Wall of Dreams

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Testimony - Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers)

Hitting Drills - How to Increase Batting Power

1) Simple to execute
2) Don't require complicated equipment
3) Reinforces and reward use of proper mechanics
4) Gives the athletes instant feedback if they are doing it right
or not allowing me to step away as a coach and knowing they
can self-correct themselves.
5) Can be turned into a a competition between athletes - you can't beat that!

Imperfect Practice Makes Perfect

Imperfect Practice Makes Perfect

We have run articles from time to time featuring the wisdom of Jon Doyle,owner of Baseball Training Secrets Here's yet another feature article on how to approach practices.

By Jon Doyle

Perfect practice does not make perfect unless the practice is imperfect. Make sure you read that again and let it sink in. Training in a perfect environment for sport is not optimal because that perfect environment never exists. Competition is ALWAYS a reactive environment. Nothing is ever controlled. Who wants to look like Tarzan and play like Jane? Lets look and play like Tarzan!

When an athlete builds their conditioning in a pristine environment they are doing themselves a disservice. Do Navy Seals train in immaculate environments? How about fighter pilots? Would you send a teacher into a classroom of 20 screaming children without putting them through real life situations as student teachers? As silly as those questions may seem I think you get my point.

An athlete needs to be able to adjust their body while making split second decisions. The ability to “slow down” game speed is crucial in the development of a superior athlete. The great ones anticipate what is going to happen next and react to that. Some athletes have the natural ability to do this, but would still benefit from this type of training. Imperfect training has a more profound effect on those that do not have these instincts “built-in.” As the old saying goes, “Experience is our best teacher” and the more an athlete trains to adapt to an ever changing environment the better off they are.

You must be asking the question, “How do I incorporate imperfect training into what I am doing already?” There are many ways to do this. Have your training partner tell you what exercise you are doing next. Everything becomes a surprise because you do not know what is coming next. Have that partner nudge you slightly in different directions during a pause squat or Indo Board session. Blindfolded training works wonders. How about not listening to your favorite workout music and see how you perform?

These are just a few of the many ways that imperfect training can be incorporated into your current regime. Become an athlete, not a weight room warrior or a five o’clock hitter.

Hitting Secret: Early Bat Speed

Hitting Secret: Early Bat Speed

RT Staff Note: Here's another article from Jon Doyle of Baseball Training Secrets.

By Jon Doyle

Within the next 3-5 years the term “Early Bat Speed” will trickle down to all levels of baseball, becoming the next buzz term within the game. And with good reason.

Early bat speed is one of the most light-lipped hitting secrets ever. Improving early bat speed is an extremely quick method to improved hitting. In fact, there are a great deal of player’s who aren’t even sure what the term means, but they certainly have it. To them it just comes naturally. For those of us who aren’t so lucky, it needs to be developed.

Consider yourself very lucky because I am going to break down what early bat speed is and how you can develop it. You won’t find this type of information down at your local batting cage!

This is real inside baseball training information only found . Chances are if you ask a local coach to explain Early Bat Speed he will look at you like you have 3 heads.

Basically early bat speed is the ability to generate a large amount of force early in the swing. The great ones all do this.

Think about a car engine. A 4 cylinder may be able to get up to 80 mph, but it takes forever to get there. However, a supercharged 6 or 8 cylinder engine can get way above 80 and reach it’s max speed in a few seconds flat.

The great hitter’s have “supercharged engines” and tremendous early bat speed.

Early bat speed is the key to Major League power and strength. The great thing is you do not have to be the biggest guy around or have the best weight room numbers to develop early bat speed. You simply need to develop proper loading patterns.

They know how to utilize the “Load” phase of the swing perfectly. Everyone knows the load is used as a timing mechanism, but it should also be used as a source of power.

While most coaches teach the load coming from the hands, it actually comes from the shoulders and hips.

It is individual to every hitter, but it should be a smooth transition from the stance to the load to the swing.

Most hitter’s will do best if they are slightly moving and loose the entire time they are in the batters box. This makes it easier to develop a rhythm and proper loading skills.

Be sure not to just throw your hands back and stop, then having to restart the swing. Again, a smooth transaction from the load to the swing will create early bat speed that will add distance and power to every ball you hit.

So now the question is “Can I develop early bat speed in the weight room?”

The answer is YES!

The key is to work on movement patterns. Become a better athlete. Continue to push the limits.

Without further ado, here are my “Award Winning”

5 Weight Room Steps To Lightning-Quick Early Bat Speed & Awesome Hitting

1. Perform medicine ball circuits every day. Follow medicine ball circuit #1 and Circuit # 2 (Found in Diamonds Baseball Training Manual) every day. Focus on movement coming from the torso and shoulders. This will have a dramatic carryover into the batter’s box.

2. Spend a great deal of time on Hip, Torso and Shoulder Range Of Motion – Both Dynamic and Static. Do these everyday.

3. Perform tumbling drills every day. Forward somersaults, backwards somersaults and spider lunges.

4. Perform One-Arm Snatches, starting with a dumbbell or kettlebell and quickly moving a barbell.

5. Really focus on being loose on each and every rep you perform. Again think movements and do not try to muscle anything. The key is to train your body to move explosively in a relaxed state. This is how you need to be when you are hitting. Your strength work needs to mimic the batter’s box in this regard.
There you have it. It may look simple, yet it is extremely effective in combination with batting practice and tee work. This is a great beginning that anyone can perform to improve early bat speed and overall hitting.

Now, in three years when someone thinks they are on the cutting edge and mentions early bat speed, you will simply laugh as your son is crushing balls over the fence!

Statistics that Matter

Statistics that Matter


Baseball is a game of stats. But, do stats really matter?

The only stats that really matter in youth baseball are the ones that measure the “process” of playing the game. Important stats should answer the question “am I playing the game the right way”.

For an individual player, what really matters is:

- As a hitter, am I having quality at-bats?
- As a pitcher, am I making quality pitches?
- As a fielder, am I making the right plays?
- As a baserunner, am I running the bases the right way?

Unfortunately, there are no stats that answer these questions. And, clearly traditional stats like batting average, earned run average and win-loss record do not answer these questions.

For a team, what matters is scoring more runs than you allow. So, the only stats that matter are directly related to scoring runs or giving up runs.

Here are some stats that do matter for both individuals and the team and that we will pay attention to for the 14u Diamond team:

For hitting:
- % of at-bats that are quality at-bats (target 67%)
- On-base percentage (target 0.500)
- Runs Created - this is calculated number that will be defined later (target 7.5 per game)
- Walk/Strikeout Ratio (target 50% more walks than strikeouts)

For pitching:
- Pitches per inning (target<15)
- % pitches that are strikes (target 66%)
- % of batters that reach base (target < 33%)
- % of batters that score a run (target < 20%)

For team defense:
- less than 2 errors per game
- Get outs on 85% of routine chances

If we achieve these targets, we can be confident that we are playing the game “right”. The result of this process will be lots of wins. But, the process is more important than just winning games.

Zinger Pre Pitching 2