PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — There’s an old saying, “will it play in Peoria?”
And Pedro Pachuca may find out. The 19-year-old college student has helped develop a piece of equipment that could pop up on hockey helmets in Peoria.
Pachuca is part of an eight-person team at the University of California-Berkeley that has created HockeyVue, a training tool that attaches to a hockey player’s helmet. When that player’s head is down, HockeyVue sends a visual cue to alert the player to lift it up.
The goal is to make it easier for the player to see the ice, teammates and opponents who could create a collision. Collisions create injuries.
Pachuca spent the week in central Illinois meeting with Peoria Youth Hockey Association representatives about his team’s product. He’s hoping to have it released for use later this month.
“The feedback has been phenomenal,” said Pachuca. “This can not only help performance inside the game but also help their safety. If they are more aware of their surroundings, they are less likely to get hit, and less likely to cause concussions whenever they hit the (ice).”
Pachuca and classmate James Li created a company called SportVue (sportvue.co) to market the product. They are also working on technology to go inside helmets of football and lacrosse players that might better identify concussions.
He is hoping to bring his product to the Peoria Rivermen this season, he said.
