The Advantages of Simplicity in Youth Hitting Coaching

I heard this nice quote the opposite day:

Simplicity is the last word sophistication

At Driveline Baseball we’re clearly identified to be data-driven, and whereas that’s true (and received’t change), we don’t need our coaching environments for younger gamers to be needlessly sophisticated – by knowledge, or anything that doesn’t serve our final aim of talent growth. To that finish, one of many best methods to use this concept of “subtle simplicity” is to make use of Hitting Plyos – particularly the Mini Hitting Plyos – when coaching younger hitters.

Whereas we’ve mentioned the advantages of Hitting Plyos earlier than, it’s value discussing in additional element the simplicity that they convey to coaching, and the precise good thing about that simplicity for youthful gamers to have their hitting mechanics formed by the standard of the batted balls they produce.

The Drawback With Placing Hitting Mechanics First for Youth Hitters

We will (and do) argue concerning the mechanics of hitting all day lengthy. We’ve been doing it on-line for the reason that daybreak of the web, and for many years previous to that in numerous books on baseball coaching. Whether or not it’s advocating for gamers to have a rear-legged swing, a front-legged swing (Charlie Lau anybody?), no-legged (sure I’ve seen this too), linear actions, or rotational actions…our business has been barking into an echo chamber about these concepts seemingly perpetually.

As mother and father and coaches – and oldsters who coach – this attract of “appropriate mechanics” for youth gamers is extremely highly effective because of our degree of affection, care, and funding in our athletes. When working with younger athletes there may be additionally usually the sense that as a result of we’re working with youngsters – who generally is a proverbial clean slate – we will “set up” these mechanics the identical method we’d set up an element on our automotive.

The primary drawback that arises with this method is whether or not the bodily mechanics we’re trying to put in are an accurate match for the bodily functionality of a youth athlete at their present state of organic growth and whether or not they’re bodily able to moving into the positions we expect correspond to our so-called “appropriate” mechanics. On condition that more often than not we’re trying to skilled athletes for inspiration on our ideally suited swing mechanics, and since these skilled athletes are bodily mature adults, a mechanics-first method for kids impressed by the actions of adults may be very prone to be unwell suited to youngsters due to substantial bodily discrepancies between the 2 teams. 

Past that difficulty, more often than not that the best way this mechanics first method is “put in” has youth gamers focusing extra on the best way that their our bodies are transferring and far much less on the batted ball outcomes that they’re creating. That is extremely problematic due to the way it can negatively have an effect on the perceptual job of hitting – deciding when and the place to swing – and the way it locations the batted ball results of the swing secondary to the mechanics of the swing.

The easy actuality is that good hitting is:

• Being on time
• Shifting the bat quick
• Creating flush bat-to-ball contact

with the best outcome being a hard-hit ball. If we need to construct a pyramid of ideally suited swing manufacturing, the bottom of that pyramid is being on time. And if we all know that each on-time swing begins with an on-time swing determination, we have to equip gamers with the kind of cognitive readability that permits for that swing determination to occur on time and be instantly translated into motion. Having gamers deal with the intention of their swings, not their mechanics, and deploying that intention on time helps gamers by placing the very first thing first:

Be on time.

Because the previous saying goes there are “many roads to Rome”. The purpose of that expression right here is that attending to your vacation spot – in our case being on time with the bat relative to every particular person pitch, and creating flush contact between bat and ball – issues greater than the way you truly get there. If the interior cueing sometimes used when swing mechanics are put above swing outcomes comes with some vital web negatives for notion and motor output with older athletes, it’s not unreasonable to anticipate that youth athletes would undergo these flaws extra considerably because of their already biologically restricted motor management and proprioceptive growth.

Moreover, on the subject of gamers subconsciously limiting motor output so as to transfer “appropriately”, getting good at transferring sluggish will not be a Talent That Scales, so we ought to be very delicate to any cues or teaching that pushes gamers towards this level.

A extra ideally suited coaching surroundings for younger gamers has them specializing in a selected intention as the results of their swings, after which utilizing batted ball suggestions to verify whether or not they generated what they supposed. In that case – nice! If not, then it’s time to re-assert the identical intention and take a look at once more. We will practice with this sort of particular intention and get quick suggestions on our swing outcomes by utilizing Mini Hitting Plyos.

Mini Hitting Plyos = Easy Intention & Quick Suggestions

Essentially the most vital good thing about utilizing Mini Hitting Plyos is the constancy of suggestions between the swing intention and swing outcome. The participant has a transparent goal of what every swing ought to produce, and utilizing the Mini Hitting Plyos makes that suggestions on whether or not they achieved the target or not instantly obvious.

The best consequence for every swing with Mini Hitting Plyos is extremely easy:

• Hit the ball flush
• Hit the ball far

When a participant’s bat makes contact with the Mini Hitting Plyo one in every of two issues will occur. 

1. If the participant’s bat made flush contact with the ball, then the Mini Hitting Plyo goes to initially compress in opposition to the barrel, then rebound off of it and retain its round form. 
2. If the participant’s bat will not be making flush contact – both because of not being on time with the incoming pitch, not being on airplane with the incoming pitch, or some mixture of each – the Mini Hitting Plyo goes to “pancake” out – principally spin off-axis and have its form deform.

The advantage of this suggestions simplicity is that it distills the aim and results of every swing all the way down to the simplest and straightforward to grasp degree for the athlete. If flush contact is our first goal, then we’re going to must have our bat each on time and on-plane with the incoming pitch to generate it. 

Our second goal is to hit the Mini Hitting Plyo laborious as a result of doing this not solely necessitates flush bat-to-ball contact but in addition necessitates bat pace. Relating to Expertise That Scale in hitting for youth gamers, there may be nothing extra vital than growing bat pace. Whereas bat pace makes the balls we hit with flush contact productive, it additionally will increase the likelihood that the balls we don’t make flush contact with are extra productive than they in any other case could be.

To briefly unpack this concept, as a lot as we’d prefer it to not be true, gamers will usually make non-ideal contact in competitors. The distinction between a straightforward to discipline floor ball and a ball that squeaks via the infield, or an infield pop-up versus a flare that will get over the infielders’ heads is within the quantity of retained bat pace that will get imparted to the ball.

The advantage of coaching bat pace and elevating its peak worth is that by doing so we’re additionally elevating the bat pace utilized throughout non-ideal contact conditions or when gamers are fooled and must get off one thing aside from their “A swing”.

Hitting the ball laborious is nice, bat pace and flush contact are needed components to realize that consequence, and don’t let anybody let you know completely different.

Robbie “Byrd” Tenerowicz exhibiting that good issues occur whenever you transfer the bat quick and hit the ball flush

Simplicity in Motion

As a result of younger gamers are nonetheless studying the best way to hyperlink motion options (their swings) to perceptual duties (their swing choices) and we don’t need to sample a contact first swing that lacks output, it’s greatest to start out utilizing the Mini Hitting Plyos in comparatively straightforward coaching environments like tee work or facet mushy toss in order that gamers can sample a swing the place flush contact AND bat pace are rewarded. Then, as their success price goes up, we will progressively scale up the problem of the surroundings to agency entrance flips and even stay arm as wanted.

Enjoying easy video games with clear aims is one of the simplest ways to get gamers began utilizing Mini Hitting Plyos, and having gamers obtain these ideally suited aims and be rewarded with factors is one of the simplest ways to have interaction and encourage them.

An instance of this for a younger participant beginning with Mini Hitting Plyos could be to take 8 swings and have a easy aim of hitting 4 of the 8 balls flush. Relying on the age, talent, and expertise of the participant you might need to have them begin with the ball on a Tee, however I might typically suggest beginning with the least difficult coaching surroundings the place the ball remains to be transferring as a result of we will then have interaction gamers within the growth of their swing AND deploying that swing based mostly on their notion of the place and when the ball goes to be.

You may then scale the problem of your coaching video games up both a modification to the coaching surroundings, the problem of the coaching surroundings, or some mixture of each, relying on the aptitude and efficiency of the participant.

Regardless of the configuration so as to hold participant engagement degree excessive it’s vital to take care of our dedication to the clear goal of the duty (hit the Mini Hitting Plyo flush and much) in no matter coaching surroundings we assemble. And as tantalizing as it’s to appropriate no matter swing flaws you might detect alongside the best way, on the subject of younger youngsters who’re continuously rising you’re serving to them – not hurting them – by placing their swing outcome first, as long as the swing outcomes are oriented round our ideally suited batted ball consequence targets.

Conclusion 

If we’re coaching hitters, particularly younger ones who’re continuously studying & relearning the best way to use their our bodies, we must always typically pay extra consideration to their batted ball manufacturing than their mechanics. Younger gamers who’re continuously navigating round their very own quickly altering our bodies can very simply get wrapped up on their very own on this seek for “appropriate” mechanics, even with out the suggestion of what these “appropriate” mechanics are by well-intended coaches or mother and father. It’s an issue that may find yourself as a directionless Journey to Nowhere when that search doesn’t tackle the elemental consequence we wish for every swing, whatever the:

• Velocity
• Location
• Spin
• Motion

We must always practice youth gamers to at all times hit the ball flush, laborious, and ideally far. That is the last word goal for each swing, as a result of it’s the most efficient consequence we will generate within the sport itself. And coaching productive batted ball outcomes performs, whether or not you’re in a facility or on the sector.

Hold it sophisticatedly easy 😉