Stop thinking, Start hitting

[Mike]

I don't mean that totally. My daughters are both 1st year 12-U, they have been working with there instructor since october and with help from this forum have made HUGE progress. We had a converstation the other day about picking up the intensity. I told them there current form is what it is, its time to let muscle memory take over and start swinging the bat faster and harder each session. Other than obvious easy fixes we will wait until next fall to start working on new and existing problems. I don't want them concerned about form at the plate, I want them concerned about the pitch coming at them and let there body take over the swing part. What do you think?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[RichK]

I think this is a great comment question and one I had as well, about the transition to something that is more about muscle memory and game-speed performance. Are there drills or tools we can use to reinforce what we've taught (based on a lot of this forum, RVP and other teachers) without having them think about every move? What do you guys recommend? I've asked about a tee-behind or obstruction-behind drill before? Does that reinforce in a positive way? I am most concerned about bat path/drag and dropping of the hands in moving from practice to game swings. TKS!

 

[Hitter]

I don't mean that totally. My daughters are both 1st year 12-U, they have been working with there instructor since october and with help from this forum have made HUGE progress. We had a converstation the other day about picking up the intensity. I told them there current form is what it is, its time to let muscle memory take over and start swinging the bat faster and harder each session. Other than obvious easy fixes we will wait until next fall to start working on new and existing problems. I don't want them concerned about form at the plate, I want them concerned about the pitch coming at them and let there body take over the swing part. What do you think?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike let me be a little more philosophical for a moment, women do not like to do something fast until they learn how to do it correctly. They are not like boys who will fail and then get angry and try harder and fail again and again. Girls will shut it down until they figure it out and then all of a sudden they turn it on. Girls want to understand why they have to do it and how does it work and what does it feel like. They are big on see it, feel it and fix it. Let me give you an example....we encourage our kids to keep their head down during contact as they are stronger in that position and it has nothing to do with sight or tracking. So to prove it they put their hands palm to palm together and their elbows in at their sides with their finger tips pointing away from them and then I raise their chin up just a little and gently try to push their hands down and can do it easily. Now repeat and this time tilt their head/ chin down a little more as if tracking the ball. You will feel the resistance at once and so will they. When the head is down a little you engaged the intrinsic muscle group. Press two fingers on either side of the spine at waist level at the belt line and have them raise the head up/ down and you will feel the muscles engage. When they hit this way they hear the difference in hitting the ball and feel it also. So that should be enough to convince them to keep the head down during contact and see the white rag inside the tube on the tee...wrong! They still want to see where they hit the ball! So I made a mirror that sits on the floor and swivels so they can see their face when they are done swinging IF they are looking down at the end of their swing and not looking where the ball was hit. We make a big joke of it and call it the secret weapon etc and drag it out until I finally put it in place and adjust it. Then I tell them make sure you see your face when you are done swinging! They take a swing and can see their face in the mirror. I point out the power of the mirror over common sense and they look at me like I am crazy. I explain did I not demonstrate to you that you are stronger with your head down? Yes! So why did you not do it? I do not know! I know because I have never seen a woman be able to walk by a mirror that would not look into it! The power of the mirror, as I explain to them only works on women and does not work on men! You can explain to women until you are blue in the face and look like a Smurf and unless you have explained it and demonstrated how and why to do it and they then feel it, they will not try their hardest to do it.

This is why we do a drill for bat speed where I throw a tennis ball, hard ball, softball and then a weighted 10.8 ounce pitching practice ball and then a start over with a tennis ball. I want them to swing as hard at the tennis ball and progressively increase the weight of the ball so they feel and hear that maximum effort we want them to use to hit it with every swing.

I teach the same swing to both my girls and boys however our approach to each student is a little different because they all learn differ is differently and some have learning disabilities and are dyslexic.However the females want more information and just showing them a video or telling them to do it will not work very well has been my experience.

Thanks Howard

 

[Hitter]

I think this is a great comment question and one I had as well, about the transition to something that is more about muscle memory and game-speed performance. Are there drills or tools we can use to reinforce what we've taught (based on a lot of this forum, RVP and other teachers) without having them think about every move? What do you guys recommend? I've asked about a tee-behind or obstruction-behind drill before? Does that reinforce in a positive way? I am most concerned about bat path/drag and dropping of the hands in moving from practice to game swings. TKS!

This is another reason we do not use pitching machines for batting practice. We do the Barry Bonds drill in the cages so they must learn to adjust on every pitch and build what we term a swing DNA. Confidence to be able to adjust and realize the hitters job is to determine what they can hit and that does not mean it was a ball or a strike, it was a pitch they could hit. This is why we tell them it is your job to call balls and strikes and the only thing the umpire has to do is call safe or out. NEVER LOOK BACK at an umpire as you have been taught how to hit a ball 8 inches in/ out and up and down out of the strike zone so you know what you can hit! You make the choice not the umpire!

"Tension comes from fear of failure and one thing you must focus on is your execution! You have no control of the results only on the execution!" by Mike Schmidt.

This is also why we mark our nets so they can see where the ball went and why it was hit a certain way so their mechanics become automatic as much as humanly possible. So during a game they can self correct and adjust on their own because they have been taught how to adjust. The hard part was practice and now we get to have fun using it in a game!

Thanks Howard

 

[PEPPERS]

This is how I’ve handled it in the past, I may need to make some changes. Great post Howard I never thought about the different way girls learn than boys. Much less of how to apply this to our team training.

This is what I’ve been telling the kids.

The thing I have always heard is that it takes 1.500 repetitions to burn in a muscle memory 10,000 to get good at it. I tell my kids to practice doing the swing as correct and as perfect as possible. When in a game forget all that only think of see the ball and hit the ball. When you have paid your dues, executed the proper number of correct swings your muscle memory will take over in games. Your body will execute the swing as an automatic reflex.

In a game the swing has to be on instinct you cannot think your way through your swing it in a game situation, that’s what practice is for.

 

[Mike]

I have never seen a woman be able to walk by a mirror that would not look into it!

I am bringing one with me Sunday. Thats funny.

I hear what your saying and it takes alot of patience. I just want them comfortable enough that come game time they will go out there and not hyperfocus on form but rather take a good hard cut with the mechanics that they have.

I have found myself when working with young pitchers and they get that perfect whip and the ball goes faster and straighter I ask them DID YOU FEEL THAT! they always smile. See it, feel it, fix it. I like that, feeling it seems to be the most important.

Mike

 

[Hitter]

I am bringing one with me Sunday. Thats funny.

I hear what your saying and it takes alot of patience. I just want them comfortable enough that come game time they will go out there and not hyperfocus on form but rather take a good hard cut with the mechanics that they have.

I have found myself when working with young pitchers and they get that perfect whip and the ball goes faster and straighter I ask them DID YOU FEEL THAT! they always smile. See it, feel it, fix it. I like that, feeling it seems to be the most important.

Mike

Mike

I have learned my lessons and have the gray hair to prove it...yelling to get your point across just does not work especially with girls! I have been married 37 years and introduce my wife as this is my first wife as usually some one says this is my second wife etc.

I tease the girls if I yell louder will you listen harder? No is the response! Then will you at least hit the ball harder! Sometimes and I am being very serious all they need is permission and that it is OK to make mistakes. I am very stern when it comes to striking out and not swinging! They have been told to never look at the umpire on a called third strike when not swinging! As they have been taught how to hit a ball 5 to 8 inches out of the strike zone and if they did not swing it is on them not the umpire. I want my kids to be aggressive especially the younger ones so they are not afraid to make a mistake. We crowd the plate on an intentional walk and tell them to hit the ball if they can. I want them swinging especially at a young age as they must learn what they can and can not do to bait a pitcher into throwing something they think we can not hit.

I attended a conference with Dr. Ken Raveza and he explained you can not go back one second in time and change anything that just happened and you must learn to let it go so your called third strike does not effect lets say your pitching or fielding. As a coach you must control what you say during a game so they do not feel like they let you down as girls tend to want to please their coaches too much. I explain I can not stop the game and practice what just happened and we will handle and work on this at the next practice. Now I need your glove!

Some kids can handle the pressure and some can not and I guess that is the secret to coaching.

Thanks Howard