Beyond excited to begin a new journey as a Minor League Hitting Instructor / Analyst with the
@Cardinals
.
I am pumped about this new challenge and the opportunity to work with some of the greatest minds in the sport.
#TimeToFly
“Truly competitive people care obsessively about the process. Every detail of it. It’s an obsession over a process that may or may not lead to victory.” - Kobe Bryant
A “Barrel Turn” is when the barrel works around the hands and is then guided forward into the ball.
The barrel is quickly rotated/pivoted/turned to full speed without a ton of forward movement. The goal is barrel acceleration PRIOR to entering the zone.
Fastball (softball) and Change-up (baseball).
Expect the fastball. Adjust to the change.
If softball is thrown - hit that.
If softball is faked - hit the baseball.
Stride open.
Stride closed.
Kick.
Float.
Double Tap.
Foot down early.
Hit on one leg.
Hinge.
Coil.
Scap load.
Bat tip.
Big leaguers are doing it all.
It does not matter what you do just make it work.
High School to SEC.
It’s the biggest leap in level of competition. Moving the needle that far is hard. It’s a grind. Doubt. Fear. Ups and downs.
Staying in the battle with your ears open when no one is watching … gets you ready for your moment.
#SIPmade
@ma_womack
🤙
Thank you to
@Blast_Sftball
&
@VanessaBlast_SB
for putting on and capture the event.
This is a 3-4 years of work compressed into a 30min presentation. I hope someone finds value in it.
Staying “on top” doesn’t get you flush/clean/square contact very often because you are cutting from the top part of the ball towards the bottom. Also, your barrel doesn’t get lined up with the ball until it is way out in front of you.
After fall games came to an end last weekend we introduced individualized programs and scaled back to target some more specific technical focuses.
A lot goes into them but they still remain fairly simple.
Thank you for being a friend, a mentor to me and so many young women. Thank you for taking a chance on me in 2018.
You were always and will always be all in.
@CoachSmith2121
Here are some fun little twists to drills that encourages an external focus of attention while keeping the feedback loop tight.
Hit the line. Get the ball in the bucket.
Working barrel direction (bucket), acceleration (Blast) and speed/EV (distance).
Body Rotation from
@Blast_Sftball
provides a direct measure of the observed rotational sequencing pattern of the hitter by identifying the relative contributions of body and bat angular velocities.
Probably one of my favorite FT setups:
1️⃣ Plate uncomfortably close + heavy barrel loaded bat.
2️⃣ Plate back + short light bat
Can you be efficient, anticipate and launch immediately? Then, stay stable hold your trigger and maintain posture?
Tomorrow we will be hosting a FREE educational Hitting Summit featuring a ⭐ -studded lineup of speakers.
Don't miss
@CoachCSalt
share his knowledge on subjects such as loading patterns, timing, how to make swing changes, & more!
Register here:
It is incredible how far ahead of the game
@CoachMikeLotief
has been for such a long time.
Movement work. Kinetic chain principles. Barrel turns. Machine work. Challenging BP.
Love hearing stories from other coaches who have crossed paths with him.
“I want to play for Florida”.
So does 215lbs Hulkzilla from California who trains with 4 other Hulkzillas.
Also, little Sarah who just rewatched last years College World Series for the 8th time this week and goes to bed in her uniform and gets up at 5am to get extra swings.
Here is a little recap on the
@SHUSoftball
2019 returners:
9 out of 12 improved from the 2018 season.
5 improved by more than .300 OPS
As a unit they improved by 25% in terms of OPS
(which has the highest correlation to runs per game)
....alllrighty then
I’ve been incredibly lucky to coach some of my favorite people on the planet at
@SHUSoftball
and work for
@CoachSmith2121
.
Thanks for letting me put sensors on your bats and track pretty much your every move.
#NoGas
⛽️
Slappers (and hitters) doing a medicine ball toss with an adjustability element to promote dynamic changes in posture (something we have struggled with) and timing of rotation (accel/deccel).
#DammitMiso
😂
@marisa_pla
It’s hard to get someone out that can cover pitches like this AND pitches soft and away. Good direction, instincts and a dugout that’ll pick you out in 3 batters.
Shoutout to all the
@SHUSoftball
hitters for absolutely crushing the first 3 days of hitting!
By far my favorite part of the sessions was how our “Hugo” (
@16newt
) drill developed from imitation to exploration.
“You can’t do anything you normally do”.
#SorryForTheBlisties
There is always a trade-off. Do you want to be better now and mediocre later or mediocre (potentially horrible) now and better later?
TAKE DONKEY HACKS!