Who has implemented randomized training?

[Westwind]

I have been reading about the benefits of randomized trading vs. block training.

Have any of you consciously moved toward randomized training? I believe I have done it a little, basically stumbling into it by varying block training constantly (varied block training is probably still block training) and attempting to change speed and distance of front toss but I think I need to do a much better job of incorporating it.

Would love to hear from someone who has consciously worked on this.

 

[bmakj]

I think both types are good. block training if for improving mechanics, having the body do the same thing over and over again to develop muscle memory (swing, throwing, etc.). randomized training is great for developing reactions and adaptability. the latter is very tough to implement though. when i coached rec. I found it difficult to target a girl to field a ball I was hitting but NOT hit it directly to them. once the mind picks a target, it wants to hit it (and I found if I did not have a target, I hit to the same spot all the times, so not varying who got a ball). just an example.

 

[cvsoftball]

when I started out in TBall, they were all pretty random so I didn't really have to train any of them.

 

[robertc3]

I have been moving pretty strongly to randomize our practices. When our players warm-up on a batting tee they know to adjust the height of the tee after every swing. Adjusting the height and outside/middle/inside would be better, but that requires them to reset themselves and that takes more time than it is worth. They typical do 5 swings outside, 5 middle, and 5 inside and then back to outside.
For front toss we are always moving the ball around the zone and changing speeds. We often have two, three, or four plates in a row and move them forward or backward to change speeds and reaction times.
When we are outside doing infield or outfield we don't hit the balls in any pattern. No 3B, SS, 2B, 1B. Position and type of hit (choppers, pop-ups, line drives, soft GBs, hard GBs, whatever) are as random as we can make them.
Pitchers, after they are warm, don't get to throw the same pitch twice in the same spot. They are always moving it around, changing pitches and locations.
I am sure there is more we could do to randomize things, but we are liking how this has been working so far.

 

[Westwind]

I have been moving pretty strongly to randomize our practices. When our players warm-up on a batting tee they know to adjust the height of the tee after every swing. Adjusting the height and outside/middle/inside would be better, but that requires them to reset themselves and that takes more time than it is worth. They typical do 5 swings outside, 5 middle, and 5 inside and then back to outside.
For front toss we are always moving the ball around the zone and changing speeds. We often have two, three, or four plates in a row and move them forward or backward to change speeds and reaction times.
When we are outside doing infield or outfield we don't hit the balls in any pattern. No 3B, SS, 2B, 1B. Position and type of hit (choppers, pop-ups, line drives, soft GBs, hard GBs, whatever) are as random as we can make them.
Pitchers, after they are warm, don't get to throw the same pitch twice in the same spot. They are always moving it around, changing pitches and locations.
I am sure there is more we could do to randomize things, but we are liking how this has been working so far.

Thanks for the response- hope a few follow up questions are ok-

How long have you been doing it? Do your observations agree the studies that claim the higher retention for game performance?

 

[Rolling Hard]

Somebody did a study on making 5 ft putts. One group practiced 5 ft putts only for a half hour for 3 days. The other group practiced 3 ft, 5ft and 7 ft putts for the same amount of time. On the fourth day they tested the two groups on making 5 ft putts. The group that trained randomly did much better than the other group.
I believe both training styles are of value. Joey Myers talks about "training ugly" in his book. He might take it a little too far for me.
Swinging left handed has value too. Working on opposite handed mechanics is an eye opener and really challenges the student.

 

[Westwind]

Wonder if this website is related to Joey Myers stuff

https://trainugly.com/portfolio/block-random-practice/

that video shows the randomized putting you referred to

 

[robertc3]

Thanks for the response- hope a few follow up questions are ok-

How long have you been doing it? Do your observations agree the studies that claim the higher retention for game performance?

We have been moving in this direction for the last three seasons. We have implemented different portions of the above at different stages. The pitching portion has been in our program the longest and adjusting the height of the tee is something we just added last fall. I can't say if we are seeing the same benefit the studies show because I don't have a control group to know how performance would have improved with conventional practices. I will say that I really like the randomized defensive practices a lot. They definitely increase focus and engagement. The girls know that if a coach has a bat and a ball you have to be ready to make a play. I am also a big fan of two, three, and four plate front toss hitting. I think it really stressed their timing in a positive way.

 

[robertc3]

Wonder if this website is related to Joey Myers stuff

https://trainugly.com/portfolio/block-random-practice/

that video shows the randomized putting you referred to

Trainugly is an awesome resource. Their podcast is great as well.

 

[Westwind]

I’m going to start listening to the podcasts.

Those are some great practice tidbits. It makes complete sense to do this.