MANSFIELD – Mansfield entrepreneur Todd Kelley was coaching track when he noticed something his star athletes needed – better equipment for speed resistance training.
The equipment that wasn’t too expensive or dangerous, at the least, had the potential to be more effective, Kelley explained. That idea led him to design his own product, the V9 Jaguar, through his startup company Aspire.
The product isn’t for sale yet. Kelley is working on prototypes and collecting research and feedback from his potential customers.
The startup, based in Braintree since December, has designed a remote-controlled, quick-release buckle for athletes to use on affordable speed resistance training equipment like parachutes.
“The equipment hasn’t caught up to the market,” Kelley said. “Athletes are smart today. (Speed resistance training) is about activating fast-twitch muscles. They use a lot of products, resistance products that hold you back with manual components to release from that.”
This equipment is meant to cause resistance as an athlete trains to increase speed. However, Kelley explains, the current design of the parachutes requires an athlete to change their regular arm motion mid-run to release the belt that attaches the parachute.
Kelley believes there’s a better way. With a remote-controlled method to release the buckle, either the athlete or the coach could release the equipment, which Kelley believes will be more effective in increasing the athlete’s speed.
“This product is a need,” he said.
Kelley discussed how elastic bungies can cause injuries and more expensive equipment like special treadmills aren’t often a viable option for high school and college athletes.
He’s also developing other technologies that could make communication in sports easier via wearable devices.
Kelley’s goal with his startup is to be generating revenue and making a profit within three years. Before that point, the V9 Jaguar and other products should be on the market.
In the long term, Kelley is uncertain where he’ll end up. But as a self-described “serial entrepreneur,” he anticipates that he will be “on to something else, too.”
“I feel like I’m the captain of the ship and … whereever it lands, I’ll walk to another ship and get on it,” Kelley said.
