Underhand feed from second base

The latest video explains the underhand double play feed from second base. Similar in technique, the toughest part of this play is the footwork is backwards from what a infielder is used to. Because the momentum of the second baseman is going from left to right the footwork here differs. Instead of our typical RIGHT - LEFT - FIELD; now, to get our momentum going towards the shortstop, the footwork is LEFT - RIGHT - FIELD - FEED, all in one motion. The timing here again is key in making this a fluid play where the feed is made with the legs.

Bottom Hand Drill

I'm going to continue a series of hitting and fielding drill videos. This one explains the bottom hand drill in hitting. Almost all hitters are one hand dominant over the other. The one hand drills teach each arm how to work independently. I like using these drills quickly as warm up drills. The bottom hand drill teaches path. If done correctly it will quickly clean up a poor bat path. Check the video to see how to execute this drill.

Underhand feeds from shortstop

The underhand feed should be the easiest feed to do, but for some reason, young middle infielders struggle with the technique of this feed. In this video I discuss how to teach this feed effectively.

Infield receive and release drill - 1st and 3rd Defense

This is an infield drill I do that promotes good feet and a quick release. I incorporate this into our daily catch routine.

Stride and Seperate Drill

Most flaws at ball strike are a direct result in flaws of the set up. The stride and seperate drill foucuses on the set up. This is one of the first drills we do with our students. It is one of the few drills we will do that breaks momentum. The reason I believe in this drill is that it is so important to make the first forward move correct, landing in a 50/50 position. By pausing at footdown, players can feel their 50/50 position while walking away from their hands. These two areas are key in the set up.

Elite Hitting Club Homework

Based on your video ananlysis, go to Gettyimages.com and find a picture that represents the correct mechanic of the flaw we discussed in your swing. Save that picture and email it to me at elitebaseballtraining@hotmail.com.

#1 trait consistant in pro infielders

I often get asked by coaches, "What do I look for when evaluating infielders?" or "What makes high end infielders stand out?" My answer may surprise you. . . Great hands: Yes, that is important. Good feet: Equally as important. But those are byproducts of what I think makes high end infielders stand out. That trait is great timing. Most coaches related timing to hitting, but it is equally important as a fielder.

Our goal as an infielder is to play through the baseball without breaking momentum. The most common factors for infielders who fail are 1) Infieders who break down way too soon, collapsing on the ball and letting it play them. 2) Breaking down too late and getting the ball underneath them. This is a result from poor timing in the last two steps before fielding the ball.

The last two steps when fielding are critical. On a play where the infielder is throwing to first base, the last two steps will be RIGHT, LEFT, then FIELD. The feet come down one at a time, as a opposed to a "basketball jump stop." This is so our feet can continue throught the ball in one fluid motion in a RIGHT, LEFT, THROW.
The timing of those last two steps is critical. Too early, and the ball will play the infielder (often getting caught between hops), or too late and the ball gets underneath the fielder.

Finding timing requires a lot of practice. I do drills starting with a stationary ball, then gradually working back at a farther distance with a faster ground ball. Like hitting, you have to have success in practice, slow and close, before you can work far and fast.

In the pictures above of Jeter, you see this Right, Left step demonstrated with perfect timing. There is no one correct answer on when the athlete should break down, because all balls are at different speeds. The one way an athlete can figure this out: 1,000's of ground balls.

Elite Infield Class Homework - Week 4

Find three pictures and send them to me on my email that illustrate things we worked on in class. Explain two coaching points in each picture that you learned in class.


Directions:

1) Go to gettyimages.com
2) Go to images, then click on "Sport" under the editorial section.
3) Search any player's name you wish and scroll through the pictures.
4) Find the picture you want, double click it, then save it to your computer.
5) Attach it in an email to elitebaseballtraining@hotmail.com

Overhand Double Play feed from Second Base

Earlier this week I described the overhand double play feed from shortstop. This video will show the overhand feed from second base. There is more technique involved in this feed because the athlete has to throw against their body. There are a few teaching que's here that make the feed quicker and more comfortable. Check it out.

Hand Path - Whip Drill

I like this drill for several of reasons. First, it teaches the hitter the proper position of the hands at launch. To get the hands in a position to whip, the hand will get about as far back as the rear elbow. Next, this is a good connection drill that will help the athlete use the body with good synchronization. The lower body beginning rotation will slot the back elbow and synch up the body. This is the only way to get maximum output from the swing. Finally, this is a good way to get the hitter to feel extension out in front.

This is a good drill to do with hitters in a big group, because several can throw at the same time into the side of a cage. Just watch to make sure their path is correct (similar to throwing side arm).

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Overhand feeds from shortstop

Part of my pre game or pre practice catch routine, is going from our infield clock drill to overhand double play feeds. Check this short video where I explain the overhand double play feed from shortstop. If you haven't seen the clock drill video, scroll down below and watch it first!

Cotinuing on the subject of Hand Path. . .

HAND PATH

At the Academy, we teach the hands to work “on-line” to the baseball. While knowing that the hands do follow a slightly curved arc in their path to the ball, we use this cue in attempt to keep the hitters barrel in the zone as long as possible. If you follow the illustration below from right to left, I will explain the hand path from start to finish. At toe touch the hands are in their launch position, they will be beyond the back shoulder and slightly behind the body line (due to the scapular load). As the front heel drops, rotation begins, clearing a path for the hands to work “on line to the baseball.” It is during this rotational part of the swing that you see the hand path on a curved line (illustrated by the first four baseballs in the picture, from right to left). During this portion of the swing the hitters back elbow will slot, just inside the body (close to the rib cage). As the hips complete rotation, the hands continue “on line” through the baseball until extension. Slightly prior to extension, the hands will finish their slightly curved arc as the hands roll over and follow through.

We teach the “on line” swing to keep the bat in the hitting zone for as long as possible. The longer the hitter stays in the zone, the better the chance for solid contact. The bigger the zone we hit in, the less perfect the timing portion of the swing has to become. Since the timing portion of the swing is the most difficult, keeping the bat in the zone is a big benefit. Hitters that fail to do this, mainly do so for two reasons. First they take their hands away from their body initially, causing a larger curved arc and decreasing the time the bat is in the zone. Or two, hitter cut their swing off early (off their front hip) prior to getting to extension. Both cases, limit the time the ball is in the zone, diminishing the area to have solid contact and making the timing of the swing even tougher.

Below is an illustration in Robert Adair’s book The Physics of Baseball which shows proper bat path.

Top View of Pro Hitters

Yesterday I took a lift to the top of the Academy to film straight overhead of a few professional hitters. Jim Adduci of the Chicago Cubs, and JT Restko of the Texas Rangers worked out while I filmed. Jimmy was in High A this past year, while JT finished in Double A. Those that are really into hitting instruction have seen a clip filmed of Pete Rose in the 1970's from straight overhead in slow motion. This is the only slow motion clip I have seen from the top view. I knew I had the access to do this, so I wanted film a few current players. I wanted people to be able to see what hand path really looks like. As an instructor, I use the verbal cue of "taking a straight path to and through the ball." This cue is designed for a hitter to stay in the hitting zone for as far as possible, and to keep from prematurely pulling off the ball. Still, the thought process and the actual result differ. The hands take a curved path around the body on the way to the ball, even when they take the correct "inside the ball" path. You can see in the below picture where I marked hand path with a red dot. Three of these clips show a perfect semi-circle, which would indicate a perfect hand path. The clip in the upper left hand corner, shows the hitter cutting off his swing early. Click on the picture below to see.


Here is something I found very interesting. You could really see the torque created by the hitters as the lower body began to fire as the upper body remained closed. This separation of the hips and shoulders creates the torque in the swing. In the video below you will see this as the front heel begins to plant. This is a result of good synchronization in their swings. JT (the righty) creates a bit more, because he closes off his front shoulder more. He has very quick hands, which allow him to still take a correct path to the ball. This swing synchronization is the most important aspect of getting maximum output from the swing.

Working with the Big Leaguers

Every Monday and Wednesday night, the Chicago White Sox Academy Travel Teams have been working with Big League Coaches, Mike Gellinger and Ronnie Deck. Mike is the Sox Video Scouting Analyst and also does daily work with the hitters. Mike is one of the most intelligent hitting coaches I've ever been around. I've mentioned Ronnie (Baltimore Orioles) on the blog a few times. He is a great asset to us. It has been great sharing hitting ideas with these coaches. They have also done great work with the players.

Infield Club Homework - Week 2

Notice the Alex Rodriguez's chin is over his front knee in the backhand. Find and email me a picture of a player (other than AROD) who has their chin over their front knee during the backhand.

Directions:

1) Go to gettyimages.com
2) Go to images, then click on "Sport" under the editorial section.
3) Search any player's name you wish and scroll through the pictures.
4) Find the picture you want, double click it, then save it to your computer.
5) Attach it in an email to elitebaseballtraining@hotmail.com

Student of the week - Nick Ryan

Nick Ryan, a freshman at Naperville Central, is the new "Student of the Week." Nick is a middle infielder and one of my longest current clients. This is the fifth year Nick and I have been training. Besides being extremely skilled, Nick shows passion for the game that very few posses. He has great baseball instincts and a hard nosed work ethic. Nick truly lives the game of baseball.

My next fielding drill - clock drill

Infielders do not have the luxury of throwing every ball over the top. There are plays that force to throw from some challenging angles. In this video, I show how we can throw a ball from any angle and still keep the ball on a level plane with the ground. This will keep the ball from sailing.

Not sure what happened to my video on here, but below is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxPo9BA2NnY

Elite Hitting Class Homework - Week 2

Send me a picture of a player clearing his hands forward, hitting in a big zone. He should be palm up, palm down beyond the body, but before he begins to roll over at extension. To send me a picture I recommend:

1) Go to gettyimages.com
2) Go to images, then click on "Sport" under the editorial section.
3) Search any player's name you wish and scroll through the pictures.
4) Find the picture you want, double click it, then save it to your computer.
5) Attach it in an email to elitebaseballtraining@hotmail.com

What you need to know about linear and rotational hitting

Once a month I will get a parent or a coach that asks me if we teach linear or rotational hitting. Because, they've heard someone talk who has convinced them, this is the new revolution of hitting. My response . . . I smile and say, "Yes." We can satisfy both parties by teaching both concepts. Because EVERY BIG LEAUGUE HITTER MAKES A LINEAR MOVE AND EVERY BIG LEAUGE HITTER MAKES A ROTATIONAL MOVE! Feels good to get that off my chest.

Beware of coaches who claim to teach one "style" or the other. I like to look a message boards and watch people argue of their "styles" and defend them like its an argument between the Cubs/Sox fans. What gets me even more, that if you look at certain web sites who teach each system, they use the same pictures, videos and players! That kills me! (I guess the players must switch from at bat to at bat?)

1) All players make a positive forward move in their stride to some varying degree. The wider the stance, the less the move becomes, the narrower the stance, the larger the linear move becomes. TO GET MORE ON THIS CHECK MY NOVEMEBER POST TITLED, "STRIDE STUDY."

2) As the front heel plants, the swing becomes rotational. The heel planting into the ground will end any more forward movement by the front side of the body as we rotate around a stationary axis.

That's it in simplfied terms! So don't get duked into marketing terms by someone who is trying to sell their style, or by a coach who has been enlightened by some new "system." This hasn't changed for 100 years. With technology, we have just become more efficient in teaching.

Hand Position at Launch

This area of the stride and set up is one where I see constant errors. So many kids today hit with dead hands. Their hands never get beyond their back shoulder when they hit and their hands come forward with their stride foot. To get maximum whip with the barrel up front, the hands have to get in a position to whip on the back side. Plus, to get torque in the swing, the stretch created across the core only happens if our hands are in the proper place on the back side. I discuss this in the video.

This video link disappeared as well. Here is a link to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbsP-FCtNyg

Infield Club Homework - Week 1

Name something Alex Rodriguez is doing right in this picture as it relates to the clock drill.

Name two things Derek Jeter is demonstrating in a good set up.

Email your answers by next class at elitebaseballtraining@hotmail.com

Student of the Week - Mike McGrath

Mike McGrath is the student of the week! Mike is a sophomore at Naperville North High School. Mike came to me last year with some challenging hitting mechanics. Through an extremely dedicated work ethic, Mike has seen dramatic improvement. He is very intelligent and has a good understanding of mechanics and how they relate to his own swing. Last week, Ronnie Deck (Baltimore Orioles Coaching Staff), who works classes with me, noticed Mike and hardly recognized him from last year. That's a great compliment!

Hitting Relevation - working in, to stay on the pitch away

Last night, Ronnie Deck and I sat until after midnight discussing hitting. Ronnie spent the last year as the bullpen catcher and coach for the Baltimore Orioles big league team. I wanted to pick his brain about what they do in their system and about their hitting progression. We talked about different hitters and their routines, but one topic in particular stuck with me. The Orioles hitting coach, Terry Crowley has been a big league hitting coach for over 20 years. Ronnie said that during their front toss drills and short bp, they spend 70% of their time working middle in. The reasoning made a lot of since to me.

What so many hitting coaches, including myself, first work on, is staying inside the ball, and staying "on" a pitch middle away in order to stay through the ball. In this, we can create a lot of good bat paths and kids can hit the ball to the opposite field. I would venture to say that this is what most college and lower level pro teams first work on too. But what many coaches have created are the "slowing down" of player's bats to stay on pitches away and off speed pitches. What has been taught by hitting coaches, even at the pro level, is that 70% of pitches you see are away or off speed. The game is ever changing, and pitching coaches know this. What we are seeing now, is more hitters struggling more than ever on the pitch in. Most of them can't get to it successfully, and those that do, cheat with their hips and front side to get there, hooking the baseball.

Here was my relevation . . . If we can get players to focus on staying through the inside pitch, and have confidence of getting there, they do not have to cheat on a pitch in. This makes it easier to stay "on" a pitch away. All hitting coaches know, that most hitters have a fear of getting beat in. When this happens they begin spinning off balls, and now they are weak on both sides of the plate.

I ran this by my hitting mentor, Mitch Hannahs this morning. Mitch is a JUCO coach that every year has pro teams calling on the phone trying to get him into their system as a coach. He has the best instincts of any hitting coach I've ever been around. He agreed with this. In fact, he said this fall, for the same reasons (kids staying inside balls well, but barrells dragging) that he really emphasized barrell whip and throwing the bat head out front more than ever before. Stating, "That so many kids feel good about guiding the ball with good mechancis that forget how to deliver the barrel." Teaching the kids how to get the barrell head out front while working in, will produce that whip. One of the things that he did was put bats that were "barrell heavy" in their hands to get them the feeling of throwing it out front.

Take in note, all hitters are different and need different things while being taught. The way they are being taught will depend on what type of hitter they are and what their strengths and weaknesses are. I am not talking about cloning all hitters here. Any coach that does so, has no business teaching. This is simply a generalization based on the weaknesses of most hitters.

Once a hitter gets the concept of path, I agree that working in, to build confidence on getting to and through the correct contact point, without having to cheat on he ball in, will make it easier to stay, "on" pitches away. At the same time, we will make hitters more explosive and less like mechanical robots. A very good point that will elevate my teaching.

Stride Study Results . .

I confess. I'm a hitting nerd. I'm the guy waiting in the grocery store line working on my stride. After a recent surgery, I was laid up for a week. Being away from the cage was the worst part of the surgery. I took advantage of the time to test a hypothesis on the stride. The result . . . A ten page study on the "Big League Stride". To my knowledge, it's the only study of its kind. It's long, take some time to digest it. If you want the "Cliff Note's" version, scroll to the end.

NOTE * This study has been submitted for publication. It is copyrighted. Any republication or distribution without my consent is prohibited.

Link:

http://www.bullssoxacademy.com/images/TheStrideStudy.pdf

Elite Hitting Class Homework - Week 1

Write me at least three things Alex Rodriguez is doing correctly at his launch position. Then, tell me at least two things that could be improved on Kevin Seitzer's launch position as illustrated in the above picture. (No offense to Kevin. He was a great hitter and I was a big fan of his when I was a kid . . .just a little fooled on this pitch!)

Email me your answer at elitebaseballtraining@hotmail.com. This is due before next class.

Continuing with the Stride . . .

Staying on the them of Stride this week. . .Check below for I see in my lessons, related to the stride.

I’m 32 years old and I’ve been teaching hitting for 10 years. I’m trying to figure out at what time during this period that the stride became passé. Somewhere along the line, coaches have made many kids afraid to gain ground in the stride. The result: An OVERWHEALMING number of hitters who never get to a strong hitting position, thus limiting their offensive production. Out of the 3,000 kids I see in a teaching environment each year, approximately 20 kids over-stride, getting the body off balance, and putting them in a weak position to transfer energy through the baseball. In comparison, approximately 2,100 (7 out of 10) under-stride and hit with a dead back side. Many coaches stress, “pick the foot up and put it down.”
This is correct only if weight is still transferred to a balanced athletic position when the stride foot lands. This means, as the stride foot lands, there should be an equal amount of weight on each leg. This is the body’s strongest athletic position.

A good way to teach it is this: Tell your athlete to get into their basketball defensive position or in a base-stealing stance. The feet are noticeably wide because this is the body’s strongest athletic position – the SAME position we want to hit from when the stride foot lands!
There are players in big league baseball that are considered to use a “no stride” approach. Albert Pujols is one that comes to mind.

There are two things I have to say about this:
1) If this approach is used, notice that Pujols is already in a strong, wide, powerful starting position.
2) What you may not realize is that Pujols’ front foot still gains 1 inch of ground!

In order to transfer energy through the baseball, the body needs to get to a strong, 50/50 balanced position as the stride foot lands. The body gets to this position by making a strong, forward, positive move initiating from the ball of the back foot, thus forcing the stride foot forward.

Lessons Sold Out!!! What can you do??

Today marks my first day of extended hours to meet demand during the "busy season." For the next six months my instruction hours are 3-10pm. Many of you are trying to schedule now for the offseason and are finding out that my Academy lessons are sold out until March. First I'd like to say I thank you, and I'm flattered for this. My waiting list is a few pages long, so here is what I suggest, as I anticipated this happening:

Enter into my semi-private program - This program is on Tuesdays or Thursdays for 4 consecutive weeks. We meet for one hour a week, and there are 4 students in each session. Sessions are broken down in either a junior high group or a high school group. I recommend this for someone who hasn't been with me before and wants an intro. to our progression or someone who has had multiple lessons with me in the past and wants a refresher/tune-up. There are sessions in Jan. Feb. and March.

Enter into the Elite Hitting Clubs - This program begins Nov. 12 and lasts for 5 weeks. Each class is 1 1/2 hours long and will cover my entire progression in 5 weeks. There are a few spots available for the junior high group. The high school group may be sold out, call for availability. The Elite Infield Clubs start Nov. 16 and have a few spots open for the junior high group as well. The High School group is sold out.

BOOK EARLY!! - If you are looking into lessons for March/April, Book Now! People that have been with me for a long time will start looking to book sometimes 1/2 year in advance.

Infield Receiving Drill

This drill is the always the first one I start infielders with in practice. For infielders to use their hands correctly when fielding the groundball, they must first learn how to receive a thrown ball. Unfortunately, most infielders are not taught the proper technique of how the hand's work in receiving a ball. To simplify, the hands work the same way in receiving a ball as they do when fielding one. Check the above video to learn the proper technique!

Stride Video

This week's training focus: Stride and Set-Up

For the next week, I will focus on the stride and set-up. This may be the most important aspect of hitting, in terms of finding a mechanically sound, consistent swing. You'll hear me say in the video clips this week that the majority of problems in the swing are a direct result of flaws in the set-up. This means that any problem in the launch position at foot-strike will be magnified by the time we get to ball-strike.

Be careful of any instructor that standardizes stride length. You'll see why during my video clips in the next week. Plus, I'm very excited to release my study on stride length and the width of a hitter's base at foot-strike. I tested over 100 of the top statistical hitters in Major League Baseball and came up with statistical data that illustrates how far the stride should be in relationship to a hitter's stance and body height, as well as testing how far apart a hitter's feet should be a foot-strike. To my knowledge, it is the first study of it's kind and will probably upset many instructors who standardize stride length without consideration for body height or width of stance. The study will be released early next week so check back soon!

Provided by website design company directory.

Why the closed stance has nearly disappeared

As I finish this week's segment on stance, I revert back to another article I wrote recently on the closed stance and why it has virtually disappeared from big league baseball. Below I describe why. Check back tomorrow where I post a new video and start a new segment on the stride and set up!

The closed stance is the one stance that I feel puts the hitter at a disadvantage. If the stance remains closed by more than 6-8 inches after the front foot comes down, the hitter’s hands get locked behind him.
When a hitter’s feet are lined up at landing, the hands are free to work against air on their direct path forward to the baseball. Obviously, air has very little resistance. If the hitter is closed off, the front shoulder is obstructing the hands to take a direct line to the baseball. Two bad habits occur because of this:
1) The hitter jerks the front side off the ball to free up the hands, thus causing an early rotation problem.
2) The hitter’s hands “cast” away from the hitter to go around the front shoulder, thus creating a long, slow swing.
Like the open stance hitter, so long as a hitter with a closed stance gets back to lined up after the stride, problems can be avoided. But with young hitters, the closed stance is just one more potential complication in the mechanics of the swing.

Student of the Week - Ben Chapman

Ben Chapman, from Clarendon Hills, IL, is the newest "Student of the Week!" Ben is a shortstop for the Clarendon Hills Cardinals travel team. Ben has been training with me twice a week for the last two years. Ben is not a big kid, and he has average athleticism. But, by viewing his video above, you can see how advanced he is in his infield technique. Ben is an extremely hard worker, and jokingly judges how hard he worked in a lesson by how many sweat rings he has under the bill of his cap when he finished. He is a great example of how dedication to fundamentals training can make a difference. He has come a long way in the last two years, and has some great days of baseball ahead of him.

Continuing with the Stance . . .

I am going to stick with the topic of stance this week since I discussed it a few days ago in my "Video of the Week." I am going post an article I wrote awhile ago on bullssoxacademy.com. It talks about teaching points in using an open stance and the reasons open stances have become so popular in the big leagues. See below . . .


More big league hitters are opting to use an open stance than ever before. Big years by players like Larry Walker and Luis Gonzalez in the late 90's made the stance even more popular. Television commentators offer various explanations as to why hitters choose the open stance. Often times their speculation veers far beyond the simple answer – Hitters want to be able to see the ball out of the pitcher’s hand easier and more comfortably.

Old timers once said that the reason Ted Williams was able to hit .400 was that he had 20/5 vision (far superior to the average hitter). Don’t believe it! If this was the case, then Ted Williams might have hit well above .500 had he used two eyes instead of one! We all know that all hitters use both eyes to hit. Standing in an open stance allows the hitter to easily face the pitcher with the head turned completely at him. But you don’t need an open stance to easily see the baseball.

All big league hitters that start open are still able to return their feet to a lined up position when their front foot comes down. Young hitters often have a difficult time getting back to this position, thus making it almost impossible to cover the outside portion of the plate. Many times, their inability to get back is due to a fear of the baseball (something all young hitters go through at one point).

Also, some youth players choose to start open because they have a hard time getting to the inside pitch. Starting open to cheat on the inside pitch can develop very bad habits. Many young hitters have trouble with the inside pitch because their hands are not quick enough to get to the baseball. Starting open and staying open causes the hips to open prematurely, making pitches on the outer half of the plate difficult to handle. I call this the “Duct-tape” approach to hitting. Don’t change something for a “quick fix” to handle one problem, because you are probably creating two more problems in its place.

I also see open stance players that get in a habit of diving in to the plate. This causes the hands to take an indirect path to the ball (often casting, then hooking in their swings). These hitters end up jamming themselves on inside pitches. Players that use the open stance, still have to make a forward positive move towards the pitcher as they get back to a lined up position. It is more than just "diving in" to the plate.

At the White Sox Academy, we teach all hitters to utilize the stance where the toes start lined up. This is the stance that gives the batter the best opportunity to cover the three parts of the plate (inner, middle, and outer) while still easily seeing the baseball. This doesn’t mean a young hitter can’t start open. It just takes more time to develop the consistency of getting the front foot back to the correct position. Don't get me wrong, we can teach hitters in any particular "style" and still reach the same point. If hitter comes to me in an open stance, and can execute it properly, I am definitely NOT going to change it. All the matters is that when the hitter gets to toe touch, he or she is in the correct hitting position.

Check back soon as I continue this prompt on “Why the closed stance has almost disappeared from higher level baseball.”

Infield Creep Step Technique

The creep step is something infielders learn at a young age. Still, as I watch amateur infielders I see so many crucial errors that cause them to put the body in a poor position to get to the baseball and a poor position when they are fielding the ball. Check this 4 minute video to see if you are preforming your creep step like the big leaguers. Set up technique is discussed here, along with big league examples. You'll see a few creep step myths dispelled here as I teach the correct body position in the set up.

Speaking at Illinois High School Convention

I'm honored to say that I'll be speaking at the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Convention, January 31st, 2009. This will be the 5th consecutive year I've spoken to the crowd of over 400 high school coaches (4th consecutive year solo, as 5 years ago I demonstrated White Sox Hitting Coach Greg Walker's drills as he spoke). I have a great relationship with the IHSBCA coaches board and am flattered that they've asked me to speak again. This year's title will be "Progressive Hitting Drills - Mechanics, Pitch Recognition and Approach." I'll report on this again after the event.

Video Tip of the Week - Stance Issues

Although players should feel comfortable in their stances, and have the freedom to start a lot of ways, there are some important "Absolutes" of the stance that often go uncorrected. Check this 6 minute video where I explain the essential parts of a correct stance in the lower body combined with some big league examples.

Student of the Week Exemplifies Courage

This week's student of the week is Michael Gustafson. Michael is 10 years old and from Woodridge, IL. The Gustafson's have been members of the White Sox Training Academy for several years. I've trained Michael and his older brother Ian for the last three years. When I first started training Michael, baseball was secondary to gymnastics. Michael is extremely athletic, and use to impress bystanders at the Academy by soaring through the air doing a number of back hand springs at the age of 7. Now after success at baseball, it has become his favorite sport.

This past year Michael was diagnosed with an operable brain tumor. Michael and the Gustafson's have had to go through a lot more than any family should have to with children that age. But a testament to their family, is that every time I've seen them, they are smiling and very positive. Michael has been doing very well, and carries the same big smile on his face every time I see him.

This past week, I did a pitching lesson with Michael after he had done four consecutive days of chemotherapy. Not only did Michael show up to the lesson the next day, he excelled. How many of us put into the same circumstances could ever show the courage to do the same? It's funny as adults that we are suppose to guide and nurture our students / children, but how often is it that we can learn lessons from them? Michael Gustafson has shown more courage and determination than any of the 1,000's of athletes I've ever worked with and I feel honored that I can spend just part of my day, making him forget about his. I'm happy that for thirty minutes he can be a kid and have fun doing well at baseball.

Michael and has family have overcome some pretty tough odds. Things like this add perspective to everyone's life. Michael will never realize, that everyone he knows, he has made a better person. He has done this by proving how strong will and courage can overcome any situation. Keep it up Michael! You have been an inspiration to all of us!

Pro Guys Still Finding Their Way. . .

Over the past three seasons, I have done video analysis with Jim Adduci. This past season, Jim was the MVP of the Florida State League Champion Daytona Cubs (Cubs High A affiliate). Jimmy's father is a former big league player and colleague of mine. They have worked hard every off-season in polishing Jimmy's mechanics. A big concern of Jimmy has been laying his hands off (losing his proper launch angle) as he begins rotation. We have compared clips I have of Jimmy from the last three off-seasons and seen drastic improvement. Where before, his hands were getting outside his back elbow, dragging behind, he is now staying connected which has increased his barrel whip. There are two points that all hitters, amateur and professional can get from this:

1) Video analysis is a must in finding a hitter's mechanical needs. There is so much the human eye cannot pick-up that Digital Motion Analysis can find. It is something we have used over and over with Jimmy that has helped him. It has also helped Jimmy's confidence when he sees his hard work paying off, by noticing his improvement.

2) For amateur hitters, understand that pro guys are still learning and finding their way. Nobody knows everything there is to know about the swing, or baseball in general. We learn by talking the game, swing mechanics, approach, etc. Many times younger hitters fall into two camps: Those who lack confidence and feel they are never going to have a high level swing and those who think they have it figured out because they have had success against marginal competition. Both of these types of hitters will fail.

The correct approach is to learn your own swing tendencies and faults, understand mechanical corrections and drill that can help you with this, and be patient in the learning process. Adjustments are difficult and don't always feel right at first. This is why they're called "adjustments." But, show me the group of hitters that fails to make the constant minor adjustments and I'll tell you that that group is not going to have consistent success and their career's will be short lived. It's an old cliche', but learning the swing is definitely a marathon, not a sprint. Adjustments take thousands of repetitions and constant maintenance. Those hitters that are willing to put the time in, like Jim Adduci, have a great chance to reach their ultimate goal of becoming a big league baseball player.

"Man . . . I'm hitting better!"

One of the things I really enjoy about teaching younger players is that they speak whatever is on their minds. This leads to frequent amusing interjections. This happened tonight with a player I started lessons with. Beyond the funny comment about his own performance, there are some underlying important mechanics that hitters must understand.

This was Troy B.'s second lesson with me. Troy is 10 years old and has some major balance issues resulting in his bat being pulled out of the zone early in his swing (to the pull side). This is from failing to maintain hitting posture throughout his swing. Though this is common for young hitters, it is crucial for hitters all the way up to the big leagues. As the stride foot lands, the chin must still be over the toes (Nose in front of belly button is another cue I use for this). As the swing begins, this posture must be maintained through contact, extension and the finish. Troy lost hitting posture as soon as his hands started forward. As his head drifted behind his toes (and belly button), the hands extended away from the body as a counter-balancing measure. To get back to the ball, he had to roll his hands over quickly and his bat exited the zone off his front hip. He consistently finished his swing off balance, falling to the pull side.

After explaining this to Troy, he created correct direction in his swing and began staying behind balls. After dire concentration for several swings in a row, in which he remained silent, he noticed he was rifiling balls up the middle like he'd never done before. Upon realization Troy exclaimed, "Man . . . I'm hitting better!" And he continued to do so for the rest of the lesson, due to a simple mechanical adjustment.

In my lesson progression, I start with stance corrections, stride and set-up mechanics and hitting posture. A hitter cannot go forward successfully in lessons until these three things are correct. The only way the hands can take a direct path to and through the ball is if hitting posture is maintained.

My Little League coach was on the right track when he use to say, "Justin, you have to keep your eye on the ball." Well, that is correct, but not for the reasons he thought. The ball-bat collision lasts a mere 1/1000 of a second, way too fast for the human eye to see, but keeping the eyes at contact will maintain hitting posture, which allows the hands to continue on a direct path through the ball. Look at the picture below of Albert Pujols as he maintains hitting posture at contact.

Welcome to the Elite Training Blog!!

Thanks for taking a look at our Elite Training Blog! As the Head Instructor at the White Sox Training Academy, baseball consumes my life . . . and I wouldn't have it any other way! This Blog will give you access to insctructional points that come to my mind as I work with athletes of all ability ranges. My daily interaction with current and former professional players, college and high school coaches and my students, makes me a become better as a teacher. Here, you will have chance to gain insight to ideas that will make YOU a better player or coach!

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