Keeping the Front Side Closed During the Swing

Many well-meaning coaches give poor coaching advice.  For example, when a coach tells a hitter that he or she needs quicker hips, but does not explain the correct movement of the hips, this will lead to:

• A front side that pulls out too early or hips that might slide forward.
• The hitter pulling off the ball too soon; the hitter not staying square to the plate.
• The feet being late getting into the proper position which is very important when talking about having a consistent approach.

Sliding hips come from pushing off the back foot which can lead to a tilt in the hips and shoulders.  This in turn can cause a poor angle on the swing.

Positive Affirmations Can Enahnce Your Performance

The mind is a phenomenal computer, with total capability of instructing your body to perform to it’s maximum potential.  However, your actions, negative or positive, are directly related to the chosen data that is programmed into the mind.  Programmed negatively, the mind can only respond negatively.  But, enter positive information and the results will be positive.  This appropriate approach displaces worry, doubts and fears or any other psychological obstacles, while allowing the body to get the job done to your satisfaction.

Positive affirmations are invaluable and work quickly.  These self talk or motivational phrases should always be in the present tense and begin with I.

Examples:

• I am a great hitter.
• I am confident.
• I feel happy.
• I am aggressive.
• I have great location.
• I have a great eye.
• I have a great arm.
• I have a great glove.
• I will get this guy out.
• I have outstanding defensive skills.
• I can hit any pitch.
• I can hit any pitcher.
• I have great stuff.
• I am relaxed.

Develop your own affirmations according to your desires, and as you repeat them, ideally several times a day, you will experience a change in attitudes.  The repetition will instill confidence which will boost success.  Write these affirmations  down on small index cards or paper,  tape  or place them in strategic places to remind you of your chosen changes in thinking.  You will love the results!

Where to Put Your Hands and Arms

Let’s examine the correct placement for the hands and arms.  This varies from player to player, yet despite these variances, there is success with each.  If you look at Craig Counsell, he holds his bat up over his head with the barrel of the bat pointing to the pitcher. His stance looks very uncomfortable.

Contrast this with Eric Davis who holds his bat down close to his belt buckle.  There is an important fact to know here.  No matter where these guys stand, or how their arms are in the stance, after they take their stride, all good hitters come to the same point with their hands.  That point is right around the shoulders which is about the top of the strike zone, on top of or behind the back foot.  It is not where you start, but where you finish that matters.

Learn How to Have a Winning Attitude

Approach attitudes include a player’s plan (what he is going to do) and his approach (how he is going to do it).  Players have approach attitudes about everything that they do in the game.  These attitudes can change from pitch to pitch, just as their job and the situation in the game changes.  Approach attitudes direct the player; they are his guidance system.

The words hope, need, not, and won’t are negative.  Keep them out of your self talk vocabulary.

As a starting point, examine your attitudes concerning the following:

• Seeing the ball
• Where the best point of contact is for pitches inside, middle, outside, etc.
• Hitting pitches to the opposite field, up the middle and to the pull field
• Bunting for a hit, sacrifice and squeeze
• Hit and run
• Hitting mechanics
• Your strike zone

Back Leg Position

Question:

When I transfer my weight back at the beginning of my swing, my back leg seems to bend a lot (almost want to collapse). Is this because too much weight is going back, or my leg is not strong enough, or what?

Answer:

I am assuming the way you found out that your back leg was collapsing was by watching video of your swings. If not, then make sure to have someone record you swinging in batting practice, doing side toss, and in games. The reason you should look at these different stages is because you may be swinging too hard. Perhaps you are too far back on your leg, but usually a hitter’s back leg collapses when they are trying to hit the ball too far and hard. So make sure to see those three different shots, because if you are swinging too hard in the games, you probably are easier in your side toss drills when you are relaxed. This would just tell you whether you have an effort level problem, or a mechanical problem. If it is effort level, then you might just need to relax, and not try to do too much with the ball. And if it is mechanical, then you probably should take a little weight off the back leg when you start your swing. Hope everything goes well.

Learn How to See the Ball at the Right Time

So when does hitter first see the baseball? Where does hitter look for a Pitchers Release Point? How does hitter track and recognize FB/CB/CH? How many times does hitter actually see the 95+ FB? At release, at half way, at 30 feet?

Release point: that place by his body where the pitcher first exposes the ball as his hand moves forward to throw.. You identify it watching the pitcher as he warms up and/or pitches. See it better if you align your stance with it (not with the plate) – Remember, it can differ fron righty to lefty, overhand to buggywhip releases, and end positions on the rubber. Release points can vary by the width of the Rubber plus two armlengths, from rightys to leftys.

Visual Pickup: as he exposes the ball with the forward motion to release, pick up the white of the ball and follow it in, and that flash of white becomes the ball.

You’ll pick it up and follow it better and longer if your stride and motions are smooth. To check & drill for smoothness: pick a speck on the wall (release point), set up your stance with it, stride to it, see how steady the spot remains through the stride and early upperbody moves. If the spot doesn’t remain steady into the latter, you’ve got analyzing and work to do.

You can track the 95mph pitch unbroken, to well within 10 feet. (Ask a catcher)

Pitch recognition: different folks do it different ways. Most pick up seam/spin pattern as an early warning sign to react to. But it demands an early and clean visual pickup.

I believe that in a clean early visual pickup and good followup, you’re focused so well on the ball that you don’t sense the background, and all you see is ball. But if the pickup etc aren’t right, you’re forced to separate the ball from the background, you see it all, so the ball looks smaller.

Learning How to Cure Your Fear of the Ball

Question:

My son is on the young side of the playing age in Little League as his birthday is June. In all his years playing, he has never shown fear of the ball. This year we moved up into minor division – first year of kid pitch.  He is now showing fear at the plate by backing up in the box before the ball is even released from the pitcher’s hand. How do I help him? One of his coaches states, “You can’t coach fear.”

Answer:

Fear at the plate is something that many, if not all kids go through at one time or another. I disagree with your coach, this is something that he can get through with the right information.

First, teach him how to get out of the way of the ball. He should understand that he is going to be able to react to the ball better if he knows how to get out of the way of an on coming pitch. Teach him to turn away from the ball, you can do this by throwing tennis balls at him and mixing in strikes and balls, up and in.

Second, start teaching him a more aggressive attitude. That he is going to be the one that hits the ball right back at the pitcher and he is going to have the most aggressive attitude on the field, even if he is the youngest.

I know what your going through, my son’s birthday is July 31 – the Little League cut off day.

Stop Striding to Where the Ball is Pitched!

Many coaches mistakenly tell their players to stride to where the ball is pitched.  This is not good advice.  In order to be consistent with your approach, you need to stride to the same spot every time.  If your timing is going to be correct, your stride food will be down by the time the ball is halfway to home plate.

This must happen in order to execute the proper swing.  If you follow poor advice and stride to where the ball is, you will be limiting yourself to that one area and you won’t be able to make adjustments.

Keep your stride short

The Stride should be no longer than 8 inches.  If your stride is too long:

• Your weight is going to go too far forward.
• Your hands will come forward prematurely
• Your head will have too much movement
• All of these will make it difficult for you to see the ball clearly, and your bat speed and power will be greatly diminished.