How To Swing A Baseball Bat WITHOUT Pinching Lower Back Pain: Prevention Tips

Swinging A Baseball Or Softball Bat Pinching Lower Back Pain & Common 14 Year Old Youth Player Injuries | Spondylolysis, Sciatic Nerve, Stress Fracture, & Quadratus Lomborum

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Discover swinging a baseball or softball bat pinching lower back pain exercises and common youth player injuries found in 14 year olds.  Get exercise resources for Spondylolysis, Sciatic nerve, stress fracture, and Quadratus Lomborum.

Before taking any of the recommendations in this post, PLEASE consult with a board certified physician first if experiencing lower back pain – do the research beforehand.  Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Rolfers, and MAT professionals are a fantastic way to start.  That being said, if the pain isn’t too bad and only occurs during or after swinging, which suggests mechanics may be at fault, then the recommendations in this post will help tremendously.

 

Derek Jeter: These Exercises Accelerate Swing Efficiency

 

 

I was recently introduced to Danilo Collins (pronounced Duh-nee-lo).  A 16-year-old baseball player in Florida.  Over email, he sent impact and follow through pictures (and video) of his swing, saying:

“Hey Joey, I have had this exact problem ever since I started filming my swing. During my final turn, at or near contact I find that my upper body tenses up. My shoulders shrug up, my face tenses up and tilts awkwardly, and my back arches in a weird, unnatural way.”

In this video blog, I want to address Danilo’s swing concerns using Derek Jeter as a model.  We’ll answer these three questions:

  • What does an efficient impact & follow through position look like?
  • What can impact & follow through tell us about movement dysfunction?
  • What exercises can a hitter do to correct this?

If we can get a hitter moving better, they’ll perform better.  Movement dysfunction puts performance on the back burner.  Let’s see how Derek Jeter’s swing compares…

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.

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What Does an Efficient Impact & Follow Through Position Look Like?

Last week, I posted this to my Facebook fan-page using Danilo and Derek Jeter’s impact pictures, and received great feedback:

[fb_embed_post href=”https://www.facebook.com/HittingPerformanceLab/posts/571869122942886/” width=”400″/]

Here’s the jist of the Facebook feedback, in comparing Danilo to Derek Jeter:

  1. Batting tee is set too far back for true point of contact,
  2. Detachment of front arm from rib cage – no extension, and
  3. Too much focus on turning faster.  By extending front arm at contact, then back arm after contact Danilo will increase his inertial force (CLICK HERE to see another blog post on this).

Those great Facebook comments aside, I want to focus on something else that most don’t…

 

What Can Impact & Follow Through Tell Us About Movement Dysfunction?

I feel fixing movement dysfunction is just as important as efficient swing mechanics.  Without correction, the body loses the ability to move efficiently.  This dramatically decreases batted ball distance.  Here’s what to key in on at impact and follow through using Derek Jeter as a reference point:

  1. Maintaining strict alignment of head and spine (core stability), AND
  2. Staying low on the pitch plane using back leg (core stability & glute activation).

If we compare Danilo to Derek Jeter, we can see a huge difference in the back leg angle, and how well the head, rib cage, and pelvis stack on top of each other.  When it comes to hitting mechanics my hitters work on the Hollow Pinch, which is pinching the hitter’s belt buckle and belly button together throughout the whole swing – even into finish.  We did a swing experiment on that here.

 

What Exercises Can a Hitter Do to Correct This?

I mentioned Core Stability & Glute Activation.  I want you to do something for me:

  • Stand up with your feet under your shoulders,
  • Squeeze your butt cheeks together as hard as you can (notice your pelvis change position?), and
  • Now, tighten your abs as hard as you can like you’re doing a standing crunch (did this bring your rib-cage down?)

Danilo is arching his back and extending his back leg, resulting in his lower back taking on sheer forces.  In the middle, taking a vacation, are his glutes.  To look like Derek Jeter in the Impact and Follow Through photo to the right, Danilo will have to do these TWO corrective exercises 1-2 times daily:

  1. Hollow Body Hold (core stability) – week 1: 1 set X 20-30 secs hold, week two: 1 set X 30-40 secs hold, week three: 2 sets X 30 secs hold, and week four: 2 sets X 45 secs hold…do every other day.
  2. Super Plank (core stability) – week one: 1 set X 45 secs hold, week two: 1 set X 60 secs hold, week three: 2 sets X 45 secs hold, and week four: 2 sets X 60 secs hold.
  3. Single Leg Floor Bridge (glue activation) – 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.

The reps and time can change for younger hitters.  Be sure to let the hips down slowly (4-secs) for each repetition for #2.  After 4-weeks on #1, turn up the heat by doing a Super Plank-Pushup.  Make sure to practice the same rules from the Super Plank.  The key is NO rotation of the pelvis.  You should be able to set a drink of water on the back of the pelvis when doing the movement, without spilling.

FINAL NOTE on Derek Jeter’s swing: we want head-spine alignment, but with a slight angle up and back over the catcher for more repeatable power.  Derek Jeter is more vertical like Tony Gwynn.

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Importance Of Top Mental Health Coaching In Sports Performance Training

Dr. Bhrett McCabe Sports Psychologist Podcast Interview | Improve Mental Health & Toughness Training Coach Program For Young Athletes | Baseball, Softball, & Golf

Learn about Dr. Bhrett McCabe, a sports performance psychologist in this podcast interview.  Discover how to improve mental health for young athletes while seeing what Dr. McCabe means by “toughness training” in his mental training coach program.  Perfect for baseball, softball, and golf athletes.

Mental Game Mind Conditioning Interview with Sports Performance
Psychologist Dr. Bhrett McCabe

 

 

 

In this “Importance Of Top Mental Health Coaching In Sports Performance Training” interview with clinical Sports Performance Psychologist, Dr. Bhrett McCabe, we go over:

  • What are the top two mistakes that athletes make when it comes to dealing with those injuries? Psychologically?
  • Dad’s saying you need to tough it out. You need to get out there. What’s your advice for some of those?
  • What’s your advice on a player that is VERY hard on themself?
  • “To me, the first thing we can do as the coach is never assumed that they’re going to be better. I think we must assume that they’re going to struggle.”
  • What do you, and it leads into some tough talks where, we’re talking about suicide rates and things like that. What’s your initial analysis?
  • “Every coach strength, coach hitting coach, every coach should know what to do. If a player comes to them and says, coach, I just don’t think about living anymore.”
  • Where can people find you? Do you have any, so that could be social. That could be the website. I know we mentioned the beginning any kind of workshops or anything coming up?

Click Here to download the PDF transcription of the above interview.  If you’re interested in the Swing Smarter Hitting Training Podcast version of this interview, then Click Here to listen and subscribe.  Click Here for Dr. Bhrett McCabe’s website to get more information on the fantastic work he’s doing.

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Free Online Hitting Bat Speed Training Program For Baseball Softball Coaches

Free Online Hitting Training Bat Speed Program For Baseball Softball Coaches | Discover Best Remote Learning Way To Teach Swing Instruction Skills

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Learn about an online hitting training bat speed program risk free trial built for baseball and softball parents, team coaches, and instructors.  Discover the best remote learning way to teach swing instruction skills to your kiddos or other kiddos in the area…

Don’t Buy Into Fear Of Not Having Enough Playing Or Coaching Experience…

 

 

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 of not 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 hitting and 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!

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Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Online Hitting Lessons Private Virtual Coach For Baseball & Softball Beginners Ages 7yo+

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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.Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

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”.

Joey Myers continues…

“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 Case Study: Online Baseball Private Hitting Coach Virtual Lessons for Beginners Ages 7yo+

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.

The Feedback Lab is now available to buy and review at: http://gohpl.com/feedbacklab2

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How To Keep Front Side Shoulder In & Fix Flying Open For Baseball Softball Swing

Keep 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

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Discover how to keep the front side shoulder in and fix it from flying open for baseball and softball swing.  Learn how to STOP pulling or spinning off the ball, hitting it off the end, not squaring it up, correct front foot timing, and a late swing.

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.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

Pre-Loading the Torso Before Landing

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:

 

Keep Coaching Feedback to a Minimum

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!

That’s the beauty of the Varied Reaction LIVE Toss Drill…minimum feedback is needed for the drill to work its magic.

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Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Top 5 Short Inspirational Hitting A Baseball Quotes: Ted Williams, Derek Jeter, Giancarlo Stanton, Sadaharu Oh, & Jose Bautista

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Discover our top-5 list of short inspirational hitting a baseball quotes by Ted Williams, Derek Jeter, Giancarlo Stanton, Sadaharu Oh, and Jose Bautista.

5 Powerful Baseball Quotes From Top Hitters…

I often post inspirational baseball quotes from top MLB hitters on my Facebook fan-page. So I wanted to share my top five player quotes and photos that get the most engagement on Facebook…ENJOY!

 

Derek Jeter

Baseball Quotes: Derek Jeter

Photo courtesy: HighHeatStats.com

I read D.J.’s unauthorized biography The Captain: The Journey Of Derek Jeter, and baseball quotes like this of his sum up his whole career.

Even though Derek Jeter was the 6th overall pick by the Yankees in the 1992 draft, he made over 50 errors at Shortstop his first year in professional baseball!  The Yankees doubted him and talked about moving him to the outfield.  He improved on his fielding, and the rest is history.

Whether it was brutal contract negotiations with the Yankees, media scrutiny from one of the biggest cities in the world, “Stat-heads” saying he had no range to his glove side, or injuries, Derek Jeter found a way to beat the critics, his competition, and inevitably etch himself into the Hall of Fame.

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.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

Giancarlo Stanton

Baseball Quotes: Giancarlo Stanton

Photo courtesy: SBNation.com

Fangraphs lists Giancarlo Stanton as a beast, 6-foot, 6-inches, 240-pounds!  And according to Wikepedia.com he was a three-sport athlete.  Before being drafted in 2007 by the Marlins, he was offered a baseball scholarship at USC, and offers to play football at UCLA and UNLV.

I love hearing this quote come from such a “big” guy.  I subscribe to the fact that Giancarlo Stanton was such a well-rounded athlete, and didn’t have access to year-round baseball that contributed to his success so far.

Unfortunately, a lot of Little League coaches and parents focus on just hitting the ball, instead of hitting the ball hard. These types of baseball quotes are great to put hitting into perspective.

 

Jose Bautista

Baseball Quotes: Jose Bautista

Photo courtesy: BirdDogRealty.net

One of the “smallest big hitters” in baseball.  FanGraphs.com lists him at 6-foot, 205-pounds.  But his Metrics make him look like Giancarlo Stanton!!!

These types of baseball quotes are based on mindset at the plate.  And after watching Jose Bautista swing, we can see he doesn’t get cheated…shocker, I know.  Consider this…

One of my hitting friends Bob Hall from Canada shared with me something he heard from a scout about having a plan at the plate…

You’re either a fisherman OR a hunter.  The fisherman waits for the fish to bite, while the hunter stalks his prey.  I tell my hitters to use both, depending on the pitcher’s accuracy and hitting situation, to their advantage.

 

Sadarharu Oh

Baseball Quotes: Sadaharu Oh

Photo courtesy: rnishi.Files.Wordpress.com

Sadaharu Oh, another small slugger, is listed at 5-foot, 10-inches, 173-pounds according to Baseball-Reference.com.  Why is this significant?

During Hank Aaron’s time, Sadaharu Oh played in Japan and was considered the Barry Bonds (career home-run leader) of Japanese baseball.  He blasted 868 dingers over the span of 22 seasons…and that’s almost 40 per year!

CLICK HERE for a post I did asking for my reader’s reaction on his mechanics.  Judging by these types of Sadaharu Oh baseball quotes, technique was his saving Grace.  It had to be, because he had to “do it right” to compete the way he did.

And sure, against today’s Major League pitchers, Sadaharu Oh probably wouldn’t hit as many homers, but man, how consistent his power was over 22 seasons.  I agree with one of my reader’s comments from the article link above, that if Oh played in America today, they’d have made him a slap hitter, much like they did Ichiro, because of his small physique.  Ichiro can hit the long ball, but not allowed.  Darn shame 🙁

And last but certainly not least…

 

Ted Williams

Baseball Photos: Ted Williams

Photo courtesy: ESPN.Go.com

I don’t think Ted Williams needs an introduction.  Looking at this picture, it seems to be around his magical .406-year, three years into the Big Leagues and weighing about 180-pounds, soaking wet, while standing at 6’3″!  He had the height, but definitely WAS NOT gifted with body mass.

In his biographies he often cited “inhaling” multiple malt shakes per day to put weight on his frame.  Too bad he didn’t have access to the information we have on that today!

In baseball quotes like this, Ted Williams talks like a man who struggled to do it right. “…you can’t make a hitter, but I think you can improve a hitter,” is not something Daryl Strawberry would say.  Failure is a huge part of hitting, way more than pitching.  We learn from our failures more than our successes.  Our hitters need to know from an early age that failure is okay.  As long as we use it as a tool to get better.  Progress is a process.

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15 At Home Strengthening, Stability, & Rehab Exercise Tips For Catcher's Knee Pain, Sever's Ligament Syndrome, & Osgood-Schlatter

15 At Home Strengthening, Stability, & Rehab Exercise Tips For Catcher’s Knee Pain, Sever’s Ligament Syndrome, & Osgood-Schlatter

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Discover 15 exercise tips you can use to strengthen, stabilize, and rehab knees for symptoms surrounding catcher’s crouch knee pain, Sever’s ligament syndrome and Osgood-Schlatter disease…

Osgood-Schlatter Disease Treatment:

 

 

Sever’s Disease Rehab Exercises:

 

15 Ways To Prevent Injury, Minimize Damage, & Rehab Knees

 

Fragile.  What a “dumb” joint.  I heard one of my 8th grade hitters, who took a break from lessons to play football, busted his knee requiring surgery, and would be out for 6-8 weeks.  Another one of my 7th grade hitters busted his knee playing soccer, requiring minor surgery.

And yet another hitter of mine, a Junior in High School, tweaked his knee playing basketball at school, and will be undergoing an X-Ray (which will probably turn up negative), followed by an MRI to be safe.

And btw, all these hitters are smart young men, who have performed above and beyond for their age in the batter’s box.  I frequently tell my hitters, you’re no good to your team sitting on the “shelf”, so take care of your body.

So, what’s the answer?

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.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

Now, we can’t pull out ye ol’ pocket crystal ball, reveal an injury before it happens, and avoid it.  But…we…can…prevent them!  We’ll get into what we can do in a moment…but first,

Studies show today’s young athletes are sitting 80% of their day.  Athletes are specializing in one sport earlier and earlier in life.  If you read my recent post on 4 Tips On How To Train Springy Fascia, then you’ll remember the first rule of Fight Club is…ahem…training fascia is, to vary training vectors (i.e. be varied in different movement planes of motion).  Healthy fascia HATES moving in the same way over and over again – like a 2yo, it gets bored easily!

On top of all that, observe the following reality about young female athletes from a New England Baptist Hospital post titled, “Why Do Female Athletes Suffer More ACL Injuries Than Males?”:

“High school female athletes in the United States suffer 20,000-80,000 ACL injuries per year. The issue isn’t only that female athletes are prone to these potentially season-ending injuries: the National Institutes of Health reports that female athletes are two to eight times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than their male counterparts.”

For young female athletes, factors that contribute to this increased risk are the differences in sports undertaken and in gender anatomy and structure (duh!).  The truth is, a wider lumbo-pelvic-hip complex puts the knees in a structurally compromised position.

For all athletes, the knee is considered a “dumb” joint, oftentimes stuck, or rendered unstable, between two immobile joints – the hip and ankle.  When the “bookends” are tight, stiff, and immobile, then the knee becomes unstable or “fragile”.

So, what can we do to prevent injury, minimize damage, or treat a knee injury?  I wanted to share a list of credible FREE resources parents and coaches can use to reference for knee speed bumps…

  1.  Overcome Knee Pain: Exercises and Solutions for Crunchy Knees (Gold Medal Body Fitness)
  2. Speedy Recovery? Ice Bath Benefits Not What They Seem (Hitting Performance Lab)
  3. 5 Simple Solutions For Anterior Knee Pain (Breaking Muscle)
  4. How To Do The Splits: Proven Hip and Leg Stretches for Splits (Gold Medal Body Fitness)
  5. Are You Weak In The Knees? (Breaking Muscle)
  6. Dr. Kelly Starrett from MobilityWOD is one of my favorite resources for troubleshooting injuries.  Click Here for a YouTube link to view the videos he’s done on dealing with knees.
  7. Identifying the What and Why of Valgus Collapse: Part 1: Identifying the What of Valgus Collapse (FunctionalMovement.com)
  8. CLICK HERE for a YouTube video of Charlie Weingroff demonstrating how to fix knee valgus using Reactive Neuromuscular Training (RNT).
  9. The Do’s and Don’ts of Training Squats (CharlesPoliquin.com)
  10. Building Your Arsenal: 5 Exercises for Bulletproof Knees (GymnasticBodies.com)
  11. How to build Super Knees (Forum Topic at GymnasticBodies.com)
  12. Have a favorite training website with an overwhelming amount of info on it?  Here’s a trick to filter information for what you’re looking for…go to Google, type the following into search engine: “site:<<insert actual website w/out www. here>> + keyword…for example “site:gymnasticbodies.com knees”
  13. PAY-FOR Local in-a-town-near-you Programs: Yoga and Pilates
  14. PAY-FOR Online Program #1: https://gmb.io/ff/#choose (I have no affiliation with this program)
  15. PAY-FOR Online Program #2: https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/gb-courses/stretch-series/#titleBar

If your athletes move better, then they’ll perform better.  The knee is considered a “dumb” joint, so make knees SMART (aka “antifragile”) again!

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Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Delayed vs Instant Gratification Psychology, Exercises, Examples, & Why Important? | Are Video Games Better For Child Development Than Sports? | Marshmallow Experiment: How To Stop & Overcome “Right Now” Mentality

ANSWERED: Why is the debate about delayed vs instant gratification important to youth sports?  Learn the psychology, exercises, and examples.  Are video games better for child development than sports?  Explore the Marshmallow Experiment and learn how to stop and overcome the “right now” mentality.

The Ugly Truth About Video Gaming, What It Means To The Youth Hitting Industry, & How To Fix…

 

 

Literally taken by surprise, I was SHOCKED to learn…

…how many of my hitters – mostly male – are obsessed with Fortnite.  No, “Fortnite” isn’t an old English term used to describe a unit of time equal to 14 days (2 weeks).  That’s “fortnight”.  I’m talking about “Fortnite”, the video game that beautiful young ladies around the country are taking steps to do the following…

For those who don’t know, what’s the “thing” with Fornite?  According to Wikipedia:

“Fortnite is a co-op sandbox survival game…Fortnite is set in contemporary Earth, where the sudden appearance of a worldwide storm causes 98% of the world’s population to disappear, and zombie-like creatures rise to attack the remainder.”

When I survey all my hitters about how long they play Fortnite in a day, I get answers all over the board, from zero to 6-8 hours in a day (on their day off).  Dang!  On average, it seems 1-2 hours is “normal” daily play time.  My sample size includes age 8 all the way up to Junior High and High School athletes (about a 50/50 age mix)!

Why should a coach care? 

Because of behavioral conditioning: delayed versus instant gratification.

As you may have noticed, video games have changed since we were younger.  They’re more sophisticated.  More sticky.  More addictive.  And studies show, have a similar effect on the brain as Methamphetamine.  During video game play, the brain is quickly and consistently being showered (rewarded) by the feel good chemical dopamine.

Don’t believe me?  Check out the book by Nir Eyal and Ryan Hoover titled, “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products“.  Can you see where I’m going with this?

The challenge to coaches and parents is video gaming will eventually take over physical sports, if we aren’t proactive.  WHY?  Compared to what the video gaming experience can offer youth athletes, learning a new physical motor skill can take too dang long!!  Don’t worry, I’m not calling for a ban of Fortnite…my hitters would KILL ME!  Just a little strategic behavioral conditioning.  Delayed gratification is the answer, and rest assured, it can be learned and trained.  We’ll get into how to do that soon.  But first, let’s learn about marshmallows…

SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:

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Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.

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The Marshmallow Study

If you haven’t already, check out the above video reenactment of the 1960’s Stanford Marshmallow Study.  It’s cute to watch the internal struggle, alone in a room, of a 4 or 5 year old leaving a single soft squishy off-white sugar explosion in your mouth marshmallow, in anticipation of a second one, if they can wait 15-mins.

The interesting thing wasn’t so much the physical study, but the effect after the study.  Over the course of 40-years after the original study.  They tracked the kids from school to their work lives, and as it relates to delayed versus instant gratification, how things turned out for them was fascinating.

What brought the idea of delayed versus instant gratification to my attention was a fantastic book by my friend Bryan Eisenberg titled, “Be Like Amazon: Even A Lemonade Stand Can Do It“.  In the book, Bryan references the Marshmallow Study and connects the dots to great business people being experts in delayed gratification (Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as an example).

Furthermore…

CLICK HERE for a great article by James Clear about the Marshmallow Study, and developing the fine art of delayed gratification.  You can read the article.  Links to many of the original studies are in his post.  I’ll just pick out the interesting points for our purposes.  First, here are the benefits found in kids with better delayed gratification skills:

“The children who were willing to delay gratification and waited to receive the second marshmallow ended up having higher SAT scores, lower levels of substance abuse, lower likelihood of obesity, better responses to stress, better social skills as reported by their parents, and generally better scores in a range of other life measures.”

This is pretty cool, but there was a slightly modified version of the Marshmallow Study at the University of Rochester.  And I think it provides more insight for us coaches…

“Before offering the child the marshmallow, the researchers split the children into two groups.

The first group was exposed to a series of unreliable experiences. For example, the researcher gave the child a small box of crayons and promised to bring a bigger one, but never did. Then the researcher gave the child a small sticker and promised to bring a better selection of stickers, but never did.

Meanwhile, the second group had very reliable experiences. They were promised better crayons and got them. They were told about the better stickers and then they received them.”

…The children in the unreliable group had no reason to trust that the researchers would bring a second marshmallow and thus they didn’t wait very long to eat the first one.

Meanwhile, the children in the second group were training their brains to see delayed gratification as a positive. Every time the researcher made a promise and then delivered on it, the child’s brain registered two things: 1) waiting for gratification is worth it and 2) I have the capability to wait. As a result, the second group waited an average of four times longer than the first group.”

 

Are we Born with Delayed v. Instant Gratification?

I know what you may be thinking, “Can delayed gratification be taught?”  Here’s the whopper conclusion…

“…the child’s ability to delay gratification and display self-control was not a predetermined trait, but rather was impacted by the experiences and environment that surrounded them. In fact, the effects of the environment were almost instantaneous. Just a few minutes of reliable or unreliable experiences were enough to push the actions of each child in one direction or another.”

Did you catch that? “…the child’s ability to delay gratification and display self-control WAS NOT A PREDETERMINED TRAIT…”.  Here’s the takeaway…

“…you can train yourself to become better simply by making a few small improvements. In the case of the children in the study, this meant being exposed to a reliable environment where the researcher promised something and then delivered it.

…We can train our ability to delay gratification…by promising something small and then delivering. Over and over again until your brain says, 1) yes, it’s worth it to wait and 2) yes, I have the capability to do this.”

James Clear offered these four steps:

  1. Start incredibly small. Make your new habit “so easy you can’t say no.”
  2. Improve one thing, by one percent. Do it again tomorrow.
  3. Use the “Seinfeld Strategy” to maintain consistency (focus on the process, not the performance).
  4. Find a way to get started in less than 2 minutes.

Instant gratification and Fortnite are the devil to youth sports participation!!!  Doesn’t mean we should ban video games.  But it does mean we coaches and parents MUST be more proactive with teaching solid delayed gratification principles.  Besides the 4-steps James Clear offered above, what does this look like with today’s young athletes?  Check out the following two posts titled,

The last thing I want to leave you with is this…

Whether you’re getting hitting information from me or someone else, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE teach human movement principles that are validated by REAL science, NOT because-I-said-so “bro-science”.  Opinions ARE NOT facts.  In this day and age of video gaming and the allure of instant gratification, there’s NO ROOM for hitting “opinion”.

 

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Youth Baseball Softball Batting Weight Donut (NOT Doughnut!) Benefit To Little League Swing

Youth Baseball Softball Batting Weight Donut (NOT Doughnut!) Benefit To Little League Swing? | Amazon, Easton, Power Wrap, & Varo Reviews

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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…

Chris Dozer, who’s father to one of my 10yo online lesson students, sent the following Wall Street Journal article titled: “Watching Your Weight Before Hitting Plate”.

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:

SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:

Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.

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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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Improve Turn Behind Vs Push Barrel MLB Level Bat Path Modern Swing For Baseball & Softball Hitting

Improve Turn Behind Vs Push Barrel MLB Hands Above Level Bat Path Modern Swing For Baseball & Softball Hitting | Drills To Fix & Get Rid Of Bat Drag

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Learn how to improve turn behind barrel vs push barrel MLB hands above level bat path in today’s modern swing for baseball and softball hitting.  Discover drills to fix and get rid of bat drag once and for all.

Accelerate Barrel Rearward Like Mike Trout?

 

 

There are a few “gurus” out there promoting a rearward barrel acceleration, which I agree with but ONLY on pitches middle away/down in the zone. Teaching young hitters the concept over the past few years, with no disregard for pitch depth, some of my most clean mechanical hitters were having challenges getting to the inside pitch.

Rearward barrel acceleration is good, but MUST not be a blanket teach for all pitch depths.  The best hitters, like Mike Trout, alter the timing of the barrel’s release off the back shoulder.  Here’s a similar post I went in more depth on this concept with many examples.

Softball Drills: Mike Trout Swing Case Study

Mike Trout swing case study: hitting the “catcher’s glove”. Photo courtesy: MLB.com

Enter the softball drills content of this video.  Here’s what I tried to do in the above Mike Trout swing case study:

  • Select Mike Trout home-run swings that were based off similar pitch type, location, and pitch speed,
  • Same game would assume same catcher and catcher’s position relative to the hitter,
  • Same camera view, and preferably the same camera zoom setting,
  • Comparing inner third of plate pitch location barrel path versus outer third, and
  • Same pitcher would help control timing variable.

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.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

This was A LOT to ask, so truth be told…unfortunately, not all these points are affirmed in this case study.  Let’s compare Mike Trout’s 200th and 201st career homers on September 29, 2017…

Pitch #1:

  • Gonzalez was the pitcher
  • 86-mph FB? outer third part of the plate, mid-thigh high
  • Homer to LCF

Pitch #2:

  • Vincent was the pitcher
  • 90-mph FB, inner third of the plate, mid-thigh high
  • Homer to LF

A softball drills note on Mike Trout’s “alligator arm” swing on Pitch #2:

  1. Okay if late on the inner half of the plate (purpose is to barrel up ball and that’s what Mike Trout is doing on pitch #2),
  2. NOT okay if doing off a tee, if on-time during soft-toss, or during dry swings (basically when timing is irrelevant or minimal), and
  3. CLICK HERE for a recent post on how to fix alligator arms, and how to practice what Mike Trout is doing with hitting the different “catcher’s gloves”.
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