a lot of time. I will admit, the first time I used Mustard it took some time for the session to process. However, every session after that has been quick and flawless. Usually, the recording is ready for review by the time I leave the bullpen - just a few minutes after the session is over. 
It's Accurate
From what I can tell, the data given from the app is good and accurate. The mechanical variables that are measured include the angles, distances, timing and positioning of various parts of the body. These data points seem to be accurate down to a single degree angle and centisecond (0.01 seconds).
Training Videos
Not only does this app give athletes a mechanical breakdown of their pitching motion, but it also gives athletes the opportunity to improve their mechanics by providing simple training videos. These videos include some of Tom House’s famous pitching drills. Athletes can select a particular variable and view up to four drills to improve that variable. 
For example, I failed the Balance variable. When I select that variable, I am provided with a video explaining that variable, a description of it, and training videos that highlight drills to improve that variable.
It's Free
Mustard is a free app. This app gives athletes biometric data on their pitching mechanics for free. That alone should have prospects scratching at the door to download this application. Most training programs that develop pitchers charge athletes hundreds of dollars for a single pitching analysis. This is usually done by reviewing a video of a single pitch with the naked eye. Mustard provides athletes with a mechanical breakdown of a seemingly infinite amount of pitches for free.
Developers are Fast
When I first started this article, my ‘What Mustard Can Improve On’ list was much longer. After spending a lot of time on the app and trying to nit-pick things that could be improved, I finally found some things I was comfortable writing about. The next day, an update came out for the app and my improvement list was virtually eliminated. One thing I can say with confidence is that Mustard’s developers are working hard. They fixed the issues I had before I had the chance to write about them.
What Mustard Can Improve On
Only on iOS
One of the biggest setbacks for me about the Mustard app was that it's only available on iOS. I was an Android user my entire life and I had no plans on switching to an iPhone. When I found out that Mustard was only on iOS, I was crushed. I’m sure Team Mustard has plans for Android users in the future, but it's not currently available anywhere other than Apple’s App Store. Consequently, it must go down as something to work on. That said, I was a stubborn Android user whose family had been trying to get me to switch for years. Mustard convinced me to do the one thing my wife never could, get an iPhone. For all the Android users out there, I must say that the Mustard app is worth the switch. 
Unable to Analyze Video
Every now and then, I will submit a session from my bullpen and there is an occasional pitch that was unable to be analyzed. Additionally, sometimes there are some pitches missing from my bullpen altogether. I have to give some leeway on this though because the internet reception isn’t all that great where I throw. As a result, the upload time for videos is really slow and sometimes leads to videos not able to be analyzed.
Things I’d Like to See in the Future
Connectivity to teammstrd.com
Like I said before, Mustard is more than just an app. If you didn’t know, Mustard has a great website - teammstrd.com. This website is a good resource and it includes a lot of great content. Now that Mustard is available directly from the App Store, some users might not know about the site.  It would be cool to be able to access teammstrd.com directly from the app. Then users can more easily consume all the great content on The Squeeze (Mustard’s blog). 
Full Motion Skeleton
One of the coolest things about Mustard, and probably the biggest thing that caught my eye about the app, is that it provides athletes with skeletal data at ball release. One thing that would be extremely cool is to have a full motion skeletal breakdown like the famous Greg Maddux vs. Nolan Ryan 3D analysis. I must say that this is very likely easier said than done. I’m not sure how this technology works or if it's even possible with just a single device, but it would be really cool to have. Maybe in the future, this could be a feature that requires a subscription. Just a thought.
Available on Android
As I mentioned before, I was an Android user with no intention to switch to an iPhone. I thought about it for days and I came to the conclusion that I HAD to have the Mustard app. Although this app is definitely worth the switch, I wish I didn’t have to. It would be nice to see Mustard available on Android one day in the future. 
If You’re a Thrower, Download Mustard
Overall, Mustard is an incredible app. I would say to do whatever you have to in order to get this app (like switch to an iPhone and tweet about it in hopes @TeamMSTRD will see it and send you an invitation). As great as it is, it’s a new app and has some things to work on. This app, and its entire system built around it, is incredible and nothing like we’ve ever seen before. This app will change the game for all athletes no matter their age.
Although this app is specifically designed for pitching in baseball, throwing, in general, requires similar mechanics. With that said, if you play a sport where you make a throwing motion (football, tennis, etc.) then you should still download this app. There are great daily arm care routines to improve mobility and functional strength. 
Make sure to Download the Mustard App!
You can also keep up with The Squeeze at teammstrd.com and follow Team Mustard on their social networking sites at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/teammstrd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teammstrd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teammstrd
↑Back to Top