The above video is Part-1 of a three part series showcasing a local lesson of mine.
The objective of this video series is to share with coaches – literally – an “over-the-shoulder” look at how I do a local lesson. More on this in a moment…
Zack is a 14-year-old hitter from Visalia, California, which is approximately an hour drive from me, one way. And this is the first time I worked with him since about a year ago. We’ve had about half a dozen session together in total.
Before we started this session, Zack was having a challenge with hitting line drives. He was either hitting the ball on the ground or non-productive balls in the air.
DISCLAIMER about the video:
Fortunately the video quality is great because Dad used his GoPro, but unfortunately I wasn’t mic’d up, so the audio isn’t like some of my other videos.
We’re at a public High School on a Saturday afternoon, so there are other team noises, bird sounds, emergency vehicles, etc. going on in the background that can be distracting.
Now, what’s in this Part-1 video?
Let me expand on the video’s objective and how it can benefit coaches…
Sadly, a few coaches on the socials will be overly critical of this hitter, and I’m asking you to suspend judgement. The purpose of this video IS NOT about being overly critical of the hitter’s swing, it’s about the demonstration and use of sticky coaching principles.
With that being said, swing suggestions are welcome, but be nice coaches. Also, coaching suggestions are welcomed…but again, be nice.
Now, for those coaches looking to learn and help their hitters get better…ONWARD!
A typically lesson I do, is organized like the following, from start to finish (I’ve cut some parts out of this video for the sake of brevity):
Dynamic warm-up,
Beginning Ball Exit Speed readings,
Record and analyze current swing,
Lesson, and
Ending Ball Exit Speeds readings.
What you can look out for in above video
Talking about how to pick the right bat size (1-3:30 min mark),
Showing him Miguel Cabrera’s landing position top hand and elbow positioning on my phone after video analysis of Zack’s swing (about 7-min mark),
Working on Zack’s top hand Finger Pressure (about 8-min mark),
Switching bats – over-loading with heavier end loaded bat with goofy PRX knob (about 13-min mark), and
Teasing the Part-2 video where we talk about lowering Zack’s hands to not get above armpit line to landing – and the benefits of (about 15:30-min mark).
Also, when it comes to sticky coaching principles, notice how I:
Move the tee positioning around after every swing (both high/low and inside/outside),
Vary soft toss heights and depths,
Vary mechanics on certain swings in a 5-swing round (I call these Varied Rounds), or practice one thing the whole round (I call these Block Rounds),
Ask quite a few feel, visual, and/or audio feedback questions AFTER round is over (think of it like a hitting quiz),
Keep my mouth shut during the 5-swing round(little to no feedback from me),
Don’t make Zack take a lot of swings during our time together,
Have him change his bat size during rounds, and
Work with him on simplifying the juggling of a couple different mechanical cues.
“I am just curious to see what are the steps the coaches are using to teach this system? There is a ton of great information but what have you done to break it down. I cant throw all this info and steps at a player and expect them to retain the info. So, what have you focused on from start to finish? IE. Grip, Break it apart drill, Tuck front shoulder, Fight Position, Finish? Thank you”
– Coach Sullivan
The legendary UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden. Photo courtesy: FunctionalTrainingPathBlog.com
I received this on my Coaches Forum recently, which is included as part of any online video course of mine one would invest in.
It’s a great question, and one I don’t feel the coaching community has done a good job of answering (me included…until now).
Sure, an online hitting guru may get favorable results with their hitters, but how do they actually teach and progress the swing mechanics to get those results?
I’m attempting to shed some light on that in this post.
Look, let me be up front…
There’s no perfect place to start with a player’s swing. Every coach will have a differing opinion on this based on a myriad of factors, so please use the following as a guideline or suggestion, and deviate when necessary.
What I do know is this,
You can’t go wrong with scratching the immediate hitter’s itch.
In this post, we’ll attack Coach Sullivan’s question from above in the following ways:
Mechanical steps to focus on first – scratch the itch,
Breaking down drill progressions,
Mindset when working on something new,
Transitioning practice into game swings, and
Player’s homework for home.
Let’s get started…
Mechanical Steps to Focus on First – Scratch the Itch
I ask the parent of my hitters (or the hitters themselves), what part of their swing needs the most help. Here are the questions I typically ask:
Looking back on the season (or past season), where did you hit the ball more…on the ground, line drive, or fly balls? Can you attach a percentage to each?
Looking back on the season (or past season), where did you hit the ball more…to left field, center, or right? Can you give me a percentage of each?
Do you feel like there’s more lack of power or solid contact?
To test their answers to these questions,
I can also put the hitter on a tee, setup where they should hit the ball to center-field, and have them take 10 swings, while capturing their Ball Exit Speed with a radar gun. Generally speaking, this will tell me where they’re hitting the ball direction-wise, and with what kind of impact quality. And it’s not how high the radar gun goes, but how consistent and stable their numbers are.
Armed with this data, I can now formulate a semi-solid swing plan. The next step is confirming my assumptions through video analysis, in which I use the HudlTech or CoachesEye app on my phone. I use Powerchalk.com for my online hitters.
The first session is the same with all my hitters (from 7-years-old to 24-years-old), we address how to consistently get into the box, the gorilla grip, and Finger Pressure.
After these are covered, and I can now hold the hitter accountable for them, then I dive into a swing solution that scratches the immediate itch…
Before jumping into mechanics I make sure my hitters are moving better, so they can perform better by following this simple plan for better mobility and stability.
If a player is struggling with consistent power (radar readings are below average and unstable from swing to swing), then I start with ‘Showing Numbers’, ‘Side Bending’, ‘Hiding Hands’, and Hunched Position as described in my book and The Catapult Loading System online video course.
Breaking Down Drill Progressions
How do we teach a brand new motor skill to a budding young athlete?
Please keep in mind, the speed of drill progression will depend on the player’s age, “trainability” as talked about in David Epstein’s book The Sports Gene, and the player’s early movement development.
This is how to teach the teaching of the mechanics, if you will.
So think about drill progressions as what you do in the weight room.
What happens if you do a back squat with the same weight, 2-3 days per week, 3-sets and 12-repetitions every workout, 52-weeks per year? Right! You’ll plateau early on and make zero gains the rest of the year. You’ll be wasting your time and money in the weight room.
In the case of squatting, how do you get a body and/or strength change in the squatter above?
By adjusting the intensity (total weight lifted), accomplished sets, amount of repetitions, type of squat (front v. back), and rest time. Change MUST be a constant if you want the body to adapt accordingly. These are drill variables that can drive skill adaptation in hitters as well.
When teaching a brand new hitting technique, I move through the following swing progressions (from easy to more difficult):
Dry swings,
Tee swings,
Soft Toss, then
LIVE or front toss.
If the hitter can produce the new swing technique eight out of ten dry swings, then I move them to tee swings, and so on and so forth. Think of these progressions as weight-lifting for the mind.
I will also slow things down movement-wise for the hitter by breaking the swing apart into three steps at first with the Break-it-Apart Drill (not really a Drill per se, but more of a way to drill the Drills):
Getting to the landing position (Fight),
Pause for a second or two, and then
Swinging.
This allows the player to slow the swing process down to focus on the fix. So putting these drill progressions together would look something like this:
Put swing together soft toss swings (after 8/10 successful reps, move onto the next), and lastly
Put swing together LIVE or front toss swings (after 8/10 successful reps, move onto the next).
Mindset Working on Something New
What if I timed you 10-times writing your name using all letters and took the average, then timed you 10-times writing your name in half the letters? So for me, Joey Myers, I would write J-E-M-E-S.
Well, the first few times writing your name in half the letters would be slower, but as your brain learned to do it after the first 2-3 times, you’d actually write your name in half the letters 1/3 the time it takes to write your full name!
Who cares? Your players do.
I tell my hitters that you’ll take a step back before you take two forward when learning to do something new.
Mindset is EVERYTHING when your players are learning a brand new movement.
Your players MUST know that you’re grading them on the process, NOT the outcomes…at first.
In other words, I tell my hitters that if they swing and miss, but do what I want them to do mechanically…they get an ‘A’ for that swing. If they hit a fiery hole through the back netting of the cage, while not doing what I wanted them to do mechanically…then they get an ‘F’ for that swing.
You following me here?
They need to go into observe mode on outcomes, not analytical mode, in the beginning. This is crucial especially with my online lessons because I’m not there to physically work with the hitter. So when a mom or dad says our hitter is doing what I want them to do off the tee, but not during LIVE batting practice. Most likely this is a mindset issue. The hitter is more focused on OUTCOMES hitting LIVE, not solely on the process like they should be.
A lot of times, I throw out plate discipline and timing completely in the beginning (in other words, I’m not grading them on those).
Transitioning Effective Practice Swings into Games
I did a comprehensive post on this already, so CLICK HERE for that. Please read that first, then continue on in this post.
Player’s Homework for Home
Look parents, you can’t expect your kids to go to practice three or four times a week and expect them to get better. Can I get an Amen from the coaches here?!
Most times, the kids don’t even hit at practice. And if they do, it may be once per week with the team. And if they do hit every practice, who says the player is even focusing on their specific “new hitting process”?
You see, for the most part, head coaches are generalists. It’s not until High School that programs get a specified hitting coach. And many programs at that level, don’t even have that!
Here’s my point…
Don’t count on organized practices to get “new hitting process” work in.
There comes a time when a hitter MUST be accountable for their own success. And to set the player up for success at home, here’s what I ask of my hitters:
Give me at least 4 or 5 days per week (team practice days don’t count), and
At least 5-minutes each day.
That’s it! Most kids play at least 30-60 mins of videos games per day…wanting 5-minutes per day for hitting homework isn’t asking that much. Just set an alarm, and when it goes off, then the player is done for the day. Simple.
The hitter can put in more time, but I don’t recommend early on, especially if they’re at a lower motivational level. Once they start experiencing success at the plate in games, they’ll be inspired to put in more time, trust me.
I prescribe at least four or five days per week for their hitting homework because it’s based on what I’ve seen with my players. I ask them at the start of a lesson, how many days per week they got their hitting homework in at home? And typically, the ones sharing three days or less, we’re having to revisit what we worked on last lesson. For most reporting four or more days, we’re moving forward with their swing.
One last thing that fires up inspiration (good or bad) for my players is to compare their current swing to the the last one using video analysis. I tell them it’s our version of a quiz on how they did for the week.
Remember in this post, we went over:
Mechanical steps to focus on first – scratch the itch,
Breaking down drill progressions,
Mindset when working on something new,
Transitioning practice into game swings, and
Player’s homework for home.
Coaches, please share anything else I may have missed that has worked extremely well for your hitters. THANKS in advance…
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/john-wooden-coaching.jpg420560Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2017-04-20 02:23:572018-06-29 04:59:55How You Can Teach Effective Hitting Mechanics Almost Instantly
Where PRINCIPLED Coaching Is And How To Get It (Coaching Minds Podcast Interview with Justin Lewis)
Photo courtesy: CoachingMindsPodcast.com
You just have to have a Growth Mindset.
I wanted to share an interview I recently did on the Coaching Minds Podcast with Justin Lewis. Somebody interviewed me for a change! 😀
There are a lot of things we covered in this interview, which lasted almost 2 hours!! I know that’s a bit long, but I feel it will be of great value to you as a sticky coach.
Also, I’ve taken the liberty to chart some of the milestone topics we covered in the interview with the time-stamps below, so you can jump around if you want and circle back.
ENJOY!
Why I don’t have [and frankly don’t want] my own brick and mortar hitting cage, and leveraging the internet (about 3-min mark)
What it takes to be a great hitting coach and get productive results with their hitters…the power is in affecting the coach and not so much the player. (about 5-min mark)
Where did the beginning of the Hitting Performance Lab come from? (About 8-min mark)
Talking about the importance or non-importance of switch hitting (about 13:00-min mark)
Olympic 70-foot throwing Shot Putter who said they can only throw as far as his weak side would allow him (about 14-min mark)
Justin asked me what qualifies you to come up with your own hitting system? As a newbie coach, who do you go to for hitting information? How do you pick a hitting mentor? How do you know if a hitting coach sticks close to human movement principles? (about 18:00-min mark)
How to sniff out Bad Science and the Placebo Effect (about the 20-min mark)
We discuss if Tony Gwynn could hit for more power? (about 21-min mark)
Real versus feel hitting mechanics…making bold adjustments…Mike Trout defending his swing against “chicken winging” by “getting on top of the ball” (about 24-min mark)
Talking about softball hitter who was hitting ball well before tweaking mechanics…can we make great hitters better? (about 28-min mark)
Breaking down and defining one of my favorite quotes the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote…principles are few, methods are many (about 30-min mark)
Question about whether the legs drive the torso, or NOT. CLICK HERE for the HPL blog post I mentioned here about Dr. Serge Gracovetsky and The Spinal Engine. (about 33-min mark)
Talking about the importance of having a mentor…success leaves clues…breaking the One-Joint Rule…saying ‘yes’ (McCutchen) or rolling the head (Harper/Fielder) is not good for impact, but saying ‘no’ head movement is okay (about 41-min mark)
Talk about how UGLY Hunger Pence can look, but how effective his hitting mechanics are (about 46-min mark)
Talk about my early childhood and where everything started for me in my quest to find the hitting Holy Grail…transitioning from 46-foot to 60-foot mounds…paralysis by analysis for 4 years (about 47-min mark)
Discussed the Fixed versus Growth Mindset…“In order to change, we have to change. In order for things to get better, we must get better” quote Justin gave. (about 54-min mark)
Justin asked me how my family life was growing up…fielding ground-balls palm facing the ground…the fear of having my son play tee ball…get the awful out of the way…we didn’t have to teach our toddlers how to walk (about 55-min mark)
Justin asked me how I ended up at Fresno State…how to get great jumps in the outfield and what I learned at a Stanford baseball camp…”the hop” and soccer goalies defending a Penalty Kick… (about 1-hour mark)
Justin asked me what I studied in college…my answer will SHOCK you (about 1-hour, 4-min mark)
What was my path after college getting into training people? Getting certified in Yoga and other corrective certifications…loving the challenge of tracing back injuries…cultivating my passionate curiosity for human movement (about 1-hour, 6-min mark)
Justin asked me where I recommend a newbie should start on my blog…and this is important because there are over 200 FREE blog posts about different aspects of the swing…what makes a good swing experiment (about 1-hour, 11-min mark)
Describing what my online video courses are about (about 1-hour, 15-min mark)
We talk about Tim Tebow and his Big Leagues prospects (about 1-hour, 17-min mark)
Justin asked me about why I decided to do the books and get on Amazon…why I used a Fixed v. Growth Mindset Intro for the Catapult Loading System book, and jam packed the book with testimonials from other coaches getting the same if not better results that I’m getting…the origins of The Science Of Sticky Coaching book…the origins of The UGLY Truth About Hitting Ground-balls book (about 1-hour, 19-min mark)
We discuss how other online hitting gurus have a hard time sharing their information…and why they’re hurting the baseball/softball industry doing this (about 1-hour, 26-min mark)
Justin asked me what’s next for me with the site business-wise (about 1-hour, 28-min mark)
Justin asked me if I want to take on a college or pro-ball coaching job at some point (about 1-hour, 31-min mark)
Justin asked me a couple Rapid Fire questions: what other books would I recommend or gift to people? What advice would I give to my Freshman year in college self? Do I have a daily routine that I do everyday? Something that I suck at that some would be surprised with? (about 1-hour, 33-min mark)
I had fun on the show, and I’d highly recommend you check out the Coaching Minds Podcast with Justin Lewis. Justin’s a great guy, a fireman like he mentioned in this episode, and very much a Growth Mindset coach. He’s doing big things with his own hitters, so please go check his Podcast episodes out if you’re a coach, drive a lot, and need something productive to listen to. Here’s where you can find Justin and the Podcast:
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/CoachingMinds_Logo-e1490897571468.jpg450450Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2017-03-30 18:12:172018-12-10 05:42:36You Don’t Have To Be “Smart” To Be An Extraordinary Coach
If You Don’t Pre-Hab or Rehab Your Ankles Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later
I sought out to do a 4-week case study – on myself – to see what the Freo Board could do for the chronic tightness on the inside of my right knee.
This was caused by playing 17 years of an unbalanced one-sided sport, baseball…along with a bad ankle sprain my Freshman year in college, and jamming my right leg into the hip climbing a wall going back on fly ball during a game against Fullerton my Sophomore year.
Also dumb knuckle-headed-ness like running a marathon in 2008, and doing high repetition Cross-fit WOD’s post marathon were straws that FINALLY broke the camel’s back (or in my case my knee).
I had been using a Foam Roll, Trigger Point, and stretching strategies in the past, and would feel better that day, but the tightness would return the next day.
And I’m happy to report that after one week of using the Freo Board, I haven’t had to Foam Roll or Trigger Point my TFL or IT Bands, or stretch out my hamstrings and calves in the last 3 weeks!
Some benefits I’ve felt:
Little to no tension on the inside of my right knee,
Better stability when changing direction,
More hamstring flexibility when bending over and picking things up,
Less calf tightness, and
Lighter on my feet.
Overall benefits of using a Freo or Slant Board…
Build better ankle mobility,
Secure better knee stability,
Make hip mobility better,
Overall better balance,
Great pre-rehabilitation for ankle, knee, and hip, and
Superb ankle, knee, or hip rehabilitation post injury.
Benefits for hitters…
Better dynamic balance on off-speed and breaking balls,
Will move better, therefore will perform better,
Boost in running speed and agility, and
More effective in dealing with and transferring Gravitational Forces.
Training Protocol
At least 4-5 days per week,
5-10 minutes per day,
Do the “cross” foot positions on Days-1-3-5, and
Do the “X” foot positions on Days-2-4
Progressions: move the non-balancing leg in front, to the side, and behind the athlete
GymBoss – Interval timer which I suggest setting at 20-secs work time, and 5-secs foot position switch time.
Look, whether you’re trying to reduce your risk for injury, currently rehabbing a recent injury, or the injury was a decade ago, the Freo Board will help…A LOT.
Please keep me updated on the progress of your hitters by using the Freo or Slant Board by sharing your thoughts in the comments section below…
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/freo-board-ankle-mobility-blog-post.png615664Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2017-03-18 01:58:092018-09-03 05:19:41Take 10 Minutes/Day To Bulletproof Your Ankles…You’ll Be Happy You Did!
And see how beneficial doing group swing analysis would be for coaches.
A hitting “think tank” if you will.
The rules:
Video is one swing in three speeds (100%, 50%, & 25%, in that order)
NO background info about hitter,
Be constructive with suggestions, NOT destructive,
Share top-2 high priority fixes in featured swing, and
Suggest drills and/or coaching cues to correct.
The benefit to coaches is the opportunity to objectively see a swing “snapshot”, make mind up about offering correction, then learn what others would do with the same information.
I don’t do free swing analysis anymore because I don’t have the time. And I feel bad because the readers reaching out need some help.
So, what I’m thinking is tapping on my audience for that help.
And if you coaches like this, then we’ll do more of these in the future.
Also, don’t feel like you have to write a novel…just offer up a couple sentences.
THANK YOU in advance for your comments.
Please leave a reply down below in the comments section…
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.png00Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2016-11-11 23:54:512017-02-22 03:55:06What Do You Think About…?
A Simple Way To Make Adjustments, Build Swing Tempo, AND Elevate The Ball That Works For Mike Trout & Josh Donaldson
I have a treat for you…
A “grab-bag” of golden nuggets…
The following 11 hitting tips come from my most popular social media non-HPL links of 2016.
To give you an idea,
I typically promote 1 non-HPL link per day on the socials, so that’s 365 links getting put in front of my 20K+ followers.
I get a front row seat to see what coaches think interesting and worth their time.
The following creme-of-the-crop link montage, is arranged in descending order, least clicks to the most.
You’ll find these somewhat of a random sort, but they all relate to hitting, albeit indirectly in some cases.
Happy learning!
#11: 30 Clubs in 30 Days: How Mike Trout Approaches Hitting
This is the featured video above.
Sean Casey interviewed Mike Trout during Spring Training of 2016, where Trout discusses his hitting routine…I jotted down 9 key notes for you:
First few rounds he works on hitting to RCF,
Stay up the middle,
A few times hit the ball to LCF, to stay square with the pitcher,
He mentions not getting too ‘chicken wing’,
Tee work: set it high and ‘get on top of the ball’ (to counteract dropping the shoulder and barrel too much),
10-20 swings trying to hit a ground-ball every time,
In games, sit fastball, react to off-speed and breaking balls,
On top of the plate, back of the batter’s box, and
Work up the middle in games.
All these tips are pretty solid…
…for Mike Trout.
When I posted this, and made a note that Mike Trout is definitely not looking to optimize hitting the high pitch in games,
AND
He’s most definitely NOT trying to ‘get on top of the ball’ in games (both in reference to tip #5 above)…
There were a few men on Facebook that got their panties in a bunch, saying I was calling Mike Trout a liar…yada, yada, yada.
If we look at Mike Trout’s Sabermetrics at FanGraphs.com, the reality is, he’s THE BEST at hitting the low ball…and THE WORST at hitting the high ball.
So WHY does he practice hitting off a high tee?
Another look at Mike Trout’s metrics, and we see he’s:
Well below average in Ground-ball percentage (39.6% v. league average is 44%),
Above average in Line Drive percentage (22.1% v. league average is 20%),
Above average in Fly-ball percentage (38.2% v. league average is 36%), AND
Well above average in his Fly-ball to Home-run ratio (19.6% v. league average is 9.5%).
What does this mean?
It’s a ‘what’s real’ AND ‘what’s feel’ sort of thing…
Because he’s definitely NOT trying to hit ground-balls in games (contradicting hitting tips #5 & #6 from above).
So am I calling Mike Trout a liar…
And, WHY would he practice like this?
Earlier, notice how I said,
“All these tips are pretty solid…for Mike Trout.”
No, I didn’t say that because Mike Trout is a mutant, and only Mike Trout can do that and get away with it.
When coaches say this, it’s a cop out. It means they have no REAL clue what’s REALLY going on.
Here’s where I’m going with this,
And it’s VERY important…
And also WHY I made popular link hitting tip #11 the featured video…
What John Doe Coach missed in the interview was when Trout mentioned he has a tendency to ‘chicken-wing’ and ‘drop his back shoulder and barrel’ too much.
In other words, uppercut too much.
Mike Trout is using these seemingly counter-intuitive hitting tips to make adjustments to his swing’s extreme tendencies.
I’m not calling Mike Trout a liar.
He’s a friggin’ smart competitive athlete.
He knows himself and his swing, and makes the necessary adjustments to stay in the black, and not get too far in the red.
There’s no secret,
Mike Trout is trying to get the ball in the air.
It’s like the advice Lightning McQueen heard in the animated movie Cars, “Turn left to go right”…when attempting to correct a spin-out.
#10: Hitting A Baseball – “The Hardest Thing To Do In Sports”
The parent and player behavior is probably not going to surprise you…
However, I want you to ask yourself the question as you read this,
“How did the coaches respond to the parents that clearly didn’t work?”
How could coach be more effective in dealing with parents in this environment, if a million dollar bet was on the line?
Look, maybe the athletes are spoiled brats, or maybe the coaches just don’t have an effective strategy for dealing with this situation.
In other words, don’t label the players or parents “mean” right away…
Be creative, brainstorm, and future pace how you’d handle this situation.
Because chances are, you will run across this scenario, in some form, in your lifetime.
Grab 'Finger Pressure' Video
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
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Most understand Line Drives MUST be the main hitting objective (for a majority of swings), however I want you to compare the Ground-ball metrics to the Fly-ball metrics from the chart above:
A 32-point increase in Batting Average with Ground-ball over a Fly-ball,
A 358-point INCREASE in ISO (or raw power) with Fly-balls over Ground-balls…AND
A 115-point INCREASE in weighted On-Base Average with Fly-Balls over Ground-balls, which according to FanGraphs.com…
“Weighted On-Base Average combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value. While batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage fall short in accuracy and scope, wOBA measures and captures offensive value more accurately and comprehensively.”
So, WHY are we still teaching hitters to hit ground-balls, and NOT to elevate? Beside situational hitting of course.
“Scooter Gennett’s offense has declined every year since he broke into Major League Baseball, are ground balls the reason?”
After careful metric analysis, Shawn Brody the post’s author, says:
“In my mind, Gennett should be closer to his 2014 level of production, which is something he could return to if he put the ball in the air more often.”
Hitting consistent ground-balls will land you on the bench at the higher levels, unless of course you have plus running speed.
In which case, analysis shows that any launch angle above 10-degrees, makes faster running speed irrelevant.
So, what if a hitter hits the ball just plain hard?
Maybe the following #1 link post from my 20K+ followers will shed light on that…
The great case study article discusses how Jon Lester ranks second among Major League hitting pitchers with an average Ball Exit Speed of 92.5-mph.
So, what’s the problem?
Quoted from the article:
“…(He ended up with four hits on the season in 71 plate appearances, a .065/.108/.065 line.) Part of it is that, like many pitchers, contact was an issue — Lester’s 42.3 percent strikeout rate was above the 37.7 percent average for pitchers.”
How could Lester hit the ball so hard without finding much hitting success?
Again, quoted from the article:
“…it’s because 19 of Lester’s 24 tracked batted balls failed to get above 7 degrees of launch angle. Sixteen of those 19 failed to even achieve positive launch angle, which is to say that he pounded the ball into the ground constantly.”
In other words, to get the ball in the air, the hitter MUST have a positive launch angle. About 10-degrees positive will get the ball to the outfield grass…on the “big” field.
If the hitter has a negative or less than 10-degree positive launch angle, THEY WILL:
Hit A LOT of worm burners,
Strikeout more,
NOT get many hits, and
Professionally speaking, NOT make it past A-ball(if they’re lucky enough to make it that far).
Even if they’re lighting up the BES radar guns.
Here’s a BONUS link for ya…
CLICK HERE to read a Cut4 article highlighting Giancarlo Stanton hitting the hardest ball ever recorded by Statcast at 123.9-mph, but it was hit into a 4-6-3 double play.
Here’s the lesson folks…
Line drives tend to be between 10-20 degree positive launch angles (see image above).
Dingers tend to be between 20-40 degree positive launch angles (see image above).
Of course, whether it’s over the fence or not will depend on the Ball Exit Speed.
It’s not enough to hit the ball hard.
Teach hitters to elevate.
Get barrel on path of incoming pitch.
Focus on striking bottom half of ball.
That, my coaching friend, is how to decrease strikeouts, mishits, and weak fly-balls…AND increase BA, ISO, and wOBA.
Grab 'Finger Pressure' Video
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
Click button below to access FREE video that has been downloaded over 20K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/josh-donaldson-interview-sean-casey-timing.png432649Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2016-10-21 01:36:392018-12-24 04:53:4911 Popular 2016 Links Revealing How To Make Hitting Great Again
Typically, Big League players don’t dive into Sabermetrics, as readily as they will in the coming years, so it was refreshing to see Homer Bush taking a hard look at ways hitters can exploit inefficiencies at the Big League level by spotting Metric patterns.
Not only do his strategies work at the elite level, but do at the lower levels as well.
I read his book in a week, and thought he did a great job of showing hard evidence of WHY hitters MUST:
Learn how to elevate low pitches, and
Figure out how to hit with power to ALL fields.
If you aren’t helping your hitters grow, then they’re dying.
Here’s a short bio of Homer Bush:
Homer Bush was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 7th round of the 1991 amateur draft.
He went on to play 13 years of professional baseball.
Homer also played for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and the Florida Marlins.
He was a member of the record setting 1998 Yankees World Series Championship team.
Homer is currently Director of Youth Programs for the Texas Rangers and lives in Southlake, Texas with his wife and 2 children.
Without further adieu,
Here is the…
Interview with Homer Bush…
Homer Bush with the Yankees. Photo courtesy: bleedingyankeeblue.blogspot.com
If you were to train me for four weeks for a HUGE tournament and had a million dollars on the line, what would the training look like? What if I trained for eight weeks?
With 4 weeks of training, we’d spend 50% of the time working on proper hitting mechanics–grip & stance, load and swing path.
We’d spend 25% of the time understanding the hitting zone, as opposed to the the strike zone.
And the last 25% of the time, we’d work on your mental approach at the plate as far as focus and building on the positives, so that adjustments can be made from pitch to pitch.
With the additional 4 weeks, we’d just build on these areas with emphasis on repetition.
What makes you different? Who trained you or influenced you?
My major league experience allowed me to see hitting at its highest level on a daily basis. When reflecting back, it is clear that all of the elite players that I played with or against were good low ball hitters.
Some of my influences were… Tony Gwynn, Tim Raines, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Chili Davis, Darryl Strawberry, too many to name them all.
What are your favorite instructional books or resources on the subject? If people had to teach themselves, what would you suggest they use?
Tanner Low Ball Custom Tee 16-23 inches(this isn’t a link to the custom tee, but maybe contacting Tanner Tee, and they may do one for you for an extra cost).
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
Click button below to access FREE video that has been downloaded over 20K times!
What are the biggest mistakes and myths you see in hitting? What are the biggest wastes of time?
I find that there are several myths…
That the swing is level.
There is no such thing as swinging through the baseball.
Rotating the back hip through the zone is necessary for power.
Everyone has their own way of hitting. Every batter must have similarities in their mechanics at a certain point in the hitting process.
‘Squishing the Bug’ philosophy is a joke. In my opinion the biggest waste of time is hitting off of pitching machines in indoor academies because they are too erratic and almost impossible to time.
Who is good at hitting despite being poorly built for it? Who’s good at this who shouldn’t be?
Yadier Molina, average height, wide body and not very fast (not your idea baseball player build) but very productive at the plate.
Who are the most controversial or unorthodox hitters? Why? What do you think of them?
One of the most unorthodox hitters was my former teammate, Tony Batista— unusual, open batting stance but very effective with good power.
Who are the most impressive lesser-known teachers?
Besides Homer Bush, Tim Raines
Have you trained others to do this? Have they replicated your results?
Yes, when I was coaching in the minors with the Padres, my players improved in every offensive category (runs, hits, team batting average, on-base percentage, doubles, home runs) in just one season of me working with them. I’ve also taught my own hitting clients, youth, high school and college players how to execute my hitting philosophy for immediate and consistent success at the plate.
…
Thank you Homer Bush for sharing such great insight.
His strategy works for softball, just as much as baseball. And believe me, defensive shifts are on their way to the lower levels… (if you haven’t seen them already)
Especially once the metrics get easier to collect and manage with a score-book software, such as Game Changer.
Did you know…
Pitchers are consistently taught to keep the ball down in the zone? (I bet you already knew that),
BUT, did you know…
The Oakland Athletics recently recruited hitters with swing paths that were optimal for balls down in the zone!!!?
What do pitchers do then, when hitters begin to elevate the low pitch?! lol
Remember guys and gals, knowledge IS NOT power…it’s POTENTIAL power. Please put Homer’s study and research to use.
Please direct any questions or comments to Homer Bush below…
Grab 'Finger Pressure' Video
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
Click button below to access FREE video that has been downloaded over 20K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/homer-bush-hitting-low-in-the-zone2.jpg417360Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2016-10-06 00:18:182019-01-18 18:06:30Homer Bush Interview: How To Turn A Pitcher’s Best Weapon Against Them
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/baseball-swing-plane-experiment-cage.png557413Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2016-09-22 03:18:082018-07-18 04:48:49Cargo Cult Science May Be Causing You To Lose Out On “The Truth”
To People That Want To Fix Baseball Swing Mechanics But Can’t Get Started
About 4 months between these synced frames. Notice: better weight shift forward, knee action, better barrel launch angle, NO more racing back elbow bat drag…Thomas is in ATTACK MODE on the right!
With permission from Dad, I wanted to share 9-year-old Thomas P.’s hitting journey after 12 baseball swing mechanics slow motion online video feedback sessions with me at The Feedback Lab.
We started session #1 January 18th, 2016, and finished session #12 June 2nd, 2016. The video above is an actual Feedback Session I routinely do for my online hitting students.
I’m so proud of Thomas persevering through the struggle and frustration that comes with honing effective mechanics.
AND, the same can be said for Scot, his Dad, who’s persevered right alongside his son. Not to mention how much Scot learned in the process…
How to train Thomas in these mechanics at home,
How to offer just the right amount of feedback, and
Finding out when too much is too much when it comes to learning a new skill.
In this video post, I wanted to share:
How far Thomas’s swing has come,
What he’s working on next, and
Some of the ‘Ah-Ha Moments’ for Thomas along the way.
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/baseball-swing-mechanics-slow-motion-thomas-p.png441810Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2016-06-08 21:30:282018-09-22 05:26:409yo 5-Month Swing Transformation Case Study
Hitting Lessons From A Primary Firearms and Tactical Instructor?
Nick Coast, Senior at Rancho Bernardo High School is crushing it, along with younger brother – and Sophomore – Alex Coast.
In this post, I want to share a testimonial from one of the dads who drove up from San Diego (about 7-hour drive to me) with his two sons, Alex and Nick, to hit with me for a weekend, about 9 months ago.
Both young men are playing at the highest level in the Open Division in the CIF San Diego Section, Rancho Bernardo High School. Alex is a Sophomore playing J.V., and Nick is a Senior playing Varsity this year. Nick’s Varsity Coach Sam Black, is the same one General Manager of the Oakland A’s played for.
The reason I’m sharing this is because dad, Mark Coast, has a VERY credible background in human movement science. THIS is what caused him to reach out to me after rummaging through HPL. The following testimonial is VERY validating to the things we teach at HPL.
SDSU Website for Homeland Security
Here’s the bio of Col. Mark Coast:
“I graduated from Cal State Northridge with a BS in Physics and Minor in Engineering in 1990. The same day I graduated college I was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve. Nearly 30 years later I am now a colonel in USMCR. Since the time I graduated college I have served a combination of 8 years on active duty and nearly 22 in the reserve. During that period I deployed to Iraq four times (2003-2006), retired from DEA after 20 years (1996-2016) as a Special Agent, worked a few years as an optical mechanical design engineer, Adjunct Faculty at San Diego State University (2009 to present) and now a founder of a new company Ceveal Solutions, LLC. I have been a professional trainer for over 25 years experience. First, as an artillery officer with USMC, Non-lethal Weapons Instructor #1 for the Department of Defense, and as the Primary Firearms and Tactical Instructor for DEA. I completely understand the scientific process and apply proven training techniques of integrating gross and fine motor skills with hand-eye coordination in shooting, very similar to hitting and golf.”
Now, here’s the email he recently sent, updating me on the boys’ progress this season.
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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!
It’s a little long, but don’t worry – if you stick through it – you’ll get a few golden training nuggets…
Without further adieu, ENTER Col. Mark Coast…
“Joey,
I hope things are going well. I know you may not get much detailed feedback so I wanted to pass along something we learned the last couple weeks. We have been hitting like crazy and the results were good. One of the things we stressed was your recommendation of the two plate drill and it helped timing tremendously. Additionally, we worked hard on balance. We also increased reps off the pitching machine to adjust to velocity. They worked very hard to make balanced swings whether they hit or missed. This really improved their contact and consistently hitting with the same swing. However, I wanted to determine why the boys were popping up occasionally in clutch situations, which was unusual (pop ups). Thus, I set up a video camera and recorded their ABs. Here’s what I learned…
Upon review of video after games I was seeing the boys take a damn hard cut at a ball for the first couple strikes. I would notice they would take a subtle step towards the plate on the follow through. I asked them why they were taking a step in the game and not in the cage? Their response, “I want to crush the ball so I’m swinging harder during the game because we are pumped up.”
I told them, this comes down to discipline and training. You play like you practice and practice like you play. You either swing like that in the cage or don’t do it in the game. They said they wanted to swing hard like that in the cage, but they couldn’t swing that hard for 10 pitches. I said that is exactly why Joey wants you to limit your swings to 3-5 reps.
They were very resistant to that because they “get in a rhythm” and like hitting for 10-12 reps. I told them it was reinforcing bad habits for game situations. The light bulb went on for them!
Nick has taken physics already and we drew a static diagram of a harder swing and asked him to show me and Alex where his barrel head will be when he swings with a larger angular velocity. He figured out the bat created a larger moment arm from his center of gravity [COG]. He realized his COG moved toward the plate (causing the slight step) and causing his barrel head to drop slightly causing the pop ups or foul tips.
They realized game time ABs creates adrenaline pumps and they swing harder in games and don’t train with the same intensity in the cages, thus missing balls low. They NEVER drive a ball into the ground with less than two strikes! Always swinging harder than the cage during the game. However, they are damn good two strike hitters when they purposely dial back their swings with 2 strikes.
BTW, Nick has only 6 K’s on the season and Alex has 2 K’s. They rarely miss a pitch. Again, these boys are playing at the highest level in the Open Division in the CIF San Diego Section. BTW, not too bad on defense too. Nick has a 1.000 fielding percentage as a catcher and .800 caught stealing rate. Alex only has one E playing the corners.
Experiment: Go into the cage and take full momentum swings for no more than 3 reps and rotate for three rounds.
Hypothesis: Their barrel heads would be under the ball in the first round. Second round they would apply bold adjustment method (standard artillery round adjustment method); swing below, above and then split the difference. Third round they will have taught themselves how much they need to raise their barrels heads to square up balls when swinging as hard as they can.
Results: It went exactly as predicted. They rebalanced with the harder swing by moving their hips out (away from the plate). CLICK HERE for the results during the games (Max Preps screen shots through today). They are absolutely crushing the ball. Nick is tied for leading doubles on his team, moved to hitting in the 5 hole. Alex similar results.
The last couple weeks they are coming through in clutch situations. Just this week, Nick walk off single in one game and lead off double to score winning run. Alex on Wed (btm of 12th) lead off double and was the winning run. Varsity coach (Billy Beane’s HS coach Sam Black) said, damn the Coast boys are killing it and starting game ending rallies.
Last year when we came to you in Fresno, Nick was hitting .111 (popping most everything up). Alex was similar. Now they realize how to replicate their game swings. They are disciplined with their training of limiting reps to 3-5 per round. Their friends are now adapting this training method. I think it’s ironic “The Factory” has kids coming over to hit in the cage at our house and adapting to your scientific approach to hitting. It is so cool to watch them adapt to technology and the collected scientific evidence and apply it effectively to the most difficult task in sports. I know when they coach later in life they will be better coaches. Thanks again for all your support and continued success.
Thanks, Mark”
In addition, Col. Mark Coast added this to one of my replies…
“When their teammates see the results on the field they do not argue with success they just want to duplicate it. It’s funny how many boys are now asking them and me what are they doing other than hitting. I keep telling them it’s not the quantity, but the quality of the reps. It’s the same stuff I teach my students with shooting pistols, rifles or cannons. Spray and pray is not a method. Putting a single calculated round downrange is all the matters. The same in hitting. One well placed ball is all that matters. They are old enough to be believers now. If you want to see two snippets of video of Nick you can go to his web site on MaxPreps and see his walk off hit and a double he hit Wed. I’m in the process of getting Alex’s video from Wed uploaded too.
Keep up the great work! I don’t know how often you get feedback as scientific as mine, but I hope it helps. It is a testament to your approach. Additionally, the confidence it gives them is amazing. Nick says, I have hit off and sometimes crush all these D1 commits. I know there isn’t a kid in the country I can’t hit. That’s a bold statement!”
I can’t thank Col. Coast enough for sharing this.
I always tell my hitters that I’m just a flashlight in the dark, illuminating the most effective path to being an outstanding hitter.
The biggest part – I feel – is for them to do the reps. The Coast brothers are definitely doing that, and combined with dad’s background, knowledge, and guidance…40 years from now, both boys can look back and say they did all they could to maximize their abilities.
Listen, the moral of the story is that we’re applying human movement rules, that are validated by science, to hitting a ball. Whether we’re talking about using variance in the cage or the standard artillery round adjustment method…these are the PRINCIPLES (See RWE quote above).
Keep up the good work Coast Bros!
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!
About two weeks after our initial conversation, Nick Coast (Senior in H.S.) was hitting .333, and his younger brother Alex was hitting over .400 in J.V. ball.
UPDATE #2
The Monday before I published this testimonial from Col. Mark Coast, I had a dad by the name of Jeff Pope reach out to me on my Facebook fan page, asking me where I could point him to improve his son’s game swing, which in the cage were fantastic.
I told him to be patient for this post (which I published on Thursday).
And here’s Jeff’s response, the Monday following this post’s publication (he gave me the go-ahead to share with you):
“I spoke with you last week about my son bringing his bp swing to the game and he did just that, hard work in the cage and in our garage has paid off. He hit ridiculous this weekend. He hit 2 monster home runs in 4 games. Kid just turned 11 last week, can’t wait to see what he is now capable of. I believe the home run flood gates may have just opened! Thanks for the insight and knowledge.”
His reply to my attaboy comment back…
“Something clicked, like I said he’s always been a great hitter but as big and strong as he is hitting clean up i wanted more for him. Game changing more. He took on the top ranked team with a kid throwing absolute gas and he took the second pitch he saw and hit it about 270 ft over the left field wall, he caught it out front and it looked effortless. His other shot he hit was an 0-2 fastball and he hit it over the centerfield wall with his contact swing. So much fun to be apart of.”
I asked him what exact changes they made, and here’s how he responded:
“What we changed in his practice habits before the tournament he played in was the shortening of the reps going all out if you will for 3-5 reps. I have noticed before the longer we went on a bucket the better his focus and adjustments got… But the swing obviously got weaker. I did notice the short reps really made him focus on making the most of the pitches he got but also keeping his strength and bat speed up the entire time. I really tried to get him to focus on being fast and powerful on those limited swings. You normally don’t see more than 3-5 pitches per at bat which really got in his head, make the most of what you have a priority. I really stressed that he needed to play how he practiced keeping the mind set of focus and making the most of what u got. We also focused more on increasing his reps off the pitching machine using that as a great tool to incorporate that powerful swing with speed. Well he played like he practiced going yard twice, one being a 270 footer on a kid throwing gas, then another on an 0-2 count with a 2 strike swing that was still powerful enough to hit it over the wall in centerfield. Both kids threw really fast which made him faster and he took advantage. He just turned 11 last week, look forward to many more of these sessions and hopeful success to keep him playing in games how he practices…which is all out!!”
This IS NOT rocket science people! Practice like you play, so you play like you practice.
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/2016/05/nick-coast-stats.png251667Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2016-05-11 22:35:042018-12-17 05:36:29How To Get Hitters On-Time Using The ‘Standard Artillery Round Adjustment Method’
. Generally speaking, this will tell me where they’re hitting the ball direction-wise, and with what kind of impact quality. And it’s not how high the radar gun goes, but how consistent and stable their numbers are.
, and the player’s early movement development.
, 
, and stretching strategies in the past, and would feel better that day, but the tightness would return the next day.
,
,
– Interval timer which I suggest setting at 20-secs work time, and 5-secs foot position switch time.
.
, by Ted Williams
, by Robert K. Adair Ph.D.
, by David Epstein
, by Homer Bush
(this isn’t a link to the custom tee, but maybe contacting Tanner Tee, and they may do one for you for an extra cost).
Hitting Aid with ball feeder
“, by Dr. Ben Goldacre,
“, by Dr. Richard Feynman,
.
