10 Year Old Future Stars and the Importance of Training Frequency

I'll have to say that this year my "Inbox" has been flooded everyday with more positive results from my students than any year previously. While I'd like to pat myself on the back, the true difference has been with the training frequency of my students. I rarely have new clients anymore, because my waiting list continues to be flooded with my regulars that I can't even get into my schedule. With this being said, I have trained my students "How to train" as much as I teach them mechanics and approach.

By the end of a 30-60 minute lesson, the student and I can usually get it right. But, the temporary change only "sticks" if there is the same repetition going on at home. My students are all serious baseball guys and girls, and they have bought in to how important the maintenance work is. My students see results in games, and this makes training on their own more fun and productive. Here are two of the emails from yesterday from two of my youngest students. The picture is of Jack V. who I've had a number of times since he was 7. He and Jake's mechanics match up to some of the best big leaguers!

Justin,

I hope all is well with you. The tune up you gave Jake worked wonders!!! He is now staying tall and hitting nice even line drives. Out of the last 10 at bats he has had 2 doubles, 6 singles, 1 sac fly and 1 strike out.

Here are some pictures of his pitching. He pitched 3 out of 3 hit less innings on Sunday:)

As always, we thank you!!

Rach


Hi Coach Justin,

Jack is looking forward to attending your "Slump Busters" class again this summer. You may remember that he also attended your spring training hitting class. Your class has given him real drills that he can do on his own to maintain a strong swing. This will be his 3rd summer in your class and he is only 10!

Just wanted you so see how he is doing. See you in a few weeks!

Thank you,

Dana V.

Hitting Clinic with White Sox Hitting Coach Greg Walker

Greg Walker recently did a hitting clinic for our White Sox Academy coaches, reinforcing the training techniques we use at our various academies. I ran the digital analysis to illustrate the points Greg was making. He did a great job of talking mechanics. What I really liked was the way Greg spoke of "First Cause." Many hitting instructors can indentify flaws at ball strike, but as I've said many times, most flaws at ball strike are a direct result of a flaw in either the set up, or the "first move" in the swing. Because the swing is a kinetic chain of events, one leading into the next, the error at ball strike, if often due to an earlier error. For example, a hitting coach may see that a player is rolling over at the point of contact and begin working hand path drills. But what Greg and I are saying, is "Why" are the hands rolling over? Here is a scenerio:

The player is overloading his backside, getting his rear knee over his ankle. Instead of advancing forward, knee inside ankle, the rear knee stays over his ankle and spins there during rotation. The "spinning" action causes his upper body to rotate off the ball in a "one piece" swing or "gate" swing. The counter action of the front shoulder opening at the same time as the hip, causes his hands to counteract and disconnect away from the body. Because of the early extension with the arms, the hands have to roll over to get back to the point of contact. All of this is because of the earlier error in the load.

You see, the earlier the error in the kinetic chain, more errors are a result as you move up the chain. Hitting coaches have to determine what "first cause" is to really fix the chain. The is exactly what Greg said when he stated, "...anything else is just putting a band-aid on the swing."

Finding "first cause" is the sign of a good hitting coach. Most hitting instructors can find what is wrong in the swing, but how many can tell you "Why?" If you have one that knows the "Why" you are lucky. Often times, video analysis is a must to find this out, because the kinetic chain works faster than the naked eye. This is something that Greg Walker has utilized with the White Sox, and why he will get the Sox hitters right this season!

Guest Blogger from Tampa, Florida

Joradn Ramus was my student who flew in for a one day workout from Florida. Here are his thoughts on the day:

Thanks again for a great training day in Chicago! Glad you had the confidence in me to compress it all in one full day. My dad told me it would be difficult to do but coming from Florida and in town for just the day it was our only option. Thanks for making it all happen.

I told my dad your attention to detail and your temperament with instruction was outstanding and an absolute perfect fit for me. I look forward to growing in the future with you as my mentor over the years Justin.

Here is what I thought about going into my day. I have had a lot of training in the past but I know that I am getting older, bigger wiser & stronger and I need to take it to the next level. I will be in 8th grade next year and high school is not that far off.

I knew from my dad that you are the best in the country hands down so I was looking forward to learning and refining my craft of hitting. Many kids just want to show off and pretend to learn…I want to learn and get better and be the best but I also want to look good doing it. My dad says staying in the envelope is important (I hear it in my sleep) and I looked at my special day as that being part of my goal….to stay in the envelope on a more consistent basis. I have always made my own adjustments in hitting but your regiment/drills will make it even easier for me to do so. I wasn’t nervous at all as I am not that type of guy… I just wondered what would come out of it all meaning what would I need to take home and work on and I achieved that with you. I wondered what kind of facility it would be like and I was blown away by it. I was counting on meeting Alex Rios though but my dad said you had it covered next time!!!

At the end of the day, I learned about my (2) weaknesses that I need to work on and I believe that both of them are simple fixes with repetition. I learned a whole lot more about the swing plane too and getting on plane and being quick with my hands staying short inside the ball. I have had previous training with Epstein on proper rotation but they do not address hand path, they only address getting on plane with the barrel of the bat for a very long time. However, hand path is a huge part of getting on plane too and they both go hand in hand…no pun intended. Hands do come down and the bat barrel does go rearward with you swinging “naturally” to that point in motion and not artificially fading off to get there. I get it Epstein….lol…I am working on my front foot side as well and keeping it closed off as much as possible.

My dad and I when we work together are doing all the tee drills and I am working hard at this. What I am most excited about though is that I found my guy to mentor me well into the future. I just want to work as hard as I can Justin and see how far it can take me.

Thanks again Justin for a great training day!

Jordan Ramus
#16
Bullets Black Baseball Elite
Tampa, Florida

Feel Good Moment - Welles Wins First Game

There is nothing more satisfying to a coach then seeing someone, or a group you work with, get better and have success. This story, however, is rather unique. I live on the corner of one of Chicago's biggest biggest youth baseball organizations (Welles Park). Its my neighborhood, I know the community, and I know a lot of the kids. Over the years, I've worked with kids and teams at this park whenever I can fit it in my schedule. One particular team, the Welles Park 12U part time travel team needed some help. You see, they haven't won a game going on 3 years. They are great kids, most of which I've known for 3 or 4 years, and they have somehow managed to keep a great positive attitude and outlook on the game through this experience.

This year, friends of mine who ran the team, reached out for help. I said to them, that to compete with suburban teams, you have to start training before March, which is what all of the suburban teams do. I started training them in January, doing team practices at the White Sox Academy on Sunday nights. Over time, the boys started to look and think like competitive baseball players. I placed them with a very tough pre-season schedule, playing some of the best full time travel teams in the Chicago area, such as the Homer Heat and Lisle Wolves. Although they were beaten handily, they competed, and never backed down.

Last night was their first regular season league game against the Skokie Indians. The confidence of the boys on the field, looked like a group of veterans. They looked and played the game the right way. Listen to these numbers. . . 0 errors and only 3 walks given up in a full game! If you pitch it and pick it up in this game - you win - at any level. And that's exactly what the boys did! With a 9-5 victory, they learned that hard work certainly pays off. To see 15 smiling boys running off the field for their first victory in years, in their first game was a true feel good moment. The parents, coaches and mostly the players, were and should be proud of themselves. I really believe that the best is yet to come for this group!

One of the biggest influences in my playing career.

Looking back on life of baseball, a few major influences stand out. First and foremost, my mother, who spent her time as a "stay at home" mom, working with me daily on baseball fundamentals. But second, was a simple video of my childhood role-model, Ozzie Smith. Through my playing career, starting at the age of 6, I wanted to be Ozzie. I wore my uniform like him, I wore his number from when I was 6 until my career ended in my twenties, and I "tried" to play like him.

When I was 6 years old, my father would get up at 5:30 or 6am on Saturdays to record a program called "The Baseball Bunch" on our VHS recorder. The Baseball Bunch was a baseball fundamentals program hosted by Johnny Bench. On Saturday afternoons my friends would come over and we would watch the tape. I'll never forget though the episode which featured my favorite player, Ozzie. The episode changed my life. . . literally.

Two things stand out on this episode with me. The one minute highlight real at the beginning, and the drill segment on "wall ball". I watched this so many times, the tape was about worn out. (I still have the tape today, just no VHS player. I even thought of transferring it to DVD and put on YouTube, but someone else did already!)
I would imitate all the plays Ozzie made in my basement, my yard or out on the sandlot. Watching the highlight real today, I saw how many times Ozzie would slide down on his left knee, with his right leg extended to backhand and throw quickly, and thought, "That was the exact same way I did it." I copied that technique from Ozzie so long ago. Next, the wall ball segment was a drill that I believe led me to everything I do today.

Watching Ozzie play wall ball inspired me to do the same. I had a brick wall on one side of my drive way, and I used a tennis ball to work the routine play, forehand and backhand. By the time I was 7, I had mastered the backhand, years before other people my age could do so. Therefore, because of that drill, I played shortstop on every team I ever played on and I was still doing the drill when I was 21 years old. Quick fast forward - that drill was the reason for my college scholarship, which led me to my coaching job in Division I college baseball, which led me to what I do with a professional organization today. I can trace it all back to a over-energized 6 year old with a bowl haircut banging the tennis ball off the wall for hours upon end.

I still use the drill today in some of my lessons and I love in part 2 of the video how Ozzie describes how his hands play "through" the ball instead of funnelling. Nobody taught that at the time, but now most infield coaches teach this technique. Ozzie was way ahead of the game, and became the best shortstop of all time. Take a minute to watch the video that changed my life!

Ozzie Smith - Part 2 Video - Wall Ball - Enjoy!

Austin Murphy - Cherry Creek High, Colorado

Nice note below from a former student of mine who is doing well at his new school in Colorado. I know I take for granted how we impact our players beyond just teaching them baseball. I teach so many kids, that sometimes I forget that our reach goes beyond the 30 minutes or hour you spend with them. Its a powerful position to be put in, anytime you have a chance to impact a player for a lifetime.

Justin,

David Murphy here.... you were a hitting instructor for my son Austin Murphy when he was in 6th and 7th grade when we lived in Chicago.

Austin now attends Cherry Creek High in Denver, CO and is 6'4 205 - he plays 1st base for the #2 ranked team in the state and #67 in US.

He has very fond memories of taking lessons with you and you were one of his first Baseball Coaches who really had an impact on him and instilled a
passion and work ethic for the game.

Attached is a picture of Austin and a HR he hit Vs Arapahoe High. His 3rd of the year...

Hope all is well with you and the White Sox!

Best regards,
-David Murphy