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Instead of competing against the technology that prevents athletes' workouts, the youth travel and agility instructor is working with it.
Mulkeen, 25, is developing a fitness-tracking app for smartphones that he hopes will double the effectiveness of his 45-minute, weekly training sessions at Teels in Wyckoff and Overtime Sports in Wayne.
“All it takes is some consistent, hard work at home,” said Mulkeen, who is working on the app with a client.
“They’re consistently on their phones for hours every day. If I can [have] five minutes into that through a phone, it would be quite simple.”
Mulkeen — who's working on a "clever" name for his app — said his development would be the first in the fitness industry that guarantees daily effort from clients.
“I feel like this would be a way to link kids' brains to something meaningful on their phones instead of playing games like Candy Crush,” said Mulkeen, who played baseball at Ramapo College and in the New Jersey Amateur Baseball League.
The app would serve as a hub for Mulkeen — along with other trainers or teachers — to hone their pupils’ skills outside of practice or a classroom, the coach said.
Mulkeen wants to be able to send the same YouTube or self-recorded video once every day as a way of showing athletes what they should be doing and how to do it.
“Parents will be getting way more of a bang for their buck because their kids would be coming in physically stronger on a weekly basis. They’ll be picking up higher than where they left off.”
Rich Casse, of Midland Park, is noticing the more work his 12-year-old puts him at home, the more he advances on the field.
"Patrick's program and training methods have been excellent so the app is probably going to complement everything he's been doing," Casse said.
Mulkeen hopes consistent effort and increased progression will result in higher self-esteem among his athletes.
“That’s what it’s all about,” he said.
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