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Don’t Buy Into Fear Of Not Having Enough Playing Or Coaching Experience…
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Have you ever wondered why we often fear the irrational?
From the time we were children, we looked under our bed and in our closet for the boogeyman and monsters. Perhaps you were terrified the first time you jumped into the deep end of the pool, or that first day of class. None of these things killed you, yet they felt like they would at the time.
You owe it to yourself to put any fears that no longer serve you aside.
A key factor in improving your kid or team’s hitting by swinging the bat smarter is ditching an irrational fear ofnot having enough playing or coaching experience.
Game Of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin once said, “Fear cuts deeper than swords.” Well, for hitting enthusiasts like you, this “sword” can slice right through your detecting and correcting swing challenges goals. It can drag you back to the old, ineffective ways of thinking, like falling for “Listen to the Guru because he said so“, the belief that wasting time on information that isn’t validated by REAL Science is the way to go. This can flat-out derail your success.
Currently, ESPN and the Aspen Institute reported on a study indicating that most kids stop playing baseball and softball by age 11. Combine this with the fact that coaches nowadays just want to win games and aren’t focusing on the processes that help them do that. I think buying into this fear is partially to blame, along with video analysis zealots staring at 2-dimensional figures on a screen and well intended coaches who aren’t updated on the research — sources that often support this myth and fan the flames of misinformation.
This has a hefty price tag: it can harm you by focusing on the wrong things.
I remember when I first paid that price. I first noticed it when I trusted MLB players (some Hall of Famers) and prestigious coaches in their books, telling me to do it this way because they said so.
It hurt my progress considerably as a coach following by blind faith because of their “expertness”. Fortunately, I overcame it by doing my own critical thinking and going down the many human movement science-based rabbit holes. You can, too.
I spent the past 18 years working on a fearless approach to hittingand helping friends and colleagues do the same. They were struggling to improve their hitters by swinging the bat more effectively, and more often than not, this fear is one of the reasons their hitters struggled.
Now, it’s true: what’s right for me and other successful hitting enthusiasts may not be right for you. However, if you’ve bought into the fear of not having enough playing or coaching experience, you may want to consider rethinking things.
I hope this helps!
FREE Online Bat Speed Hitting Program Access?
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/dlr8bjabgym.jpg423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-09-16 05:17:372022-09-22 17:35:33Free Online Hitting Training Bat Speed Program For Baseball Softball Coaches | Discover Best Remote Learning Way To Teach Swing Instruction Skills
Effective Velocity: Perry Husband Talks About How To Get 100% On-Time & 100% Swing Efficient
Perry Husband being featured on MLBNetwork with Carlos Pena explaining Effective Velocity. Photo courtesy: MLB.com
I’ve just put together a NEW online video course called Reaction Time Mastery, where we dig into the FOUR following topics:
Forward Momentum (FoMo),
Vision,
Tracking, and
Timing…
TheReaction Time Masteryonline video course will help hitters track pitches crystal clear, accelerate decision-making reaction time, & get ON-TIME without losing swing effectiveness.
Because some of the above topics are slightly above my pay grade, I enlisted the help of specific proven experts…a couple Doctors, and a few “Mad Scientists” about their respective topics. I asked these experts to contribute a 10-minute video or two to the Reaction Time Mastery online video course, and if they were up for it, an interview for the blog.
And here we are, expert interview #1! For those who don’t know Perry Husband, he was featured on the MLB Network about the work he did with Carlos Pena using his Effective Velocity and Exit Velocity programs (EV).
CLICK HERE for an SBNation.com post about Perry Husband and his Effective Velocity system titled, “The Essence of Velocity: The pitching theory that could revolutionize baseball, if only the sport would embrace it”.
I believe Perry Husband has a truly revolutionary approach for hitters (baseball and softball). And I wanted to share the following interview, where he answered a few pointed questions from my readers.
Just to warn you though, this post is a BEAST, and for some, may take up to 30-minutes to get through. But let me encourage you…the information Perry distills about Effective Velocity, is golden.
So kick up your feet, grab a brew of choice, and get to work.
Perry’s website can be found at EffectiveVelocity.com, and I’ll link to where you can find him on social media at the end of this post.
Enter Perry Husband, and his Effective Velocity system…
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
There are many drills that I would recommend to practice vision and tracking, but first I would say it is important to understand ‘how’ to see before you try to get better at ‘what’ to see.
Many of the vision drills that I have been introduced to, involve trying to get the eyes to focus on small details of a pitch, such as a tennis ball with a color or a number that the hitter is to identify.
I have been guilty of teaching players to focus in on small objects such as small beads with numbers and letters on them and many other detail oriented drill work. Ask the hitter to identify and only swing at certain letters etc…..
However, what I found is that this did not lead to the student learning to identify actual pitches any better. I am certainly not an expert in vision training, but I will try to explain my findings like this…
Imagine a ball coming out of the pitcher’s hand and the hitter using the eyes like a camera. The center of the eye picks up infinite detail and the picture of the ball out of the hand is incredibly sharp and in focus. The hitter sees the seams, the signature of the commissioner and yet……all that intense detail does absolutely nothing to help us know what pitch it is nor where or how fast it will arrive.
The still photo does not tell us the direction, spin, speed, pitch type or even whether it is a ball or a strike.
Now imagine the ball being recorded with an old video camera that is very unclear but shows an out of focus video of a pitch traveling 10-feet. Which image would you rather have to hit the pitch, a clear photo OR a fuzzy video?
The eye has the ability to work as a camera and a video camera, but which way do you think the small detail training is heading towards?
Upon this discovery about 1990, I began teaching using a very different technique to help hitters learn to use their eyes like video cameras instead of still photography cameras. Hitting a 95 MPH fastball is not about detail, but rather about:
‘Where’ (initial direction or tunnel) it is going?
‘How fast’ (radar speed) is it moving?
‘Where’ will it move toward (pitch movement)?
‘Where’ will it end up (location in the zone)? And,
‘When’ (Effective Velocity – or EV).
Now, of course there is spin to help hitters identify pitch types etc…. but the primary information hitters need is basic and quick and not all hitters can see spin well enough or soon enough to have it help them.
I began taking out the small details and began focusing on the bigger ticket items. Once we narrow the focus or rather broaden the focus to see the pitch in a different way, now we can practice the important factors.
I introduced a term called ‘Shape’ in my work with Carlos Pena in 2009. Every pitch has a shape after it travels about 30-feet or so. You can picture:
A curveball with the big loop,
A slider with a smaller hump or loop,
A sinker shape, or
A straight Kershaw four seamer.
Every pitch has a starting tunnel, movement laterally, or down and a final location. The path the ball takes out of the hand to about 2/3 of the way to the plate is what creates ‘Shape’.
We can’t wait until it is completed all the movement before we have to swing because it takes about 1/3 the flight or about 18-20 feet to swing the bat.
Hitters have a 1/3 of the way to see direction and the beginning of spin and another 1/3 to see spin (pitch type/speed), estimate the final location and then begin the swing.
I named my initial hitting program Hitting Is A Guess, partially for this very reason……….it is most certainly a guess on many different levels and vision is just one of those levels. I began training hitters to make better guesses………..and this worked very well.
Using smaller objects is one way to begin training the eyes to start ‘drinking’ in the pitch info in the right way. Like speed reading, hitters begin clumping sections of the pitch like a whole sentence at once, which helps you see the pitch in shapes.
The shape is key to knowing speed and final location in the shortest amount of time.
My favorite drill set is…
Effective Velocity: Golf sized foam balls
To use small golf ball sized foam balls to train hitters to identify pitch traits sooner and more efficiently, which is part of my Time Training Level 2 hitting program.
This is done from a seated position to get the pitch trajectory as close to games as possible and at a distance of 16-20 feet from the hitter. The balls are different densities so the same arm action can create multiple pitch speeds.
Pitch traits help hitters identify pitches, which in turn helps them time pitches better. Reproducing these traits with a baseball is not easily done. The small foam training balls are much easier to create game-like movements, trajectories, EV speeds and shapes. They require some practice throws to get a feel for controlling them, but this is the very best way to get the closest to real live pitch traits without being in a game situation.
In my opinion, there is no comparison of these foam balls to wiffle balls. The wiffle balls do not fly the same, are harder to create movements, they hurt when you get hit with a ball off the bat at close distances and they break much faster. I have used these [foam golf balls] for almost 10 years, and have destroyed less than 1% of them over all that time.
The Circle Drill Set is…
Another part of my Time Training Level 2 hitting program that helps read the first 10 – 15 – 20 – 30 feet of flight. There are speed awareness drills, early pitch recognition drills and all of them designed to maintain the most efficient swing possible at the same time.
The Time Training program was designed to introduce hitters to the most logical skill sets in the order that makes the most sense, based on my crazy amount of testing hitters, as well as the 3 decades of teaching hitting on all levels.
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
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The previously described small ball training at 15-20 feet (golf ball sized foam balls), 7 inch baseballs at 30-36 feet and simulated BP from the closest to game mound as possible. Most of the work becomes about game simulations and creating the perfect speed to match a pitcher type.
Simulating game speeds is easy enough, but that it is just the beginning of true simulation and training hitters to ‘hit’. We learn to ‘swing’ and then we learn to ‘hit’. Most physical swing designs include both swinging and hitting and this is a mistake, IMHO.
Separating the two things is the only way to truly get the most out of the swing and your approach, otherwise you will always be compromising one or the other.
The real work is in learning to control swing speed, mindset, anxiety control, pitch selection, taking pitches and staying focused on what we really want through a series of pitches we don’t want, dealing with failure and all kinds of other issues.
Hitting is complex, swing design is not.
If you really test all aspects, especially reactionary abilities of hitters, you will come to the same conclusions that I have, which is that learning to swing is very different than learning to hit. Combining swinging and hitting is really the hardest element. Effective Velocity efficient pitchers will eventually force hitters to ‘Act’ rather than ‘React’.
Short distance BP does have some drawbacks, especially if you use baseballs at all distances. A baseball at 60 feet, looks about the same as a 7 inch baseball at 36 feet and a golf ball sized object at 18-20 feet.
I try to stick with these sized objects at these distances to keep the amount of visual info available to the hitter as close to game situations as possible. It will never substitute completely the live at bats from 60-feet but it simply is not possible to get that type of training all the time for most amateur hitters.
To simulate 100 MPH fastball from 18 feet, the BP pitch needs to be 32.7 MPH………this gives the hitter the same amount of time from release to contact.
90 MPH is 29.5 MPH,
85 is 27.8, and
80 is 26.2 etc……..
To simulate from 35 feet, 100 MPH would equal a 63.5 MPH BP pitch………
95 MPH equals 60.5,
90 MPH equals 57.3,
85 MPH = 54.1, and
80 = 50.9 etc…
You can never replicate all the factors but the time the ball is in the air is the most important element and that is not too difficult.
I recommend also trying to really pay attention to the pitch trajectory. Standing up at closer distances will create a steeper angle than real game pitches. Seated overhand BP best mimics the same line as a game speed fastball, at least at the higher levels. High school and beyond, I would recommend throwing from a seated position.
“What are some drills or ways to help kids 8-10yo with their timing? I have kids that look great at 20 ft front toss but not so good from 46ft?”
I love the small balls for youth players but I treat all hitters pretty much the same until we get into Level 3, game planning.
I fully explain every concept to youth hitters because they are much smarter than we give them credit for. The more they understand why one movement is better than another, the more deeply they will try to make it happen.
I honestly treat the younger hitters the same when it comes to the Level 1 & Level 2 Time Training. It is shocking how good very young hitters are at ‘Acting’ rather than ‘Reacting’ to pitches, once introduced to it. They simply have not had all the years of bad swing training to get in their way of the more natural method of hunting pitches.
Fear and poor thinking (resulting in poor feelings, resulting in poor swings) are the primary reasons that hitters perform well at close distances and not at game distances.
This is another reason that I like the small ball training. Hitters have no fear of being hit. This is another major reason why I named my first hitting program ‘Hitting Is A Guess’.
When you get young hitters to think of it as a guess, they simply make a better guess. After getting comfortable making an efficient guess (swing) for a period, you try to blend that really comfortable swing into drills closer to real at bats.
You have to practice their ‘Game Swing’ if you want that to get better. It is easier to get better at their ‘Practice Swing’, but the game swing is a different animal. Recreate as closely as possible the real speed, distance, visuals, perceived pressures etc…… until they are in control of their game swing as easily as they are for their practice swing.
I put together an instructional league years ago, including a 9 and under team. And when I say they were beginners, I mean we had to use softy balls to play catch day one, for fear of them hurting each other.
By focusing on making good swings in games, not batting average or results, they made major progress very quickly. When you take away the pressure of results, hitters get better at transferring their ‘practice swings’ to their ‘game swings’. You have to practice your game swing if you want it to get better.
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
What is your opinion of FOMO’s impact on being able to hit the curveball?
Effective Velocity: overhead view of lateral lanes. Photo courtesy: HittingIsAGuess.com
I assume that means “Fear Of Missing Out”, not sure on that, maybe forward momentum???
If fear of missing out, this is a major part of why Effective Velocity works and always will, to some degree at least.
Hitters want to cover all pitches, CB, SL, CH, FB, KN and all the rest, and they only have a small 6-MPH Effective Velocity speed range that they will be close to 100/100 (100% on time, 100% swing efficiency).
I believe this has caused most of the poor swing efficiency designs that have caused the severe dip in offense at the MLB level.
My 20+ years of testing proved that hitters have about 5 to 6-MPH Effective Velocity of reactionary ability while being close to 90-100% efficient. When you test using exit velocity, hitters lose roughly 10% of their maximum exit speed with every pitch speed you show them because they are trying to cover all speeds.
If you test hitters with pitches right down central and get a top speed and an average speed, over 10 swings, most hitters will average about 85% or 90% of their top speed. Now put them in a 2 strike mentality (they have to swing at all strikes) and locate the same speed pitch as the first round inside and outside randomly and they will lose about 10% of their average speed over 10 balls.
Now go up in and down away with the same speed pitches and the exit speed goes down another 10%. Add in the off speed pitch that is in the same tunnel as the fastball and the top out tends to drop a bit and the average drops another level.
Most hitters get to 70% all the way down to 40% of their max over a 10 ball average. This is all caused by FOMO…..or trying to cover all speed pitches. It simply cannot be done at or near 100% on time with the 100% most efficient swing.
My goal is to get hitters to be 100/100 or 100% on time with 100% swing efficiency or make their ‘A’ swing exactly on time. FOMO gets hitters closer to 70/70 or 85/85 but rarely, if ever, at or near 100/100.
If FOMO is forward momentum, this is a very different answer and not easily explained. I have to admit that I am not a fan of the term FoMo all by itself. I much prefer to look at the overall swing as either efficient or not.
FoMo is just one element and does not take into account some of the key elements of exit velocity. While increasing FoMo will add to the exit velocity in most cases, that is inherent in a great swing design. The swing is either 100/100 (100% on time/100% efficient……all elements) or some level below that……….and all swing factors are typically affected by a timing change such as CB.
My philosophy requires you to change your paradigm away from sitting in the middle and reacting to all speed pitches, which starts with making the swing efficient as a whole and graduating from ‘Swing School’ to move into timing, pitch recognition and ‘Hunting’.
Effective Velocity works to control Exit Velocity (the other EV) due to the idea that hitters think they can cover all speeds with one approach.
In my teaching, the swing is the same regardless of the speed or type of pitch (at least that’s what we are trying to maintain), so the FoMo will be identical for either swing. If hitters are sitting on a CB, they might load later or create a longer ‘Hang Time’ during the load, this will lead to the same FoMo exactly.
When hitters are sitting on FB and adjusting to CB, it depends on how early they recognized the CB and how in rhythm they were able to stay.
Bautista is going to load to FB at the fastest speed and adjust to CB if he recognizes it in time. If he recognizes it late, he will try to hang longer to explode on CB, but this does not always work out. When he sees it later, the stride may get longer to keep his foot in the air long enough to let the ball get there. That will cause the FoMo to increase a bit.
This is really a touchy subject because there is a limit to over striding and having the FoMo increase. There is a point of diminishing returns where the stride getting too long will cut down the turning ability or rotation of the hitter, as well as the ability to release the back side (or both). A little extra stride length will help, a lot will hurt…….and even that depends on whether the hitter has his max stride length built in to his FB swing.
If that’s the case (which it would be if I helped with the design of the FB swing), then any change in stride length would likely hurt the hitter’s FoMo.
Traditional thinking has hitters getting the foot down early and trying to ‘keep the hands back’ to hit the off speed CB. Forward Momentum is always affected when the hitter’s swing rhythm is interrupted. Hitters that hit the CB with forward momentum in tact, adjust to the pitch ‘during the load’, not after the foot has touched down (depending on the method of their load).
When a hitter such as Jose Bautista loads, he is basically loading to FB at the top of the zone (Effective Velocity plus FB), so he is super early in getting his leg kick started. His foot is in the air at release ——-non-committed to going forward in a hurry. By the time he gets to the top of his load, he has recognized the pop of the CB over the FB. If he sees this in time, he can create some ‘hang time’ with his foot in the air.
This allows him to stay in rhythm and hit the CB with the same forward momentum as the FB. It is not a perfect science but when it works, it is the only way to sit FB and truly hit the CB close to 100/100.
Wide stance vs. Narrow Stance in relationship to FOMO. Does wider give more balance and ability to see the ball better, recognize curveball? Wide stance vs Narrow Stance depends on quite a few factors. How wide? Does the wide stance include a stride or not? Narrow Stance, does it include a tap load or a leg lift?
I think is about where the hitter is at launch. I think any stance can work if the next movement includes a load that has leverage and sets up the most efficient movements.
CB is easily recognized no matter your stance, what you can do with it is really the issue. I prefer a leg lift or a tap so the hitter can create hang time but any stance can work.
Recognizing the CB and being able to hit it at 100/100 are two different things. The key is figuring out how to load and create hang time. Every load has pros and cons and the only stance issue for me is whether it takes away from swing efficiency or hang time. I want max hang time and max efficiency and the stance should enhance that.
No physical swing mechanic is going to allow hitters to hit all pitch speeds at 100/100. Foot down early, wide stance or small stride to no stride, nothing works to allow you to be 100/100 to all pitches, it is physically impossible.
No hitter has ever done it day in and day out without learning to guess or sit on pitches, at least with elite pitchers at 95 MPH and commanding 2 to 3 off speed pitches.
Design the swing and then…………….and only then………learn to apply that swing at 100/100.
My programs begin at Level 1, swing design, move up to pitch recognition and timing Level 2 which blends the most efficient swing with timing and then game approaches in Level 3, which designs game plans based on the most efficient swing applied to today’s pitcher.
Learn to swing, then learn to hunt pitches, then learn to hunt pitchers.
It is possible for a hitter to get his ‘foot down early’ but not get his ‘mind down’ early. In other words, if a hitter is prepared to hit a pitch at 100 Effective Velocity-MPH up and inside (Curtis Granderson is a great example of someone capable of this), even though the foot is down early, he can still ‘act’ on the fastest pitch he will see.
This is equivalent to saying that Granderson has an approach that is 90/85 or some semblance of that. 90-95% of his max efficiency of the physical swing and about 75-85% of timing, when he is reacting to all pitches. At times, I know he is sitting on a pitch, which changes the dynamic and the ratio. At times, he will be closer to 100% on time with about 90-95% of his swing efficiency.
I don’t believe that any foot down method can be 100% efficient because it takes away from rhythm and FoMo.
The hitting instructors that prescribe these get ready early-type approaches, are saying that this method allows hitters to hit all speeds and that is completely false. The hitter shortens the stride, gets the foot down early or whatever, this gets the hitter ready to hit the fastest pitch, but then adjust to the slowest off speed.
I reject that idea almost completely, at least at 100/100. The key element in all this is to learn to ‘ACT’ rather than ‘REACT’. That is the last word…………..no hitter in the history of the game, including Bonds, Trout etc…. can hit all pitch speeds at 100/100.
There is always give and take, but these type methods will produce 85/85 at best but 85/65 is closer to the truth.
In other words, the swing efficiency is compromised as well as the timing taking its toll on the exit velocity. This results in the top exit speed dropping as well as the average exit speed dropping significantly.
Neither Trout or Bonds use a foot down method, I am not implying that but I am stating that no method will allow a hitter to hit all pitches at or even near 100/100, while reacting after recognizing the pitch when pitchers are Effective Velocity efficient.
They both incorporate a stride and swing method, Bonds a tap load and Trout a load and hang method, but both stride to hit. Both also require pitchers to cooperate and throw slower fastballs too.
With that said, there are ways to blend certain approaches so hitters can cover multiple pitch speeds. I have not published this Level 3 Time Training info but many MLB pitchers create Effective Velocity crossovers or ie…..FB 95 but located where the Effective Velocity is 90…………the slider at 86 is located close to Effective Velocity 90-MPH so the pitcher is throwing two pitches with the same EV with different radar speeds and in most cases, is not aware.
This gives the hitter (and the pitcher) the illusion that he is covering 95 and 86 but in reality, he is only covering 90-MPH Effective Velocity.
One hitting approach also allows hitters to sit on FB and adjust to obvious off speed pitches, even 20 MPH apart. However, this requires a bit of help from the pitcher to throw the off speed with the hump that shows itself to the hitter early enough to react to. When pitches are in a tunnel, hitting pitches hard with big speed differentials goes away to a large degree.
You can find more information from Perry Husband and his Effective Velocity system at the following locations:
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/effective-velocity-perry-husband-mlbnetwork.jpg211490Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-09-12 10:00:432023-08-18 21:41:46Perry Husband Baseball Softball Drills: Effective Perceived Velocity Hitting Formula | Get Front Foot Down Early, Improve, Work On Timing, & Fix Late Swing
When it comes to Online Baseball or Softball Virtual Hitting Coach Lessons, Hitting Performance Lab Reviews its Promise would Change Things for the Better in the Bat and Ball Space
Hitting Performance Lab LLC has reviewed the baseball, fastpitch softball, slow-pitch world since it announced the launch of The Feedback Lab back in 2013. Hitting Performance Lab LLC’s online baseball or softball private hitting coach virtual lessons promised to shake things up and 9 years later, facts are in.
Previously, with even a passing glance, a person would notice that most private hitting instructors and team coaches lean their credibility on what level they made it to, how many years they’ve coached, how many lessons they’ve done, or their opinion based on someone else’s opinion. The Founder and CEO at Hitting Performance Lab LLC, Joey Myers, makes a point of saying “things were always going to change when The Feedback Lab launched”.
Unlock Consistent Power: Tailored Feedback for Your Hitter
Get personalized, step-by-step feedback on your hitter’s swing with The Feedback Lab. Backed by science and tailored for fast improvements, watch your athlete hit harder and smarter in no time!
“Competitors in this niche are typically doing the same old thing. Hitting Performance Lab applies human movement principles that are validated by science to hitting a ball. Science isn’t meant to be trusted; it’s meant to be tested. They ask the question, develop the hypothesis, do the research, collect the data, and form a conclusion.
Playing experience and teaching are completely different. 30 years of coaching can translate into the same year of coaching repeated over 30-years. Doing hundreds of thousands of lessons depends on being effective (doing the right things) versus being efficient (doing those things right). And opinions, are like, well…ahem…everyone has one!
The Hitting Performance Lab knows they’re not perfect. They know the limitations and biases human have. Teaching kids how to hit a baseball or softball can get stale and drift dangerously into dogma, which is the graveyard to consistent long-lasting progress.
Like Bruce Lee once said, ‘A martial artist who drills exclusively to a set pattern of combat is losing his freedom. He is actually becoming a slave to a choice pattern and feels that the pattern is the real thing. It leads to stagnation because the way of combat is never based on personal choice and fancies, but constantly changes from moment to moment, and the disappointed combatant will soon find out that his ‘choice routine’ lacks pliability.’
Ultimately, Hitting Performance Lab knew it was going to be of huge benefit to their customers because by applying human movement principles validated by science to hitting a ball, results become predictable in nature. It’s like getting the cheat codes to the test. Once the rules are known, hitting gets easier. Kids catch on faster. They have more positive results. They stay in the game longer! Hitting a ball consistently hard isn’t easy, but it can be made it easier, and FUN! They actually hope others follow suit.”
Cole BEFORE/AFTER Case Study: Online Baseball Private Hitting Coach Virtual Lessons for Beginners Ages 7yo+
Hitting Performance Lab was established in 2005. It has been doing business 17 years and it has always aimed to help every hitter trade physical ability for academic excellence! They want to make little boys and girls into hard working student athletes.
Currently, the closest thing to The Feedback Lab are VIDEO GAMES! Baseball is one of the slowest most misunderstood sports. At least fastpitch softball is faster paced! Sports are at war with instant gratification nowadays. Delayed gratification MUST get relearned. And it doesn’t help when the sport is being taught as an ineffective dogma that gets unpredictable results.
There’s too much frustration with the misinformation surrounding the craft, kids quit before realizing their full potential. It’s a shame. Applying human movement principles validated by science to hitting a ball can change that!
And The Feedback Lab improved on this by using science as a guide. Engineering, Physics, and Biomechanical principles matched up with what the best are ACTUALLY doing. One can use the online virtual hitting coach format to change the career trajectory of hitters across the country, on a computer.
There are ZERO boundaries. Joey Myers couldn’t imagine in 1996 when he was 16yos, living in Central California, and asking his parents to fly to Florida and work with a well-known hitting coach. Today, it can be done online! This alone was enough to make Hitting Performance Lab LLC’s online baseball or softball private hitting coach virtual lessons more popular with clients in the baseball, fastpitch softball, slow-pitch softball space, quickly.
Unlock Consistent Power: Tailored Feedback for Your Hitter
Get personalized, step-by-step feedback on your hitter’s swing with The Feedback Lab. Backed by science and tailored for fast improvements, watch your athlete hit harder and smarter in no time!
Batting practice and training seems to be met with a caveman’s mentality…Me see ball. Me swing bat hard. Me crush ball far. I can always tell when a young hitter is swinging too hard by the following:
Pulling the head,
A clenched jaw, and/or
NO balance upon the follow through.
One great Big League example of caveman swinging is Yoenis Cespedes of the Boston Red Sox. In this video, we’re going to talk about how to correct swinging harder:
Problem with Reciprocal Inhibition relating to improper batting practice,
Cadence is key, and
Proprioception and swinging blind…
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
Problem with Reciprocal Inhibition Relating to Improper Batting Practice
Watch this simple demonstration on Reciprocal Inhibition (RI) from a Physical Therapist (start at the 0:38 mark):
Consider this:
Imagine bicep curling a 25-pound dumbbell…bicep contracts while brain tells muscle on opposite side (tricep) to contract less,
Now think about holding the same 25-pound dumbbell in mid-curl, arm is at a 90-degree angle, and forearm is parallel to the ground…
The quad (green) contracting more, while the hamstring (red) contracts less in this stretch. Photo courtesy: BandhayYoga.com
What’s happening there on #2 above?
It’s called an isometric muscle contraction, and is when both the bicep and tricep are contracting equally on both sides.
Your brain is smart. One of it’s many jobs is to manage tension around a joint (i.e. the elbow). To protect it. When you have bicep tendinitis, the length-tension relationship is upset. What happens is, the brain tells a muscle to tighten protecting a particular joint, until length-tension balance is restored…
How do you fix this?
According to the Physical Therapist in the above video link, you strengthen the muscles opposite the tight area. The brain can then contract the tight area less and restoring the length-tension relationship around the joint. And this ADDS more efficiency to dynamic movement…
Otherwise, this would be like driving your car with the parking brake on!
During batting practice (or in games), when we swing too hard, we’re driving the car with the parking brake on. It seems counter-intuitive to what we normally would think. But bio-mechanically speaking, this would be like the #2 scenario of the bicep -mid-curl above. We see the head pull out and jaw tighten because the brain is protecting the joints in the neck (C-Spine) and jaw from overload. And this can cause the hitter NOT be balanced in the follow through.
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Running – count how many times the right arm swings forward per minute. It should be between 85-90 times. Whether uphill or downhill.
Cycling – count each time the right knee floats up per minute while pedaling. Should be 85-90 times. Top cyclists change gears uphill or downhill to keep within these guidelines.
Faster than that, and tempo gets disrupted…parking brake gets applied. Batting practice is no different when it comes to a specific tempo. I once read someone say in a hitting forum that you have to swing as hard as you possibly can…wait for it…under COMPLETE control…
I know that’s a big scary word, but experiencing it is easy…stand on one foot, now shut your eyes. You’ve just experienced Proprioception.
The best fix for swinging too hard is…drum roll please….
Swinging with your eyes closed. Remember what I wrote about a hitter swings as hard as possible…under COMPLETE control?
This is how to practice taking the parking brake off during batting practice and games.
Also, remember the symptoms of swinging too hard I mentioned at the beginning of this video post…? Here are the fixes:
Pulling the head – the chin should be somewhere slightly out front of impact,
A clenched jaw – get the hitter to keep a small gap between their molars as they’re swinging, AND
NO balance upon the follow through – have the hitter practice swinging as hard as they can with their eyes closed, while keeping balance. If they fall over, then they’re swinging too hard.
The latter one, please DO NOT have them do this around any sharp or breakable objects that might hurt them :-/ You see, Yoenis Cespedes can win two All-Star home-run derbies in a row because he knows what pitch is coming, at what speed, and what location (for the most part). He can get away from pulling his head. In a game? It’s a different
BONUS Material
Want to help put the batting practice parking brake on vacation? Here are my two favorite corrective exercises that a majority of my new hitters have a problem with:
Passive Leg Lower (hip mobility) – week one: 1 set X 12 reps each leg, week two: 1 set X 15 reps each leg, week three: 2 sets X 12 reps each leg, and week four: 2 sets X 15 reps each leg…do once daily. Will increase running stride length, which indirectly can help them run faster.
Ankle Circles (ankle mobility) – do three circles clockwise AND counterclockwise at each ankle position…do at least 2-3 times per day everyday. Can get rid of shin splints and plantar fasciitis.
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Hitting-Drills-To-STOP-Pulling-Head-Off-In-Baseball-Or-Softball-Swing.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-09-12 09:15:072022-10-31 21:15:39Hitting Drills To STOP Pulling Head Off In Baseball Or Softball Swing | Balance Position When Batting
Batting Tips To STOP Flying Open & Get Front Foot Down On Time
This softball batting tips “Hit-Bit”, or hitting tid-bit, is an answer to questions from my readers when I asked them, “If you could have a private conversation with me, what two questions would you ask?”The answers are meant to be short, actionable, and tips you can use today.
Today’s Hit-Bit answers the reader questions:
“Drills to help kids not “fly open” with front hip. Drills / Methods on getting front foot down on time”
We’ll address:
Pre-loading the torso before landing,
Timing: 2-Plate Drill (progressions & regressions), and
Keep coaching feedback to a minimum.
And yes, these softball batting tips work for baseball too…
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
Look, it’s not the front hip we should be worried about. Young hitters have been over-coached for the past three decades to ‘load and explode the hips’, and that the ‘hips lead the way’. Our concern should be, what happens before the hips lead? Or, what should happen? In other words, it’s not a “fly open with front hip” issue, it’s a ‘fly open with front shoulder’ issue.
Tony Gwynn knew the importance of keeping that front shoulder in. CLICK HERE for a video I did on him. The torso MUST be pre-loaded to as close to landing as possible (watch main video above on how to do this). This is how springy fascia in the torso is charged.
Timing: Varied Reaction LIVE Toss Drill (progressions & regressions)
Another coaching cue that just doesn’t work is, “get the front foot down early”. This can create a host of other timing issues. The hitting sequence is a ‘dance’. You never see the pitcher get their stride foot down early, momentarily pause, and then throw a pitch.
This is my favorite drill for getting the front foot down on time, or at least training the ‘dance’ part of the sequence. Here are some timing posts I did relating to this:
CLICK HERE for a softball batting tips post I did on giving feedback to hitters.
It has to do with the Goldilocks Golden Rule. Too much feedback, and you’re micro-managing. Nothing at all, and the player never knows if they’re on the right track. But just the right amount, strategically placed, makes a world of difference!
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/How-To-Keep-Front-Side-Shoulder-In-Fix-Flying-Open-For-Baseball-Softball-Swing.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-09-11 09:00:132022-09-12 05:39:46Keep Front Side Shoulder In & Fix Flying Open For Baseball Softball Swing | STOP Pulling Or Spinning Off, Hitting Ball Off End, Not Squaring Up, Correct Stride Foot Timing, & Being Late
Discover the Gary Sheffield swing path hitting drills approach to hit for opposite field power. Learn how this works for baseball, fast pitch, and slow pitch softball!
Gary Sheffield Talks Hitting Mentioning 1 Shocking Swing Mistake He Didn’t Make…
In this Gary Sheffield Talks Hitting video, 500 Home Run Club member Gary Sheffield talks about his hitting style, plate approach and adjustments to different ballparks with Mark DeRosa, Bill Ripken and Robert Flores on MLB Central. Some of what you’ll find in the video:
1 shocking swing mistake Sheffield didn’t make,
Pitch recognition that Gary Sheffield is talking about,
Change your stance depending on the field?
What does focus on staying to the right of your left side mean? And,
Making swing adjustments because of injury to compete…
For your convenience below, I’ve time stamped my notes, so you can jump to wherever the conversation interests you…
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
At about the 3-minute, 20-second mark, Sheffield talks about how after hitting 40+ homers between his AA and AAA season, he was brought up to MLB club and the powers at be tried to “flatten his bat” (for him a mistake he didn’t make). Because they wanted a lead-off speed guy who hits the ball to right field. When he got to San Diego, they wanted him to pick up the ball at 3rd base, they didn’t expect him to hit. This was disrespectful to Sheffield. He went from a guy not just trying to get on base, but to do damage.
At about the 4-minute mark, Gary Sheffield talks about his famous bat tilt-waggle, and how it’s all in the fingers. To get a nice relaxed crisp move with the fingers. Like dancing.
At about the 5-minute mark, Sheffield talks about picking pitcher up at release to differentiate what he’s throwing. Pitch recognition. He doesn’t care what the pitcher does before that moment. He said he looked for the heater and nothing changed on that approach throughout his career. He wants the pitcher to fool him. He doesn’t want to miss on the fastball. All he wants to know is what is the pitcher’s out pitch – the one he goes to the most when he needs it. Doesn’t swing at fork balls. He groups the fastball and slider together – as one pitch.
At about the 7-minute mark, Gary Sheffield talks about how he adjusts his stance depending on the park he’s playing in. Examples…in San Diego the dimensions are fair, so he uses all fields. At “fair” parks he didn’t feel like hitting the ball oppo made him lose something. In Florida with the Marlins, he got closer to the plate and became strictly a pull hitter because of short fence in left field. Homers came by way of left and left center, rarely to center. Goal of double digit homers to opposite field, so he was almost guaranteed 30 to 40 homers per year. Billy Ripken made the comment that he’s never heard of anyone else who did this, except maybe when hitting at Fenway. Dodger stadium was “fair” to him. Mentioned at night it got dewey there, ball didn’t fly as far. His strength was center field in LA.
At about 9-minute mark, Sheffield talks about his right elbow position to be ready to “punch”. Athletic position. Legs up under him. When hitting he just thinks about his left side. Tells his kids to cut the left side out. Focus on being to the right of your left side. Walking in the batter’s box sideways, so he knows he’s in the same spot every time. He wants to work sideways, so he can stay behind his left side.
At about 11-minute mark, Sheffield his swing is dominant front arm. Front arm goes straight to the ball. Billy Ripken talks about “squashing a bug“. They all comment on Gary Sheffield’s bat waggle and how parallel the barrel got to the ground at one point in the swing. Sheffield talked about an injury he had to his right foot, plantar fasciitis, that required him to skip/hop his back foot. Had to unlearn later. Interesting confession on making an adjustment to compete.
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Gary-Sheffield-Swing-Path-Hitting-Drills-Approach-To-Opposite-Field-Power-Works-For-Baseball-Softball-Slow-Pitch.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-09-06 09:00:352022-09-06 20:02:27Gary Sheffield Swing Path Hitting Drills Approach To Opposite Field Power Works For Baseball, Softball, & Slow Pitch
Discover how to improve hitting timing tips, get the front foot down on time, and fix late baseball or softball swing. Learn how in this Josh Hamilton batting rhythm swing breakdown.
Josh Hamilton Swing Breakdown: Coaches Don’t Tell You This…
…In this Josh Hamilton swing breakdown we’re focusing on what most coaches don’t tell you (or simply don’t know) about calibrating the timing of a hitter. You can have the best hitting mechanics, but if timing is off, results can be frustrating. In this video, we’ll analyze:
When does a swing start?
Leg kick or slide step? and
How to practice timing?
When Does a Swing Start?
Short answer? About when the hitter picks the front foot up. When walking, you can’t take a step forward without picking up your foot and putting it back down. This is why I hate “no-stride” coaching cues. Here’s how walking bio-mechanics work:
Front heel hits the ground signals pelvis to open.
Same timing signal travels up the spine to the shoulders, telling them to counter-rotate the pelvis.
This is why your opposite arm and leg come forward at the same time.
This simple timing mechanism is important to hitting. Hitting experts call this torque, but really, it’s how humans are designed to move against gravity using the spine for locomotion. CLICK HERE for a more in–depth study on walking bio-mechanics according to Dr. Serge Gracovetsky.
Leg Kick or Slide Step?
It ALL depends on a batter’s moving parts…
Leg Kick a-la Josh Hamilton forces the hitter to start the swing sooner. Hamilton starts his when the pitcher breaks the hands.
Slide Step a-la Mike Trout can start their swing later. You’ll see these types of hitters picking their front foot up when the pitcher lands and/or begins forward movement with the arm.
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
SEVEN ways a hitter can practice “collecting data”:
LIVE arm: whether seated – on a bucket, kneeling, or standing.
Soft toss or LIVE: throw baseballs, whiffle, dimple, tennis, golf, or dried pinto beans.
Broad focus: have hitter pick out a point in the pitcher’s delivery to start the swing.
On-Deck circle: work on when to pick front foot up.
Sit in on Bullpens: hitter passively (no swings) sits in on pitcher bullpens (with a helmet on of course).
Pitcher’s BP: have pitchers trade off throwing batting practice (advanced).
Intra/Inter-squat games.
Above-all, be safe. The truth about Josh Hamilton timing? It takes reps, reps, and more reps. CLICK HERE for Part-3 Matt Holliday: The Death Of Plate Discipline. In case you missed Part-1 Mike Trout: Why Your Consistency Won’t Improve, CLICK HERE.
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
Are hitting hip rotation lower half loading drills, using the legs, good for beginning baseball or softball swing power and quick hands? My good friend Matt Nokes shines light on this hitting conundrum…
Matt Nokes: Why Rotating Back Hip Through Zone IS NOT Necessary For Power
In this Matt Nokes post, I wanted to bust a MYTH that Homer Bush brought up in his interview last week, and that is the MYTH that rotating the back hip through the zone is necessary for power.
This past week, I re-tweeted this from @HyattCraig (who is awesome btw), of one of two Miguel Cabrera homers in a game, and this particular one he hit to CF:
Look at Miggy’s back foot step behind him. Also, he doesn’t get full rotation of his pelvis ? https://t.co/l11qIOLPnp
The next day after that Tweet, I found this private message from a follower on Twitter:
“Joey, Honest question. I love most everything you post and It goes with all of the philosophies I teach as an instructor, but this particular post I don’t quite understand. Are you saying a backwards step of sorts and having limited pelvic rotation are positives? I don’t feel like this is practical for anyone that isn’t 6’3 225 when the pitcher is providing the power at 93. If you have time could you please clarify this for me?”
My response:
“Thanks for asking about that. A couple things, we do have to be careful about taking from big slugger analysis. I don’t mind what the back foot does as long as its un-weighting AND not skipping forward too much. Miggy has a great line following the batted ball, it has to do with optimizing centrifugal (center-fleeing) forces. As an example, the belly button should point where the batted ball has exited. Coach Matt Nokes talks quite a bit about full rotation not being an absolute to hitting.”
Which brings me to the above video, where Coach Matt Nokes walks us through numerous examples of elite hitters not fully rotating their back foot (and pelvis) until after impact. Also, let me define full rotation of the pelvis (or hips as some refer to it as), at least from what I see/hear/watch from other people out there…
Full pelvic rotation is getting the hitter’s belly button to face shortstop (for a righty, or 2B for lefty) on any pitch…inside, middle, and outside. I’ve found this gospel preached from those who don’t ‘buy into’ or understand the loading of springy fascia in the torso, since to them, the shoulders would be seen as ‘inactive’, before the hitter starts turning.
Therefore the pelvis has to do all the heavy lifting. This method is far from optimal, and NOT very safe for the lower backs of youth hitters across the nation, and even more disturbing will continue to keep Orthopedic surgeons in business.
CLICK HERE for a post I did explaining how the swing isn’t rotational OR linear, but that’s it’s actually linear, rotational, then linear again. The purpose of this post, is to open up discussion about whether rotating the back hip through the zone is necessary for power IS or IS NOT a myth…
Lastly,
I wanted to share one of my favorite Coach Matt Nokes drills for practicing what he preaches. It’s his “Around the Zone” soft toss (coaches please be careful with this):
What say you…?
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Are-Hitting-Hip-Rotation-Lower-Half-Loading-Drills-Using-Legs-Good-For-Beginner-Baseball-Softball-Swing-Power-Quick-Hands.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-24 09:00:202022-08-24 19:48:51Are Hitting Hip Rotation Lower Half Loading Drills Using Legs Good For Beginner Baseball Softball Swing Power & Quick Hands?
Learn how to REALLY use the legs and lower half in directional place hitting drills for baseball or softball beginners at home. Discover hip rotation swing loading breakdown tips in this interview with Matt Nokes!
Dangers Over-Rotating Low Half: What is Directional Force? And WHY is it Important?
This hitting training interview with Matt Nokes was pulled from the seventh issue of our Swing Smarter Monthly Newsletter. What is that? On a monthly basis,
We pick a hitting theme,
Write a Newsletter around the theme,
Give favorite hitting drill addressing the theme,
Prescribe corrective exercises to amplify the drill’s goal, and as if that wasn’t enough,
We also include 2 expert interviews on the subject…
EVERY month!
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This hitting training post is POWER packed!! The above video, Matt put together special for this episode. CLICK HERE to listen to the 30-minute podcast episode.
Here are some of the hard hitting training points we cover in the Nokes interview (pun intended of course):
What’s the Major Benefit to “Staying Sideways”,
What is Making the Hips Turn?
Dangers to Performance of Over-Rotating the Lower Half,
What is Directional Force? And Why is it Important? And,
Around the Zone Drill for Staying Sideways.
What follows is copy and pasted transcript from the 30-minute hitting training audio interview. If you want to download the pdf version, so you can print it out, and highlight the heck out of it, then you can download that here: https://gohpl.com/33XxDcI
Enjoy!
Joey Myers 00:00
All right, hello and welcome to Swing Smarter Monthly Newsletter. This is your host Joey Myers from HittingPerformanceLab.com, and on with me as a special guest a special surprise Mr. Matt Nokes, former Major Leaguer, two time All Star, Silver Slugger award winner.
Joey Myers 00:14
And the day that I met Matt was probably three or four years ago, I was introduced, the Backspin tee bros… Taylor and Jarrett Gardner, and we were talking hitting the whole time down in San Diego. I think it’s when they had the all-star game there in San Diego. And we were even talking hitting training in parking structures at the different levels. We went to a library we went all over the place. So Matt Noakes, welcome to the show.
Matt Nokes 00:41
Good Joey. First, thank you for inviting me.
Joey Myers 00:44
You got it, sir. Hey, I wanted to kick off. I wanted to talk about because we’re going to be looking at the idea of staying sideways with the lower half, directional force, all that. So, I wanted to get your view, since you introduced it to me and introduced it to the backspin tee guys, what’s the major benefit of staying sideways? And maybe a detriment to not staying sideways? Maybe over rotating? Which I see a lot of young hitters do?
What’s the Major Hitting Training Benefit to “Staying Sideways”
Matt Nokes 01:13
Well, I think there are several reasons. I mean, it’s a whole system, right? It’s your lower body. And it’s been misinterpreted for so many years. Because of well, the communication wasn’t necessary. Let’s just say when a major leaguer’s talking to another major leaguer, they’re just spouting out hitting training words that don’t mean a whole heck of a lot. Or it could mean 50 different things. But they’re talking to someone who’s been watching their teammate. They know what they’re going through. It’s what they say just a little bit. They know what they’re saying.
Matt Nokes 01:53
And so a lot of the conversation is nonverbal. And so, this whole thing of using your hips, it’s just something that has been brought up to people. And if you think about it, when you’re hitting, for people who haven’t been hitting, or who don’t know how to hit, they don’t see the patterns that you and I see or that a high school, college, pro player, or major leaguer, they don’t see the patterns that we see.
Matt Nokes 02:27
And so, the varying levels of, there’s a huge amount of information that you need to know just to see certain things. Right? And so, it’s what, it’s why there’s this confusion. And people just haven’t really taken the time to, or they just didn’t feel like, feel the need to explain any more. Because, as one of my good friends Darrell Evans always said is well, I can’t tell you everything.
Matt Nokes 02:56
Like he’ll explain some awesome conflict. I go, why don’t you tell me that, you know, 20 years ago when we were in the big leagues? Because I can’t tell you everything, because you knew. He hit 400 or over 400 home-runs. But there were some hitting training things that he didn’t question. And things that I questioned, and vice versa, I wish I would have had that information from the beginning.
Matt Nokes 03:22
And it’s not so much that we see the patterns, because everyone sees oh, you know, that front leg straightens out at some point, that must be important. Okay, well, it kind of straightens out when you block. Sometimes it doesn’t when your way into your legs. But the point is, it’s blocked, blocking. And because there’s rotation, it’s going to straighten out, close to contact.
Matt Nokes 03:54
Like everybody knows, if you ever thought about straightening out your front leg thinking that that’s going to be key, that’s going to be one of my adjustments. One of my adjustments, that I’m going to get three hits tonight, you know that, that would be like the worst thing to think about, right? You would leak. You would just pole vault, leak your way up and out over the top.
Matt Nokes 04:17
So having said that, it’s not enough to see a pattern, you have to be able to go beyond that and see the model, you have to be able to model what’s going on, you have to know get to see hitting training in three dimensions as opposed to, drawing triangles, you need to see the pyramid. You need to see more of really what’s happening to understand it. So, when you look at somebody hit, you see their hips turning. It’s like no, they do turn, you know, I mean, I am watching them turn, but you have to look past that and say, what is making it turn?
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What is Making the Hips Turn?
Matt Nokes 05:03
And when it comes to, why does it turn? And when it comes to all the other comments about using the ground, which is, you hit from the ground up and lead with ground force, and it starts from the bottom and goes up, back foot turns, the back-knee turns, hips turn, in the core turns the shoulders turn, and then you swing.
Matt Nokes 05:26
That makes sense if it was geared that way, but it’s not. Because your power source is your well, is your trunk, your upper body, or let’s call it the core. But I think it’s even more general than that, I think you just hit with your upper body, but you use a weight shift, and you need something to swing against.
Matt Nokes 05:47
Like, if you’re hanging on a rope, you can’t really turn. I mean you could, but you just wiggling. If you get your feet on the ground, then you can turn your upper body. Anybody that sat on a machine to work their core rotationally, they know that when you sit into the machine, it clamps your lower body down, or your upper body one or the other. So that you can forcefully rotate.
Matt Nokes 06:20
Okay, so that’s the hitting training concept. If you want to rotate, you need something to rotate against. And yet, we still see the core, I mean, the hips turn, okay? Well, that’s because they’re attached. And at contact, you’ve unloaded your backside. And because you’ve unloaded it, of course, it’s free to turn. But it’s that much more important that you get in a really good position.
Matt Nokes 06:55
The idea of a sideways approach is, you have to get in a good position, it needs to be a consistent position. And you have to be on time. What that does is it helps you be on the ball. So that may just sound some random, random to some people. But I’ll give you a hitting training illustration, or I’ll give you an analogy. Let’s say you’re hitting soft toss from the side, I mean, directly from the side. And you know how easy that is. Now, I’m a left-handed hitter, how easy it is to crush the ball over the shortstop head.
Matt Nokes 07:39
The opposite way, if it’s coming from the side, because you just shift right past it, you smoke it! You know you’re not supposed to pull the ball, but what happens to your lower body. Think about what is your lower body do when you get soft toss from the side? It firms up and is basically, it’s certainly not as open as it does, from the front, or I’m sorry, like on an inside pitch.
Matt Nokes 08:09
So basically, it’s that feeling of being on the ball. It’s really important that you are sideways, in order to be on the ball. So that you’re in position into a consistent position, you know how when you’re hitting…let’s say soft toss again, when you hit your first ball, and you think, my shoulder needs to be a little bit more closed. And then you hit it again go, oops, my hips are at position, my foot’s in the wrong position, you make those fine-tuning adjustments.
Matt Nokes 08:38
Well, you can do that. On soft toss because you can almost automatically manage variables, which you have to manage. Because you’re in a controlled setting, it’s unlikely, you back it up to 60 feet, and the same hitting training variables that you could manage automatically, without even thinking, the scenario enables your automatic mind to relate it to something you already know or to just be familiar with the motion for it to be common sense. And you can do it.
Matt Nokes 09:15
But when you add more variables, well then you have to make sure that your routines and how you practice, that you have those things in mind so that you’re prepared to not pull off the ball. But if you do pull off, you know how to make an adjustment to position yourself.
Matt Nokes 09:35
And it’s one last thing, it’s like if you had never seen a Phillips head screwdriver, never seen it or never even seen a screwdriver. And you were showing me that this is how I’m going to hang a painting. And you found the stud finder, and you found the stud, and then you basically shorten it, you screwed it. You twisted in a screw into the wall. And then hung the painting with that wire, right? It’s kind of hung and then even it up.
Matt Nokes 10:04
So how do you use the screwdriver? Well, there’s some utility there. You know what you’re doing? Because you’ve seen it, it didn’t take a lot of examples. You’re holding the screwdriver in your hand, you’re like, I know how to do this. And how long does it take you to become an expert? With that movement? I mean, he says well, it doesn’t take expert movement. Oh, yeah? How does a monkey do that? Or a child?
Matt Nokes 10:34
Where a monkey could do other complex things. But not that, because they can’t look at it and see the utility. But you and I, and everyone on the planet can be basically an expert in five minutes. Context matters.
Joey Myers 10:54
And you know what’s unique about our sport is that we only have 90 degrees of fair territory to work with. And whereas you look at bowling you maybe it’s what three and a half feet a lane and then even in golf, you can argue that you only have one degree of fair territory and 359 degrees of foul territory, because you get rewarded for the shortest number of strokes to the pin.
Joey Myers 11:16
One of the hitting training stories that you told was really cool on this. I don’t know if it was Frank Robinson, or who it was that you were talking to. But I think you had gone away from staying sideways. And you started to like, what most coaches and young kids do is over rotate the lower half. And then you said you broke away from what you were naturally doing. And you slumped, and then you came back. Tell that story?
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Dangers to Performance of Over-Rotating the Lower Half
Matt Nokes 11:39
Yeah. Okay. So, I always think it’s important to add empirical evidence, which is that which can be verified or falsified by your senses, or your experience, your personal experience at the highest level. My first year in the big leagues…well, anyway, I just got up to the big leagues. And it was the all-star break. And I was sitting at the all-star break with 20 home runs, hitting like .320. And like 57 RBI’s, you could say I was doing well. And I was hot. And I was young.
Matt Nokes 12:24
And Dave Bergman and Bill Madlock, teammates of mine, were shagging balls at first base. And I guess they were talking to each other. And they came up to me, and they said, man Nokesy, you must really feel on the ball. And I said, Yeah. Because your back foot stays sideways. And well, I didn’t know what to make of that. And because I had worked that out that I just knew I was on the ball. I thought, okay, I thought they were saying, well, it’s unorthodox Matt, but you make it work.
Matt Nokes 13:01
I get to the All-Star game. And I’m watching up on the diamond vision. That’s what they called it then. And watching the highlights and stuff. And I started to notice that that back-knee pinch. You got to remember; I wasn’t really familiar, familiar with the exact things that were going on. And most major league guys really aren’t as much as you would think. They have a general sense. But there are things that they don’t, I mean, they know what it feels like. And they can replicate because of that, and they understand that through feel.
Matt Nokes 13:40
I thought, man that back knee looks like it’s rotating. So maybe the back foot turns too. I’m sitting at 20 home-runs, maybe I would have had 30 or 40 home runs by now. I thought, man, I’m going to really drop that knee and kind of now they’re saying you got to try the back knee, that kind of thing. It’s just as bad as rotating back foot. Even though it does collapse, because…it does collapse because it’s passive. It’s passive because you unloaded it, and your upper body doing the rotation.
Matt Nokes 14:17
And for the next couple of weeks, I focused on that I focused on my back-knee kind of collapsing and my back-foot rotating. And I didn’t get a hit for two weeks. But I felt great in batting practice, I was hitting home runs, I was launching balls, as usual. And my timing was good because, so I couldn’t really see the difference in batting practice in order to make an adjustment because I was crushing balls still, but I knew there was something missing.
Matt Nokes 14:49
In pitchers shagging were used to me hitting a certain way, actually approaching. They said something wrong. I mean, you’re hitting balls well, but it’s just not coming off the bat the way used to. And I agreed. I haven’t had a hit in a couple weeks. And finally, Dave Bergman and Bill Madlock came up to me after a couple of weeks, because I’m sure you know, they had their own life, their own hitting training problems they were dealing with, and they didn’t notice why I was going into a slump.
Matt Nokes 15:21
And they came up and said, what are you doing? Like, what do you mean? You’ve never rotated your back foot like that, ever? And I go, oh, didn’t you? Didn’t you say I was being unorthodox. I just thought I’d make it better. And they go, you idiot. No, that’s your problem. And so, they’d have to say much other than it just shocked me so much that I got back in the batting cage, just start smoking balls, keeping it sideways. And oh, I hit two home runs that game. And then from then on, I was, I knew that that was a hitting training rule. That was a principle I needed to follow it. Even though back then I didn’t really understand it.
Joey Myers 16:09
That is one of the, of all my young hitters from I mean, now I just work with 11 or 12, all the way up to junior high, high school, college and stuff. I don’t work with any hitters lower than that. But usually the ones lower than that age, typically, if they haven’t been over coached, do that naturally. They do stay sideways, right? They get coached out of it, for the most part.
Matt Nokes 16:32
Absolutely.
Joey Myers 16:33
And I would say the ones that have been coached out of it, and I’m just getting them. And it’s probably about 40 to 50% of them over rotate that lower half. You talk about this idea of directional force. Talk a little bit about that.
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What is Directional Force? And Why is it Important?
Matt Nokes 16:47
Well, you know, it takes 8,000 pounds per square foot, or I’m sorry, per square inch into the baseball to hit baseball 400 feet. And I have no question that even High School players generate way, way more energy than that swinging a bat, that large of an arc, the sweet spot of the bat is moving, you can generate a lot of force with a baseball bat.
Matt Nokes 17:16
It’s not that they can’t generate the energies that can’t direct the force. And it’s going all over the place. They’re not getting the bulk of the energy through the ball in one direction. And, yeah, so basically…
Joey Myers 17:34
Being sideways helps with that.
Matt Nokes 17:36
Yes, because it stabilizes your lower half, so that your upper body rotation is pure, there’s no leak in it. Your energy is not going in a lot of directions. You brought up the point about, there’s a lot of fair territory and foul territory. So that’s confusing, because the basic 90 degrees, it’s that you’re hitting the ball in. There’s that sliver, where you get a hit, you know, maybe 10 degrees, 36 degrees, it pretty much everything is either a popup or ground ball, right? And then you got a lot of foul territory, it’s not cricket.
Matt Nokes 18:18
And then you can hit a ball to the left that you thought you should have pulled, or you could hit ball the right, they just thought you should have hit the other way, or whatever it is, that can get confusing, because you don’t necessarily understand right out of the box, where the direction of force should be, or you’re not aware of your personal direction of force, until you experience it until you create a scenario where you can actually rehearse it.
Matt Nokes 18:46
Because if you get a hit, you don’t think you need to go into it very much more. But if you’re hammering a nail, there’s going to be some consequences. The nail is going to go flying, if you don’t hit it with the right force in the right direction. But with hitting, it’s confusing, because you can still get a hit and lose a lot of energy, you can still hit it hard and lose a lot of energy. But ultimately, so that’s confusing in itself, you hit a ball the other way, one time, you pull the ball the other time. And you think you did it right, even though you lost energy in both directions. And yet, you don’t get a hit.
Matt Nokes 19:26
The amount of time that you’re actually driving the ball consistently goes down. But you’re not concerned with direction of course, because you’re hitting the ball in all directions. It just gets confusing. You don’t know what’s wrong, you don’t know what’s going on, what’s wrong, what’s right, what hitting training is working, what’s not.
Joey Myers 19:44
And you have a hitting training drill, the around the world drill. You can explain that one. That’s a pretty good one, I think for demonstrating what you’re talking about the direction of force.
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Around the Zone Drill for Staying Sideways
Matt Nokes 19:54
Yeah, well, in short. Every major leaguer, and advanced hitter has a feel for certain things. And if you get to that level, you figured out a way to rehearse or do a drill. So that it reinforces good habits. Good positions, good timing, good directional force, you may not be aware of it, but you just see the results, the empirical results.
Matt Nokes 20:23
And, yes, so the around the zone is around the world there. If you begin from the side, and you get the ball, coming from the side. There are rules, and why the rules? Well, there are rules because you can’t just do the drill any way you want, there’s a certain way that it’ll be effective, there’s a certain technique that will be effective, if you don’t do it that way, you’re not going to get anything out of it.
Matt Nokes 20:54
It’s the same for every drill, every rehearsal, if you don’t know what you’re doing, how you’re supposed to do it, what it’s for, what you’re doing, how you’re supposed to execute it, why you’re doing it, and what it’s going to feel like, what feel you’re searching for, then you’re just wasting your time.
Matt Nokes 21:15
And as a young player, I remember some of my great coaches as a young player, you know, they just see me work and work and work and hit it. And I’m hitting up 300 balls into the net, and they’re like, stop! You need to be strategic when you’re doing it, like, what are you trying to accomplish right here? I don’t know. I just figured if I just keep hitting, it’ll come to me. No, all that’s going to do is lead to a million different desperate fixes. That’s all that’s going to do.
Matt Nokes 21:45
And then I’m addressing every system, with timing, the mechanics, and your mindset. Not addressing those, in keeping the balance between them. There are certain rules. You get a ball from the side. You want me explain it?
Joey Myers 22:01
Yeah. So when you say side, you mean chest on? So perpendicular to the hitter?
Matt Nokes 22:06
Yeah. Okay. You get, I’m a left-handed hitter. So, imagine you’re in the right-handed batter’s box, and then just behind it, and so you’re throwing it from the side. And so maybe you’re throwing it at my back hip, or that kind of thing. The way you set up the drill, and I call a drill with a ball and a rehearsal without the ball, and there’s reasons for that, which I’ll go into later.
Matt Nokes 22:31
But setting up the drill, so you’re throwing on it. What I say is, okay, the arc that the ball’s coming in on forms the line. And you need to pay attention to that line, and then draw 90 degrees from that line from where you’re standing Joey. The ball’s coming in at me, and then from you out to center field is, would approximately be 90 degrees.
Matt Nokes 23:01
And I say, okay, now where’s your 45 degrees? And then as long as you hit it inside of the 45, you’ll crush it with your weight, you’ll get your weight into the ball, because you’re shifting into the swing, and past the line that you see. And that may be complicated. Because there’s a certain amount of information that you need to know to actually kind of visualize it and understand why it works like that…
Joey Myers 23:29
And I can include a link to your drill video too. [The following is the “Around the Zone Soft Toss Drill” video as promised:
Matt Nokes 23:31
Yeah, okay, yeah, I break it down. And I show you, I mean, you go 46 degrees, it’s going to be a topspin ground-ball. And so, you have to address the drill, you have to follow the rule, that’s the easiest way, if I’m going to give a player action steps and not just try to convince them of some hitting theory. And I was like hey, let’s get into action. Let’s not worry about hitting theory until you already feel what you got to do.
Matt Nokes 24:01
Because once you feel it, then all of a sudden, your intuition about why you’re doing it, and what it’s fixing will be enhanced, and you’ll be able to see things that you couldn’t ordinarily see. You go from the side. And so now the ball, let’s say I’m hitting in that as a left-handed hitter. Initially, I’m hitting the ball, right down the left field line. And then as you work your way around, but you know, maybe at eight, eight or 10 ball down in the left field line, opposite field, because it’s being thrown from the side, as long as I shift my weight perpendicular to the line and get beyond the line. I’m getting my weight to the ball.
Matt Nokes 24:45
Because good timing is transferring your weight into the ball on time and what you’ll find is you’ll gain incredible power increases because you’re transferring to the ball on time, you’re able to regulate that system really well and make fine tuning adjustments, and you’re actually hitting the ball in the correct direction.
Matt Nokes 25:11
For those of you who don’t quite understand it, I can give you an example of, one extreme example, if I was getting that same ball, that I would normally hit down the left field line, which is opposite field, if I’m throwing a ball from the side, I’ve seen guys in the batting cage, and I would walk in the cage, and they’re hitting balls up the middle of that, and I walk by a coach and they say, Hey, do you see anything Nokesy? And, you know, okay, and, and then I’ll take the tee and put it out front.
Matt Nokes 25:45
Well, they have the tee in the center of their legs, like inside, and like, behind the front foot, or between the legs, and they’re hitting the ball up the middle. Well, if you got a ball that far back, you got to hit that ball the other way. But it’s not very exciting to hit a ball on into the net three feet away, it’s just not that exciting. But that’s the direction you need to be hitting, you need to get your weight beyond that ball, to transfer your weight in the ball, because we’re talking about directional force.
Matt Nokes 26:19
But what a player will do is they’ll run away from the ball, shift, try to stay on their back foot to clear, to give them some kind of room to hit that ball, to hit that ball up the middle. Because they’re thinking about what they’re doing incorrectly, they’re trying to hit a ball up the middle that they’re not supposed to hit up the middle.
Matt Nokes 26:41
And so you just work that drill correctly. And then you start moving your soft tosser, you start moving them around, until eventually they’re in the front, and you’re hitting it down the right field line. And actually, when you do it correctly, you can’t hook it foul. Now you think what do you mean? You could literally have someone right in front of you. Throwing it at your front hip, he can’t hook it foul. Why? Because you’ve got your weight into the ball and your weight is in the ball at contact, you’re in line.
Matt Nokes 27:11
It may not even be a lot of lag, just enough lag to get that whip. It’s just pre final whip. It’s just pre where you rollover, it’s always going to be if your weight is into the ball. Think about it, if you don’t shift your weight into the ball on time. That’s a slap. That’s a hook. That’s called quitting. So yeah. What you’re getting yourself out of is from quitting.
Matt Nokes 27:37
And that’s what happens when someone is trying to hit a ball that’s deep between their legs and trying to hit it up the middle. The only way to hit that ball up the middle is to quit.
Joey Myers 27:49
Got it. That’s a great drill. And again, I’ll add the drill video that you have on YouTube in the post. Well, hey, man, I would love to do a part two at some point, but to be respectful of your time. Where can people find you? Are there any special projects you’re working on right now? Just a little bit about where people can go to get more information on you.
Matt Nokes 28:10
Yeah, thanks, Joey. You can go to MattNokes.com. I have courses available. And I have a free advanced hitting workshop. And after if you’d like to consult with me, there’s a link at the end of the workshop. But you can also go to CallNokes.com and schedule a call with me. We figure out what’s working what’s not, and create a blueprint. And if I can help you I certainly will. You can also go to YouTube and find my videos you punch my name in, punch in Matt Nokes and you can find a lot of my videos on YouTube like case studies and things like that. It’s been a pleasure. Thanks, Joey. Thanks for inviting me on the program.
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/hitting-training-matt-nokes-interview-e1600899762835.png281500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-21 09:00:562023-08-18 21:38:48Use Legs & Lower Half Directional Place Hitting Drills For Baseball Softball Beginners At Home | Hip Rotation Swing Loading Breakdown Tips
Discover whether the baseball or softball batting weight donut (not to be confused with a doughnut!) is or IS NOT a benefit to the Little League swing? Weighted donut Amazon reviews: Easton, Power Wrap, and Varo.
Using Batting Weight On-Deck May Dangerous To Bat & Ball Exit Speed?
This post may blow the minds of those that didn’t get the memo…
You can read the article in full by clicking the previous link, but I wanted to include important bullet points from the article and Sports Science video above:
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“Studies conducted over several decades have concluded that the ritual popular among professionals and emulated by amateurs doesn’t increase bat speed. It may actually slow it down…’the best is your own bat'”
According to the Zepp app, average professional bat speeds range from 75 to 90-mph, average High School and College bat speeds range from 65 to 80-mph, and average youth bat speeds range from 40 to 70-mph.
PLEASE NOTE: there are other batting weight studies with small sample sizes (ranging from 7 to 60 players) comparing High School, College, and recreational hitters in laboratory settings (not LIVE batting practice). Adrenaline or others batter’s routines could have influenced performance in these. Basically the variable wasn’t properly isolated…that being said, a study with 20 college baseball players found “their performance was statistically unchanged.”
Dr. DeRenne, found using a 28-ounce batting weight changed the balance point of the bat and slowed down bat speed.
In Sports Science video above, a college hitter in 2008 hit 10 machine pitched balls WITHOUT using a batting weight before, and had an average bat speed of 69-mph, and routinely connected with the sweet spot. After using the batting weight, then taking another 10 swings off the same pitching machine, his average bat speed dropped to 68.3-mph, and on each swing he missed the bat’s sweet spot by several inches.
The above video talked about how because the hitter swings the bat at a slower pace using a batting weight, more red slow twitch endurance muscle fibers get recruited, thereby decreasing the amount of white fast twitch muscle fibers which fire two to three times faster. Warming up with batting weight in on-deck circle is actually priming the wrong muscles before stepping in the box.
The experience of a single batter can’t be generalized to others, but the results resembled other studies.
“People are always looking for an edge,” Dr. Szymanski said, “but just because a professional athlete does something doesn’t mean it’s good or helpful or right.”
The Bottom Line?
Now, a 0.7-mph drop in average bat speed doesn’t seem like a lot, but as you saw, it makes a BIG difference in barreling the ball. As retired Physicist Dr. Alan Nathan says:
If ball hits bat 1-inch off sweet spot = then 1 to 2-mph DECREASE in Ball Exit Speed (that’s 4 to 8-feet less distance!)
If ball hits bat 2-inch off sweet spot = then 2 to 3-mph DECREASE in Ball Exit Speed (that’s 8 to 12-feet less distance!)
If ball hits bat 3-inch off sweet spot = then 3 to 4-mph DECREASE in Ball Exit Speed (that’s 12 to 16-feet less distance!)
So, not only are hitters losing bat speed using a batting weight on the on-deck circle, but by barreling up the ball LESS OFTEN, they’re losing batted ball distance as well. Aside from swinging the hitter’s own bat, I’d say swinging a lighter bat – faster – would help the body recruit more of those white fast twitch muscle fibers before stepping in the box.
Your thoughts?
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