Batters Box Battle: Increasing Batting Average without changing swing

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CoachLisle

CoachLisle.com
May 19, 2014
54
18
Santa Clara University
At practice we as coaches tend to spend most, if not all of our hitting time on the mechanics of the swing and getting reps in BP. A few years ago after realizing that we had some players who had perfect mechanics and weren’t hitting above .200, I chose to reevaluate what were we doing at the plate. I began to sit with players and ask them what their process, routine and mindset was when they were at the plate. It was startling to find out that most players didn’t have any and were guessing most of the time once they were in the box. Soon afterwards we began to try to spend a good deal of time at practice working on these things and we named it the Batters Box Battle Mindset. This consists of three things for us. Routine, Breathing and Approach.

Read more... Batters Box Battle | Coach Lisle Hitting
 
Dec 5, 2012
4,143
63
Mid West
Good stuff.
The majority of players believe that success breeds confidence. However, they NEED to be confident in order to find more sucess. Having a mindset of "I own you" at the plate is vital IMO.
Step into the box with an attitude of superiority towards the pitcher and think to yourself "this girls an idiot for thinking she can pitch to ME!!!???" "I'm gonna make her pay!" This swagger is on full display by Alex Hugo on every at bat.
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
What if pitchers read my article: "Pitchers Mound Pride: Increasing Strikeouts Without Changing Mechanics"?

Routine, Breathing and Approach.

Now who wins that battle?
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
Good stuff.
The majority of players believe that success breeds confidence. However, they NEED to be confident in order to find more sucess. Having a mindset of "I own you" at the plate is vital IMO.
Step into the box with an attitude of superiority towards the pitcher and think to yourself "this girls an idiot for thinking she can pitch to ME!!!???" "I'm gonna make her pay!" This swagger is on full display by Alex Hugo on every at bat.

Hugo has beome a DFP legend. I'm certainly a fan.

I think that success and confidence are like our two legs. One can lead the other, but they walk together, neither getting very far ahead of the other. Confidence is faith, and success is experience. They feed off each other. One way to get confidence moving ahead of success is to have genuine faith in them. If we're faking it, they'll pick up on it. That's what has worked for my child. And it's helpful when somebody else has that faith and not just the parents. I think that was a turning point for her, when she got around coaches that thought she could be really good. At that point, it wasn't always success that was leading the way. It was confidence/faith that others had instilled in her.
 
Feb 12, 2014
648
43
Matt - can you expand a little more on the breathing that you mention in the article. Is this purely to get the pulse rate down, etc. Or is there something about the way a hitter breathes that can alter an at bat in a positive way?

Thanks.
 
Jan 27, 2010
1,871
83
NJ
I would see college players hold their bat vertical in front of their face like they were trying to read the label and take a deep breath and exhale before stepping into the box. I figured it was a clearing of the mind routine.
 
Oct 10, 2011
1,572
38
Pacific Northwest
I would see college players hold their bat vertical in front of their face like they were trying to read the label and take a deep breath and exhale before stepping into the box. I figured it was a clearing of the mind routine.

My players do this.

They talk to their bat, then step in the box
 
Jul 23, 2014
195
16
I remember reading somewhere that focusing in on something like the text on the bat better prepares the vision to pick up the ball. Not sure what truth there is to that.
 
Mar 19, 2009
946
93
Southern California
My daughter used a 6 step approach
1. In the dug out ... Photo album
2. On deck self talk and external visualization
3. Connfident walk to the plate
4. Stepping into the box.. Get in the moment
5. Focus on the ball, Seeing the ball. Yes,yes,yes ... No.
6. After the at bat.. Self evaluation
Lot of different methods. The goal is to pick one and commit to it and that is easier said than done, from my experience.
 

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