The Hitting Pyramid

A Player Development Mindset During The Season What to expect

• Goals of each • Challenges of the high school hitting coach • A little bit of math… • WHY • What is the hitting pyramid? What to expect

• My principles of improvement • Tools and protocols to improve hitters • Practice Continuum • Drills to address each level of the pyramid Goal for each at bat

1. the ball hard 2.Hit a line drive 3.Get on base Challenges of a high school hitting coach

• 20-25 players

• 2-4 coaches (1 or 2 hitting coaches?)

• 45 mins/day to hit (roughly)

• 1 hitting coach = 2.25-3 mins/day/kid

• 2 hitting coaches = 5-6 mins/day/kid

• 16 practices from day 1 until 1st game

• 96 mins or about 3 - half hour hitting lessons before games start

• Kids have taken thousands and thousands of “flawed” swings

• SPACE!!! Problems with a cue dominant approach

• Dependent on the player to understand the cue • Can they physically do what you are asking? • Dependent on them to focus on it in the 40ish minutes you’re not with them.

• Don’t have time for thinking in baseball swing • Often go back to “what is comfortable” in competition • Development often stops once game starts Hitting is making an educated guess at more and more complex problems Time for some math!! 21÷7

21÷7

21÷7

21÷7

21 / 7

21÷ 3

48÷12

Solve For X:

�2 + 7� = − 12 2 different solutions

Multiple ways to solve the problem

You can never learn this…

… by doing this… The approach I’m taking

• Why - Zach Schutta

• Give the body goals, let the player figure the solution

• Implicit learning (player “figures it ”)

• Apply skills faster to game situations

• Hold up better under competition

• Stand up under psychological stress

• Eliminate cognition or thinking in training, you eliminate it during competition

• Create reaction and intent

• Kids need to learn how to fail This approach is not… swing as hard as you can and hit it in the air. We have finite time

• We need to prioritize

• Where do we get the best bang for our buck?

• What can we affect most?

• How can athletes best work on their own? “Mechanics are important, but I would rather spend the bulk of training time developing the central nervous system and sprinting full speed than battling an already deeply ingrained motor pattern that in the end may be extremely difficult to alter”

–Zach Dechant, Movement over Maxes The Pyramid /Plan Recognition

• Plan is unique to your team

• Make sure your plan is present in your batting practice

• Velocity

• speed

• Fastball or change up

• Location

• Ball or strike

• Good pitch to hit or bad pitch to hit

• Pitch type • Fastball,

• Can you see spin

• Can you see angle of pitch out of hand

• Looking for clues Elite Bat Speed/Quickness

• What is elite bat speed?

• How quick is quick enough?

• How important is it?

• It can be deceiving depending on how it’s measured Bat Speed Results Bat Speed Goals

• There is A LOT more to hitting than bat speed • 65mph+ for high school hitters • Improve while not increasing TTC or altering AA • Test is as close to game conditions as possible • Bat speed is like money, can’t have too much… • If it obtained properly Quickness

• Time to contact • 2019 team average .15s • Lower TTC w/ adequate bat speed = make a decision later

• It can be trained Adaptability and Timing

• On time with best fastball • Hold force between feet during swing • Ability to hit pitches all over the zone • Ability to hit pitches to all fields • How good would a high school hitter be if they swing at strikes, took balls, had good bat speed and were on time with the pitcher’s best fastball? Elite Movements - Sequence and AA

• Attack angle • Ideally between 5-15 • Most productive hitters 4-12 • Could not hit below 0 or above 20 What swing is best?

• If you get the ball in the air with authority, you have the gift to produce the most important hit in baseball… the home What swing is best?

• If you get the ball in the air with authority, you have the gift to produce the most important hit in baseball… the What swing is best (Nelson’s take)

• If you get the ball in the air with authority, you have the gift to produce the most important hit in high school baseball… the The new horizon

• Matching player’s physical screen to the type of swing they should have

• Loose movers (t- spine, hip i/r) - Larger load

• Tight movers - Smaller load What confidence is not

• False sense of success from blocked, simple BP

• Inflating someone’s ability What confidence IS

• Solving progressively more complex problems

• Comfort with game- like conditions through exposure Principles of Improvement

• Nothing happens overnight

• Test and retest model - are we seeing changes

• If in season, could fatigue be a factor?

• Bucket players by weaknesses

• Learn to accentuate strengths (Mike Trout) The tools

• Heavy bats - Intent, help sequence the swing, add load to kids w/o load, add variation • Power pipes • Pennies taped to bats • Rawlings hitting jack-it • Bats for older kids • Light bats - Bat speed (underload), add variation, quickness • Fungo bats • Softball bats • Senior league bats • -5s • Med balls - Quickness, sequencing the swing, improve rotational power The tools

• Targets (real or imaginary) - Help w/ swing plane, external focus • - to simulate velocity from 60 feet (really 54 or 55) • Be careful with the factory settings - Too much spin • Plyo balls – Small space, change resistance, square it up “attack angle”

• Pocket Radar – Exit velocity testing, fun, competition • PVC Pipe – Swing path, shoulder tilt The tools

• Rapsodo

• Blast Motion Sensor

• Bat speed

• Attack angle

• Time to contact

• Vertical bat angle • What I learned about Blast

• Top of team numbers in one, didn’t = good hitter

• Average or above average in all 3 categories usually did

• There’s more to hitting than the swing Blast Data > 60 AB Blast Data < 60 AB The Clubs #roadto100

• Must do it twice • Varsity • 90 & 95mph • JV • 85, 90 & 95mph • 100mph • Plaque in The batting practice continuum The drills! Pitch Recognition Drills

Bat Speed/Quickness Bat Speed/Quickness

• Heavy bat – Strength and bat speed • Light bat – Bat speed and quickness • Exit velo test (Jugs or pocket radar) • Med ball • Weight Room • Chipotle

Timing/adaptability - Be on time with their best fastball Inside/Outside/Take Tee

Elite Movements Movement drills you have seen… • Heavy bat drills off tee/front toss/velo • Med ball throws – sequence and speed • Hitting plyos – attack angle • 10 Toes - sequence • 10 Toes vs. Plyo Balls – sequence, AA

Medicin ball scoop toss video The set up for 22 players

• 4 cage stations (kids throw)

• 5 tee stations (2 per)

• Medball/Core station

• Bunting station (coach throw)

• Hang signs at each station

• 2 mins/hitter/station

• Done in 48 mins Your challenge… Bucket your drills Cornerstone Podcast

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• Wisconsin resource page

• www.cornerstonecoachingacademy.com/wisconsin/ Contact Info

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @Coach_KNelson