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Bottom of the Second

One of the most important things to understand in teaching hitting, is how to analyze what a hitter really needs. Identifying the weaknesses of an individual hitter starts with knowing what the common swing flaws look like. Recognizing and then fixing these mechanical swing flaws is crucial to a hitter’s development, and helps in fixing the hitter’s biggest problems at the plate. However, there is a lot more to it. There is always a reason why these mechanical flaws happen in hitting, and the answer is not always mechanical. Be careful not to jump to conclusions that all swing flaws happen because of mechanical reasons. This is a common misconception in teaching hitting. Most of the time, the problems we see the hitter having at the plate are created by specific swing flaws that stem from other non mechanical issues. This gives “the circle effect” which helps us to understand how everything mechanical and non mechanical works together in hitting.

After figuring out the hitter’s true problems, fixing those problems takes time. Be sure not to work on too many things at once. Remember that most swing flaws cause other swing flaws to happen, so if the hitter works on fixing certain issues, other issues will naturally improve as well! If the hitter can identify what causes their negative results on the field, and fix these issues, they will find more consistent success at the plate. This also allows them to advance into learning the needed aspects in becoming a “hitter.” Bat speed, mentality, making adjustments, and approach are the next steps in this development, but to get to this level, we must be able to identify and fix the hitter’s on field problems.

End of the Inning

Teaching hitting is not as easy as knowing what the swing should look like, but giving the hitter what they really need!