Proving that Head Games WORK

This lesson can be applied to every part of the game: pitching, hitting, and fielding. Near the end of this season, I worked with a pitcher who had experienced a lot of success in previous years,  but was having a terrible current season.  He immediately embraced Head Games.

He called after his next start to give me the results of his first outing–a nine inning complete game,  allowing only one run on four hits, with nine k’s and a low pitch count.  In his career, due to location problems, he walked too many, had a high pitch count early, seldom going past the fifth or sixth inning, and had never worked both sides of the plate.  Since consulting with him by telephone,  he began to locate extremely well, making quality pitches and going deep into the games.  A hard thrower, he didn’t realize that it was possible to consistently keep the ball down.

The formula for this remarkable turnaround?    There are a number of things that I taught him, but foundational to great location is using the eyes, or guidance system to lock in on the target at the point of release. With the eyes under control,  a consistent follow through will insure an accurate release point.  Unless the eyes are focused on the target,  the body cannot determine the exact, intended location.  An effective tip for even greater accuracy is to have your catcher cross a small fluorescent piece of tape in the mitt.  This causes the eyes to shift to a more narrow focus.  Choose to use Head Games!  The success stories continue to pour in.

Enhance Your Performance… Use the Golden Rule

I continue to get complaints from players about how they are treated by parents and/or coaches that hamper performance.  An athlete can and will perform better if in a positive environment in the home and on the field.  Negativity breeds negativity,. which severely affects the talent of players and teams.  Positive programming has the best chance of producing peak performance.  I am not discounting the need for discipline;  however, it can be done in a firm but diplomatic way, so that the athlete’s self image is not  damaged.  Athletes are adept at reading verbal and non-verbal language.

If players are told that they are okay, but body language conflicts with that statement, they will believe the latter.  An athlete’s confidence can be seriously impaired with no words spoken, with non-verbal assaults.  Negative facial expressions, hands on hips, kicking the dirt, cursing under the breath, the silent treatment, etc., are ways of showing rejection.  Coaches, parents and fans, do you want your athlete(s) to perform to the best of their abilities?  Then support them, accept them unconditionally, encourage them to have fun, and you will witness not only happier, but more  productive sports participants.  With no need for a long list of imposed rules and regulations, just make it simple–treat them as you would have others treat you!  Unconditional support cannot belegislated, it must come from the heart.

HEAD GAMES is a holistic approach to sports and life generally, that inspires and motivates athletes and coaches to excel on and off the field.  Based upon positive feedback from athletes, coaches and parents from across the nation, the results continue to amaze.

HOW BIZARRE, HOW BIZARRE!

Two struggling college hitters called me recently.  They had been coached to think “yes, yes, no” when awaiting pitches.  The yes, of course, was to swing; the no, to take.  During this same time, a struggling pro player called who was taught that he should begin counting backwards from 100 when he entered the on deck circle and continue that mental counting at the plate.

The players in both cases were assured that if they followed this advice that they would be in the “zone”.  NOT!!  Both of these methods include language, which is left brain.  To be in the zone, a player cannot be thinking at all.  A focus only on the ball insures right brain play, and success.  Using simple HEAD GAMES techniques will elevate you into the highest possible level of performance.

Ted Williams vs. Charlie Lau

I frequently am asked questions about the all time great hitter, Ted Williams and Charlie Lau. Williams is thought of as being a pure rotational hitter, while Lau was a pure weight transfer teacher. Both are misconceptions and misrepresenting the swing.

Percentage wise, Ted teaches more rotation but if you look at his old videos and still shots, you clearly see his weight going from back to center which is weight transfer. Lau embraced a pure weight shift philosophy and many of his still shots in his book do show hitters on top of their front leg, however, that isn’t what happened to those same hitters in real game action swings.

If any of you have Ted William’s book, The Science of Hitting, turn to the very last page and you will see a perfect swing. However, look closely. Ted has gone to the center position, with his back heel in the air, and his toe – NOT the ball of his foot – on the ground. This clearly shows you the weight has transferred to the center position therefore, it is not a pure rotational swing. A pure rotational swing that would involve no weight transfer, would consist of the weight spinning on the ball of the back foot. It is clear cut, he is definitely not spinning.

The swing is definitely a combination of both rotation and weight shift however, there are vary-ing degrees of this combination. Speaking in mathematical terms, look at it as a matter of the percent used of each. Some hitters will use a greater percentage of rotation, while others will use a greater percentage of weight shift. Ideally the swing should be 50/50. Fifty percent rota-tional, fifty percent weight transfer. Most great Major League hitters are at 50/50 – Palmeiro, A-Rod, and Giambi – just to name a few.

Results of having a pure rotational approach are that the hitter will be guaranteed to have a less effective, more inconsistent circular hand path. When taking a circular hand path through the zone, the barrel of the bat stays on the contact plane for a very short time. This leads not only to an improper hand path but also to inconsistent contact. In addition to that, these hitters will have a greater likelihood of rolling over the ball with their top hand which in turn leads to more weak ground balls being hit.

Contrast that to a hitter using a strict weight transfer or linear path. Despite the fact that he will stay on the ball longer, he will in fact have more of a chopping type swing. That is why a com-bination of the two is what leads to the most success. The proper hand path will start out linear, or straight to the ball and on the finish or follow through, the swing becomes more circular. In other words, the swing is more linear on the approach to the ball, and more circular on the fol-low through. Remember to keep it simple because this truly isn’t a difficult concept, people make it much harder then what it is.