A Secret to Hitting

Recently I was at a scout game at ASU that my son Jordan was playing in. Sitting next to me was Mark Verstegen, elite sports trainer to many local amateur athletes in the valley as well as numerous professional athletes such as Nomar Garciaparra, Roberto Alomar, Lou Merloni, Jason Veritek, and Mary Pierce, just to name a few. Mark had come to see Jordan and a few other players on this scout team that he works out.

Although playing in this scout league has many benefits, one of the drawbacks is the fact that they don’t have umpires. The catcher calls balls and strikes. In this particular game, in Jordan’s first at bat, the catcher called an unbelievably high and away pitch a strike, strike 3 for that matter. Jordan, being the type A personality that he is, was not happy, although to his credit, he did control his emotions. His next at bat the same thing happened. Knowing that he couldn’t get thrown out of the game, Jordan drew a line in the dirt informing the catcher where the proper strike zone is. His next at bat he turned around and hit right handed. This time he had a terrible at bat. His balance was off, his effort level was sky rocketing, he was swinging at 110% of his max and you guessed it, he struck out. Rita sarcastically asked Mark, since he works with so many baseball players, if he could suggest any professional hitting instruction for her son.

After that at bat, Jordan went to the dugout and motioned for me to go down and see him. I asked him, “Jordan, what is your confidence in? You take great bp, you hit rockets left and right (literally and figuratively), you look great in the cage and on the field during practice. What are you doing in these games? You are a totally different hitter. Why do you practice so hard if you aren’t going to take your practice into the games? Be yourself, relax and let all your hard work pay off by believing in yourself and not trying to do too much. You have to have the confidence to know that what you practice day in and day out will be carried over into the game.” His next two at bats were quality at bats hitting hard line drives up the middle, one from the right side, one from the left. He made the adjustment.

When I returned to my seat, Mark then asked me what I thought were common denominators shared by great hitters. I told him that once a player has sound mechanics as a given, ( being able to repeat their swing) along with excellent hand eye coordination, there are certain critical aspects which set great hitters apart from the rest:

• Work ethic
• Ability to make adjustments
• Not being afraid to fail
• Becoming a student of the game

Proper Baserunning Tips

Baserunning is one of the most overlooked areas in the game. Players religiously work on their hitting and defense but more often than not once they get on the bases this seems to be an area often neglected. It is the responsibility of the coach not only to teach the fundamentals of baserunning but to also make certain the player concentrates once he gets on base.

Unlike hitting and defense which are both subject to slumps, bad calls, and pressure situations, baserunning is unique in that it is an area in which a player can exercise total command. He has control over his jumps, his reads, the decisions that he makes, and how hard he runs.

Although you always want to have the mindset of being aggressive on the bases, you want this aggressiveness to be under control. You can relate this to hitting. As a hitter I have taught you to be selectively aggressive. As a baserunner, you want to be aggressive under control.

In hitting, you want to think, “swing” at every pitch until you recognize that it is not your pitch. In baserunning, you want to think, “take advantage of every mistake the fielders make and be ready to capitalize on it.” You need to know when to be aggressive, when to force plays, and when to play it safe.

This requires the discipline of both players and coaches. The coach must always remind a player of the following:
•    When he is making mistakes
•    When he has a good read
•    When he has a bad read

There are two appropriate times for a coach to teach the whole team::
•    When a mistake has been made
•    When somebody capitalizes on a defensive mistake

Each player should run as hard as he is capable of in every situation. By running hard you put yourself in the situation to take advantage of a defensive lapse or a mistake. Players should always be anticipating the defense making a mistake. You can take extra bases without pos-sessing great speed. Good baserunners take extra bases on the defense. The baserunner:
•    Should never drop his head until the play is finished.
•    Should always be aware of where the ball is.
•    Should know the situation of the game – the outs, the score, field conditions, any defensive weaknesses such as a weak throwing arm in the outfield.
•    Should anticipate these situations before they happen and always be ready to take advantage.

Each player must take pride in his game if he plans to improve as a baserunner. He should have the attitude that he is going to take advantage of every mistake the defense makes.

Many games can be won and lost in this overlooked area and you can add many games to your team’s win column with intelligent baserunning.

It is the coach’s responsibility to meet with his club before each game to go over the playing environment. These conditions will change during the course of the game. Coaches need to constantly be reminding players of the changing conditions.
•    Wind
•    Sun
•    Fence
•    Ground
•    Layout of the field

Pre-Game and Dugout

Always watch your opponent take outfield & infield practice. Observe:
•    Strength of the outfielders arms
•    How well they charge the ball
•    How quickly they get rid of the ball

If an outfielder lays back on a ball in practice, he might do the same thing in the game. If he does lay back on the ball, take an extra base on him. This way you are letting the other team know that you will take advantage of every mistake they make, and every weakness they have.

When reading the throw from an outfielder, get in the habit of reading the first 30 feet of the throw to determine the height of the throw. Many times if the throw misses the cutoff man you can take an extra base. Every extra base you take is one base closer to scoring a run, and every time you take an extra base on a team because of their lack of intensity or a fundamental mis-take they will be demoralized.

When watching infield practice note certain habits of the infielders:
•    How do the middle infielders turn the double play?
•    How well does the catcher throw?
•    Does the first baseman move well?
•    Who has the strong and weak arms in the infield?
•    How accurate are their relay throws?

Coaches, make sure you have your team watch infield practice everyday. Your players should have a good idea of what you expect out of them, they should know when you like to hit and run, bunt, steal, etc. Meet with your club and let them know what you except concerning baserunning and how all of you need to work together in order to be successful.

During the game

As you walk to home plate for your at bat:
•    Check the defense, how are they playing you?
•    Is the first or third baseman in or back?
•    Does the pitcher have any patterns?
•    When does he like to throw his offspeed pitches?
•    Does he like to throw to first base?
•    How quick is he to first and to home?
•    What type of fielder is he?
•    Find a key off the pitcher so you can get the best jump possible

When the first runner of the game gets on base:
•    Force a throw from the pitcher
•    Watch the move
•    Everyone on the bench should be yelling, “back”

Coach Problems

Question:

Lately, my 13 year old hates to do her drills. I think she is getting negatively influenced from her travel ball coach, who told her that drills aren’t necessary and he won’t let her use a wood bat in batting practice. Basically his practices consist of standing around, with no repetition or work ethic.  Should I let the situation alone?  Should I let her struggle? I know if she doesn’t do ger drills, her mechanics will go down hill. But I also know it not good to force her. How would you address the situation?

Answer:

You have fun into one of the most difficult situations that a parent can face, but it can be fixed. Mechanics, not having success, or not performing to one’s capabillity all can be fixed with hard work and desire, however desire has to come from the inside. Your job as a parent is to encourage him in anything that he can have fun with. It’s possible that he may simply be going through a phase right now that will wear off with time. You shouldn’t force him to do drill work, however you might try to do some drills that he has fun doing. If your son is tired of doing drills, you might want to try playing pepper, or any other fun activity that involves hitting. This will bring back the fun into baseball, which will increase his desire for success, which in turn will lead him into doing his regular drill work. Good luck with the training.

Heel Plant Tips for Softball

RightView Pro is a video analysis software company that specializes in baseball and softball hitting and pitching instruction. RVP is the only video analysis software company that is licensed by Major League Baseball, National Pro Fastpitch and Olympic Softball Players.

Baserunning Tools

Baserunning is one of the most overlooked areas in the game. Players religiously work on their hitting and defense but more often than not once they get on the bases this seems to be an area often neglected. It is the responsibility of the coach not only to teach the fundamentals of baserunning but to also make certain the player concentrates once he gets on base.

Unlike hitting and defense which are both subject to slumps, bad calls, and pressure situations, baserunning is unique in that it is an area in which a player can exercise total command. He has control over his jumps, his reads, the decisions that he makes, and how hard he runs.

Although you always want to have the mindset of being aggressive on the bases, you want this aggressiveness to be under control. You can relate this to hitting. As a hitter I have taught you to be selectively aggressive. As a baserunner, you want to be aggressive under control.

In hitting, you want to think, “swing” at every pitch until you recognize that it is not your pitch. In baserunning, you want to think, “take advantage of every mistake the fielders make and be ready to capitalize on it.” You need to know when to be aggressive, when to force plays, and when to play it safe.
This requires the discipline of both players and coaches. The coach must always remind a player of the following:

• When he is making mistakes
• When he has a good read
• When he has a bad read

There are two appropriate times for a coach to teach the whole team::

• When a mistake has been made
• When somebody capitalizes on a defensive mistake

Each player should run as hard as he is capable of in every situation. By running hard you put yourself in the situation to take advantage of a defensive lapse or a mistake. Players should always be anticipating the defense making a mistake. You can take extra bases without possessing great speed. Good baserunners take extra bases on the defense. The baserunner:

• Should never drop his head until the play is finished.
• Should always be aware of where the ball is.
• Should know the situation of the game – the outs, the score, field conditions, any defensive weaknesses such as a weak throwing arm in the outfield.
• Should anticipate these situations before they happen and always be ready to take advantage.

Each player must take pride in his game if he plans to improve as a baserunner. He should have the attitude that he is going to take advantage of every mistake the defense makes.
Many games can be won and lost in this overlooked area and you can add many games to your team’s win column with intelligent baserunning.

It is the coach’s responsibility to meet with his club before each game to go over the playing environment. These conditions will change during the course of the game. Coaches need to constantly be reminding players of the changing conditions.

• Wind
• Sun
• Fence
• Ground
• Layout of the field

Pre-Game and Dugout

Always watch your opponent take outfield & infield practice. Observe:

• Strength of the outfielders arms
• How well they charge the ball
• How quickly they get rid of the ball

If an outfielder lays back on a ball in practice, he might do the same thing in the game. If he does lay back on the ball, take an extra base on him. This way you are letting the other team know that you will take advantage of every mistake they make, and every weakness they have.
When reading the throw from an outfielder, get in the habit of reading the first 30 feet of the throw to determine the height of the throw. Many times if the throw misses the cutoff man you can take an extra base. Every extra base you take is one base closer to scoring a run, and every time you take an extra base on a team because of their lack of intensity or a fundamental mistake they will be demoralized.

When watching infield practice note certain habits of the infielders:

• How do the middle infielders turn the double play?
• How well does the catcher throw?
• Does the first baseman move well?
• Who has the strong and weak arms in the infield?
• How accurate are their relay throws?

Coaches, make sure you have your team watch infield practice everyday. Your players should have a good idea of what you expect out of them, they should know when you like to hit and run, bunt, steal, etc. Meet with your club and let them know what you except concerning baserunning and how all of you need to work together in order to be successful.

During the game

As you walk to home plate for your at bat:

• Check the defense, how are they playing you?
• Is the first or third baseman in or back?
• Does the pitcher have any patterns?
• When does he like to throw his off speed pitches?
• Does he like to throw to first base?
• How quick is he to first and to home?
• What type outfielder is he?
• Find a key off the pitcher so you can get the best jump possible

When the first runner of the game gets on base:

• Force a throw from the pitcher
• Watch the move
• Everyone on the bench should be yelling, “back”

Coaches, keep everyone aware of what is happening on the field, good and bad. Do not take for granted that the players know anything about running the bases, cover everything.