Southgate coaches win approval to buy basketball shooting machine to expand player reps

Coaches for Southgate high school teams persuaded the board to approve a new shooting machine intended to increase individual practice repetitions.

"We're purchasing those with funds from our programs. It'll be a joint purchase. We paid 50% this year, 50% next year," said the presenting coach, who described a vendor discount that reduced the price from roughly $8,500 to about $5,500. Coaches said the machine is manufactured in Ohio, shoots substantially more balls per hour than their current Dr. Dish unit, and is built for durability.

The board moved and approved a motion to purchase the unit not to exceed $5,742. The motion passed by voice vote; two board members said "aye" and one member recorded an abstention. No formal roll-call with member names was recorded in the transcript.

Supporters said the additional machine would allow two machines to be used simultaneously in the gym so more athletes can get targeted reps while accommodating expanded winter practices and shared gym space needs.

The board did not identify a specific vendor contract in the discussion beyond the quoted price and did not set a delivery timeline during the meeting. Funding is to come from program funds split across fiscal years as described by the coaches.