Begin with the End in Mind:

Rounding Third

Begin with the End in Mind:
Reflections from 2007 to Create Focus for 2008
By Dr. Doug Gardner - ThinkSport

The end of the year is a great time to take a look back and think about the many things that happened to you during 2007 both academically and in terms of baseball.

Think back to January 1st of last year...How much have you grown up since then? Did you set any goals or New Year’s Resolutions last year? Did you meet these goals and your own personal expectations?

Transport yourself to one year from now...Where do you see yourself? Where do you want to be? What have you learned from this past year that you can apply in your work in 2008? What do you want to have accomplished one year from now?

The beginning of the calendar year is the perfect time to take a step back and reflect upon where you have been and utilize this information to better the path you will take in reaching your short-term and long-term goals.

No matter how talented of a baseball player you are, you can always get better and improve. Few athletes actually take the time to assess, critique and formulate improvement strategies in an objective, honest and constructive manner.

Most athletes spend their assessment time being too harsh on themselves when mistakes are made, performance is poor and when games are lost. When things go well, athletes often do not think too much as to why they are having the success they are having. People believe that thinking too much about their successes will lead to negative outcomes in the future.

This either-or syndrome often interferes with our ability to assess our preparation and performance objectively and rationally. If I do well? Great! Keep it going and don’t ask questions. If I do poorly? Well, open the flood gates and berate yourself.

To be objective, an athlete must create a standardized and systematic way to assess themselves. I suggest that athletes categorize their preparation and performance into three distinct areas:

• Physical - Cardiovascular fitness, strength/core training, diet & nutrition, injury prevention.

• Fundamental - Aspects related to the development of the many physical skills specifically related to the sport(s) you participate in.

• Mental - Focus, intensity, purpose, trust, strategy formulation, adversity and coping skills, decision-making capabilities.

Let us try a short exercise...

When answering the following questions, be as specific and detailed as possible in relation to the physical, fundamental and mental aspects of your preparation and performance.

1. What aspects of your performance were you pleased with last year?
2. What aspects of your performance were you NOT pleased with last year?
3. Did you prepare to the best of your abilities, on a day-to-day basis?
4. How can your commitment and preparation improve?
5. How have you matured as a person and as an athlete over the past twelve months?
6. What can you do right now to start working and improving areas of weakness?

Remember, this is not a test. Nobody else will see your answers and only you will know if you are truly being honest and objective with yourself. Please e-mail me with your critique of yourself and your performance if you would like some feedback.

www.thinksport.com

Rounding Third

There's Never an Offseason

RT Staff Note: We received an e-mail from one of our readers that passed along a letter his son received 2 years ago from an "advisor" that saw his son play at some showcases and camps. He sent it to us because he reads our blog almost every day and our past posts were almost identical to the words of this "advisor". At the request of the parent, we omitted names and references to the specifics like names and locations of the particular showcases. For the record, the player that this letter was addressed to had over 6 college offers and is presently playing and starting at a major D-I. He listened to the constructive criticism he received and benefited greatly. Will many of you players out there do the same?

Dear (Player),
I am a (Baseball Advisor) and I saw you play at (some recent camps and showcases). I have also talked with a lot of other recruiters and scouts that seem to like your abilities a lot. You have the body type, athleticism and skills that scouts and recruiters are looking for. That's the good news and definitely something to build on.

My job as a (advisor) is to identify and critique players and to prepare them for their future as a potential draft pick whether it is next year or after your junior year in college. While you have the basic tools, I am going to brutally honest with you and say that you need some major adjustments in the attitude department. Let me explain. I have heard that you are very coachable. That is not the problem. However, a house pet is "coachable". I can get my dog to do whatever I tell him, if you get the analogy. You need to work on what every player in the Bigs has. You need to play and display your talents with a lot of extra heart at the plate, in the field and in the dug-out. You need to make quicker decisions, have better instincts and be aware of the situation around you. Let me see a more hard nosed approach and the sky is the limit for you.

For example, although this may seem minor, I have been watching your approach at the plate. You start off looking great. You look very confident until the pitcher gets into his wind-up and then your confidence takes a hit a bit. A good pitcher, catcher or coach will pick that up and start to challenge you more. As a result, that gives the pitcher the advantage. Also, you may have been nervous but, at the (XYZ Showcase) you took a lot of good pitches. You need to attack those pitches and take them to the opposite field. As you get older and the competition gets stiffer, you will not see many "wheelhouse fastballs". You need to have the confidence that you can hit ANY ball at ANY part of the strike zone to ANY part of the park.

A lot of hitting is more about the mental approach than the physical. You need to put yourself in the mindset that you are in control. You OWN that pitcher. I don't care if he is throwing 95 or 75. You OWN him. You have the tools. You are like a high tech race car that is capable of reaching speeds of up to 230 mph. But if you don't put your foot on the gas pedal, you won't go anywhere. Your brain and attitude is your gas pedal. Step on it and you will reach your potential.

From now until the beginning of your high school season is your time to concentrate on getting better. Are you doing that everyday? If not, you will not reach your potential or goals. The type of player we are looking for swings at least 5-600 times a day...everyday. The type of player we are looking for is working on his defense everyday with a fellow player, his father, brother or by himself. That is the most important thing of all.

You are at the stage of your life where as a position player, you will be playing over 100 ball games a year. You need to be in top physical condition to be able to withstand that kind of schedule. Whether you play infield or outfield at the next level, you need to strengthen your legs, your core, and turn your arm into an Iron Mike. You need to have a schedule and stick by that schedule everyday. I suggest mornings before lunch (follow that up with a big, hearty lunch) in the summer and once school starts, take advantage of your schools facilities and work out a good three hours a day everyday including Fridays with a different routine every other day.

(Player), we look at hundreds of ball players just like you each year. I am telling you all of this because most don't have the athleticism that you have, but they have the heart. If you could just work harder and smarter each and everyday, you will see unbelievable results. For instance, according to the XYZ Showcase), you ran a 7 second sixty. By the time your high school season starts, we would like you to run a 6.7 sixty. Again, you have the body to do that, you just need the desire, attitude and work ethic to make it happen.

I hope you take my advice seriously, because scouts will be watching and following you. Good luck the rest of your summer and fall. We will be seeing you this coming high school season. If you follow my advice, you will dominate your league and then, who knows what will happen next?

The Future of Baseball

WebBall.com - Challenge Essay #3

WebBall.com - Challenge Essay #3: "OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE
THE CENTRAL ISSUE OF INSTRUCTION

- Steve Englishbey, EnglishbeyHitting.com
It seems to me that the central issue is this: How does one go about creating optimum of near optimum performance in actual game conditions, and do this consistently? How does one go about practicing in ways that ways that would facilitate this? And what is it that one needs to take into game conditions that would facilitate retaining that which you have been practicing?

Within this central question are really two questions:

1. Are you in fact actually practicing in ways that would best help to facilitate the enhancement of performance in game conditions?
2. Assuming that this is indeed the case, why is this not 'showing up' in the actual game conditions?


The first question really has to do with things having to do with understanding the actual biomechanics involved that allow for optimal or near optimal performance. Simply put, whatever inefficiencies that you have that will impede your ability to hit the best pitching that you might face at whatever level that you are playing at, will not really be revealed when you are in the cage hitting against batting practice pitching.

Thus, I would argue that if you are not practicing in ways that promote the kinds of mechanical efficiency that you will most likely need against the top pitching you will face at your level, you are not practicing in ways that will best facilitate optimal or near optimal performance in game conditions.

But, for this article, I want to leave out the issues surrounding this question, and instead focus on the second question - why are my good swings that I have in practice not showing up in games?

About eight years ago, I was working as a part-time select team coach, and there was a particular hitter that really hit well in practice, and he practiced a lot, and took lessons regularly, and was very serious about trying to become a better hitter.

But......none of this tended to translate into his game performance.

My advice to him? Did I give him a long explanation as to why his mechanics were breaking down in a game?

No. I said this: 'When you go up to the plate I want you to think - seriously think - I DON'T GIVE A S*** ABOUT WHETHER I HIT WELL OR NOT.'

This seemingly counter-intuitive 'instruction' was given for a very simple reason: He had become OVERFOCUSED on what has been described by motor learning experts as 'outcome orientation'.

As opposed to having a 'process orientation'.

In batting practice, he was very much ' process ' oriented. Meaning he was all about trying to develop a ' sense of feel ' about what his mind and body were doing or not doing as he swung the bat in batting practice. The focus was on the kinds of feelings involved in creating good movement, and not so good movement. And the focus involved the kind of mental outlook, levels of arousal, concentration, etc involved in ' feeling ' this process by which he was thinking and acting as he swung the bat. (And I do mean to suggest that all of this kind of focus is of an explicit nature. No. Its both implicit and explicit, or conscious, and subconscious respectively.)

In batting practice then, the focus was on the process' by which he went about thinking thru the experience of 'being in the moment', i.e. the thinking involved in having an exclusive and concentrated focus on the mind/body engagement involved in 'feeling the process'.

In this situation 'outcome' is part of the process of course, i.e. there is feedback as to where the balls are going, if he was 'early or late', etc.

But, this was not the main or exclusive focus. The real focus was on body awareness and the kind of focus necessary to create this kind of 'getting inside' the swing process.

PROCESS ORIENTATION ABSENT

In game conditions this process orientation was nearly completely absent. In games it suddenly became an kind of anxiety ridden outlook that could be distilled into 'I need to perform now, I need to hit well, I've got to perform well.' etc., etc., etc.

This kind of thinking - thinking about the future, thinking about the performance, thinking about the outcome - was not at all how he was thinking when he hit well in the cage.

And I have known quite a few athletes that tend to suffer from this kind of over focus on the outcome when game time comes.

As opposed to taking the mind /body focus that they have when practicing ---the kind of mind/body experience that allows and facilitates the optimum or near optimum levels of focus, arousal, and engagement physical and mental processes that best allow one to eliminate or better control all the many external factors and distractions that have little to do with the kinds of internal processes that are really driving the process of good performance in games.


FOCUS BECOMES A HINDRANCE

This kind of over-focus on outcome can take the 'psycho-physical ' characteristics of what motor learning specialist Richard Schmidt referred to in his book Motor Learning and Performance as 'hyper-vigilance'.

This is a kind of mental and physical condition wherein the athlete has gone beyond his optimal level of arousal. Simply put, an optimal level of arousal and focus 'would be one that produces an 'attentional' focus narrow enough to exclude many irrelevant cues, yet broad enough to pick up the most relevant ones.'

By focusing too exclusively on the outcome of performance - that which is external to the process of getting into the 'here and now', the level of arousal and focus becomes a hindrance to performance. Which then leads to a kind of 'freezing up' of the mind/body.

As Schmidt writes 'They freeze because the decision-making ability of people in a hyper-vigilant state is severely limited do to an extreme perceptual narrowing and several other factors. Such a condition also degrades the physical control of movements, causing actions that are normally performed in a smooth and flowing manner under more relaxed circumstances to be stiff and halting.'

My experience - both as one who has actually 'been in the arena', as well as someone who works with a variety of hitters - is that aspects of the above, i.e. an over-focus on performance at game time can lead to subtle and not so subtle versions of this kind of 'hyper-vigilance.'


MITIGATING HYPER-VIGILANCE

How does one try to help mitigate against this kind of over aroused and 'out of focus' kind of mental state at game time?

One of the things that I try to do as an instructor is to try to get young hitters to understand certain fundamental components of the swing, i.e. things which I think underlie all good swings. The goal is to find ways to practice these components in ways that leads to both a greater cognitive and kinesthetic awareness of what these components are and what they 'feel like'. This is a process that is largely an intrinsic and internal affair ,which over time begins to operate as a kind of 'internalized coach' if you will. Over time and with this kind of practice and focus ,you are able to better understand what it is you are doing to create your best swings versus your less than optimal swings.

In developing an ability to take what you have been practicing into a game, you have to be able to take this 'internalized coach' into a game setting. And you have to practice in ways that best facilitate this kind of mental and physical focus, emphasis ,and concentration. This is not something wherein you are 'thinking too much' or overanalyzing the swing. To the contrary, it is much more 'emotionally neutral' and is much more along the lines of coming to understand better the mental and physical factors that are involved in your 'good swing'.

And the trick is to ONLY think about those factors in game conditions. And to be able to know how to control your mental and physical state in game that keep you within these parameters.

Exactly what these components are ,and how one would go about working thru this may be beyond the scope of this article. But one quick example would be a player who I worked with 'gave up' thinking about performance in the traditional sense, and instead concentrated on simply trying to swing the bat the in a game like he had been practicing and doing in batting practice. And 'think about the process' in a very similar fashion. By thinking about the process involved in getting off a good swing his performance actually improved.

In terms of development and in terms of transfer from practice to actual performance - this kind of 'giving up performance' can potentially be very beneficial to those who tend to be '5:30 hitters' instead of game-time hitters."

Josh Womack and Prentice Redman Bat Tricks

You Call This Baseball?

The New England Catching Camp» Blog Archive » You Call This Baseball?

You Call This Baseball?

I begin this post with a disclaimer. I run a program for catchers. I sleep, drink and eat catching. I look at baseball through the eyes of the catcher. I try to come up with ways that leagues can better help the development of their leagues catchers.

When I use the term Minors level in this article I am refering to ages 8-9, maybe some 10″s

I discovered a number of years ago one of the reasons that it is often hard to get enough kids to want to catch. At the Minors level, why would a kid want to be responsible for 20 runs scoring? Since the pitchers are still learning to hit the glove, and he is struggling to figure out how to catch the ball in the dirt, it is not uncommon for there to be 20 runs scored solely on passed balls. Why would a kid want to get behind the plate when he knows he’s going to “Let” 20 runs score.

Few kids get the opportunity to learn to tag on a fly ball when on third and score from there because the first pitch that goes in the dirt and gets by the catcher he scores. Actually in many games, every kids that gets on scores. And you call this baseball????

A few years ago the youth program in our town made the change that in the Minors there would be no scoring from 3rd on a pass ball. NO Scoring at all!!!! By the 2nd week of the season we were having games 2-1, 3-2, like real baseball, not 21-17 . It took the pressure off the pitcher and catcher to relax and have fun and not be so overly concerned about runs scoring.

The next season we made another observation. Our infielders never had the chance to make force plays. As soon a player got on first they player would “steal” 2nd, then “steal 3rd” and any chance for a force was usually lost. So we implemented the following rule change. No runner can move, even on a pass ball, until there are 2 strikes on the batter. Now there were many opportunities to make the force at 2nd or 3rd. And we even saw a few double plays that first year. We did have some coaches complain about the reduction in running. But then they have a very unrealistic view of base running at the youth level anyway. Here’s there idea of what happens when a runner gets on first.

Pitch crosses plate, runner goes,…sorta…catcher fakes throw, runner goes back to 1st….sorta….runner dances the jig off of first to bait catcher to throw,…catcher runs out from behind the plate very badly faking a throw…..runner goes back to 1st…sorta….catcher tosses ball to pitcher, runner must go back to first..,…yeah that was baseball.

Try that base running at the Babe Ruth Level on the 90ft diamond and the runner will be picked off every time. Why do coaches encourage all this unrealistic base running that in no way teaches anything that will be used once the player gets to the bigger field. Simple, the coach wants to win, and doesn’t care if the tactics he employs are not ones the kids will use at the higher levels.

No wonder our youth catchers have so much trouble making the throw at the big field. It’s bad enough that the throw is 42 feet farther then the small diamond, but as a youth player they have never been able to use the simple premise of..Runner goes..catcher throws. We have allowed our catchers to get caught up in the ridiculous game of cat and mouse coaches play on the base paths instead of just acting like a catcher and making the throw. Teach your catchers if they see the guy break, make the throw, don’t wait for the coverage to get there, make the throw. That’s real baseball. If the infielder doesn’t go to the bag because he’s not paying attention, then he will be the one that needs the instruction. If your centerfielder is paying attention then he will do what his job is and back up the play. That’s baseball!!!

Put in place rules that limit this joke called base running that has no other purpose then to run up scores at the expense of the development of young catchers and pitchers. I’m not opposed to teaching aggressive base running, stretching a single to a double, tagging up from 3rd on the fly to the outfield. But the ridiculous antics of some teams that run the bases in a manner that will only ensure they will be thrown out when they get to the higher levels needs to stop.

Learning the Pujols Approach

JUSTIN STONE TRAINING BLOG: Learning the Pujols Approach

Learning the Pujols Approach
Ok I'll admit, although I work for the White Sox, I've been a lifelong Cardinals fan. With that being said, players that work with me probably get tired of me talking about Albert Pujols in regards to the swing. One of the things I've been happiest with in talking to my players recently, is how successful their approaches have been at the plate.
There is much more to hitting than mechanics. Players need to understand their strengths and weaknesses, what a pitcher is trying to do to them to get them out, situations, and also how the count affects what they are looking for. Anyone that follows baseball knows the terror Pujols has been on to start the season. When I'm not working, I try to watch as many at bats of his as possible. One thing that I've noticed of Pujols, like most hitters who are in hot streaks, is he is not hitting out of his "zone."
"Zone" hitting simply means that a hitter does not have to cover all 17 inches of home plate all the time. No player is good enough to cover that much of home plate successfully. What hitters need to do is seperate what they consider their "hitter's pitch" from the "pitcher's pitch." If hitter's are patient enough to stay in their "zone" until they get two strikes on them, they are going to find that ball in the middle of the plate eventually. Here is how I know this. No pitcher at the ameatuer level is going to throw three balls on a corner in one at bat. I know this becauase big league pitchers can't do it either. The closest guy to doing so was Greg Maddux, which was why he was still pitching in the big leagues throwing 83mph at the end of his career. That being said, there will be a hitter's pitch in every at bat, or the pitcher walked the hitter. Hitter's just have to be patient enough to get that pitch. It may be the first pitch of the at-bat, or it may not be until later in the at bat, but in any case it will be there.
That is what has made Pujols so good so far this year, and in his entire career. He simply doesn't give in to the pitcher on a "pitcher's pitch." This makes the pitcher either force something into the heart of the plate, or walk Pujols. And Pujols has been patient enough to take his walks. Pitchers often comment that there is no one way to pitch to Pujols and I believe that is true. When Pujols has struggled in short stints in the past, it is because he finds himself trying to do too much and he begins chasing "pitcher's pitches" thus getting himself out. This is no different than most big league hitters. When they stay in their "zone" and try not to do too much, they hit "hitter's pitches." When they chase, they struggle, making their hitting zone much too large and too hard to cover and getting themselves out. Bonds and Manny (Steroids Aside) were also great at this. Here is a great quote by Manny in a recent ESPN article, talking about the pitch on the inner third of the plate, "I don't swing at that pitch unless I've got two strikes. And then I just try to foul it off." What Manny is saying, is the inner third is not a "hitter's pitch" for him, so he lets it go until he has to hit it.
A simple generic approach I have taught my hitters that they have raved about to start their seasons is that early or up in the count 0-0, 1-0, 2-0 or 3-1 I'm looking in a general area 3 or 4 baseball's in width. As I add a strike, 0-1, 1-1, 2-1 we add a baseball on each side, which is still excluding the corners (pitcher's pitches). Of course with two strikes, we have to cover the plate, plus some, and our approach takes us to looking for the fastball away. This general approach has slight changes from person to person based on their individual strengths and weaknesses. There are a dozen drills that we do working on this specific approach. I know it works, based on the feedback from my students and from watching Pujols tear the cover off the ball to start the year! The bottom line is that a "hitter's pitch" is something a hitter should hit hard 7/10 times while "pitcher's pitches" we may only hit hard 1 or 2 out of 10 times. What balls should hitter's be attacking? If a hitter can learn to stay in their "zone", hitting becomes a lot easier.