Members Only Blog

I’ve been using the Pitcher Knee Lift Drill a lot recently in my lessons. This week’s Members Blog touches on a few key details within this popular drill.

See the final pieces of my hitting talk with Andy Haines.  

You’ve heard the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its’ cover.” I think this phrase applies to hitting and I see coaches all the time giving feedback based on the finish of a swing.

We’ve talked on here before that sometimes what a hitters “feels” differs from what is really happening in his or her swing. This week’s members blog goes back to that topic and how sometimes over coaching an action during drill work can help a hitter’s feel during live BP or a game setting.

It’s important to allow your hitters to explore in the batters box and find the style that best suites their body. However, as young hitters explore and imitate different big leaguers, it’s important that they are able to control the style they are working within.

This week I bring you guys into a lesson with me and New York Yankees 2nd round pick Nick Solak.  Nick played at the University of Louisville and has been a student of mine since he was about 10 years old.   Member Blog – Solak Hitting Session from Elite Baseball on Vimeo.

One of the main issues that holds hitters back is hitting coaches confusing compensatory flaws and original flaws. Compensatory flaws are generally easy to see and happen during the deceleration portion of the swing, but are caused by original flaws that occur during the loading or initial launch of the swing.

Taking BP on a field provides feedback to hitters that you cannot get in a cage. Hitters should try and get out on a full field to take some rounds this summer.

When teaching an amateur hitter or working on your own swing, it is easy to cloud your brain with thoughts. In a normal training progression, going from tee work, to front toss, to live BP, you need to progressively think less mechanics at each stop.

I walk through the Hitter’s Timeline and breakdown what is happening from a physiological standpoint at each stop on the timeline.

Chicago White Sox fans have been excited about the addition of power hitting 3rd basemen Todd Frazier all off season. Frazier hit his first HR in a White Sox uniform this week when he maintained his lower body coil and upper body scap load and deposited a Chris Bassitt curveball over the wall.

Coaches, your hitting drills should be taking your players through the load/stride process and through a fluid movement of the swing. Drills that start and stop this process create robotic hitters and the swing just simply does not work that way.

Early season at-bats can be frustrating for amateur hitters. Northern states are still dealing with questionable weather and players are still finding their timing. Today I give you a five point checklist to self evaluate your early season at-bats. It’s not all about the result. Positive results will come if you’re feeling good about these five points.

Hitting drill progression focusing on hitters adjusting to off speed pitches.

Finishing up our series on the worst hitting drills of all time I touch on the Drop Ball drill.

Continuing our series of the Worst Hitting Drills of All-Time, I dissect the High Back Tee Drill.

The worst hitting drill of all time.

This weekend I had the privilege to open up the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Convention in St. Louis, MO. If you couldn’t make the convention you can hear my entire presentation and question and answer session below.

This week Matt Pierce goes over hand path and some coaching cues that lead to poor hand path.

As you get going on your training season, be sure to be efficient with your training time and stay away from drills like the one handed drills.

“Keep Your Eye on the Ball.” A phrase everyone that has ever played baseball has heard and no one has ever questioned. But is this coaching cue really addressing the issue it is attempting to fix?

As we head into the home stretch of division pennant races and head into postseason play, the topic of clutch hitting will inevitably come up during several broadcasts. What makes a player a “clutch” hitter?

This week Coach Stone talks about finding that comfortable work pace in the batters box that allows the body to stay sequenced, loose and whippy. This often times isn’t a max effort swing and it is important for hitters to know just where that effort level is.

If there is a time to make a mechanical adjustment it is during the upcoming few months. This week Coach Stone goes over that process and how to have success making necessary adjustments.

The fall season is a a great time to let hitters be who they are and during that process you, as a hitting coach, can evaluate and build your plan for their off-season development. This will also give you the chance to see if guys with unconventional approaches or swings need to be changed or just left alone.

Often times, in game situations, a player’s heart rate far exceeds what that player experiences during a practice setting. During practice, players a calm and in control of the situation.

With youth and high school seasons in full swing, we get a lot of questions regarding drills to aid practice time efficiency. One drill that I use regularly with our players that can be used to target 5 different swing flaws is the “Feet Together, Pull Back” drill.

It was opening weekend for youth leagues across Chicago and the rest of the country and as youth ball players had their first at-bats of the season, the questions came rolling in regarding the youngest hitters. The week, I discuss how to tailor your coaching towards your youth hitters to maximize their success.

The swing sequence, starting from the lower body, feeds the rest of the segments of the swing to produce the hitter’s bat speed. Any inefficiency up the chain, will then, result in a loss of bat speed.

Are the coaching cues you’re giving your hitters really helping them? With so many coaching cues focusing on the deceleration portion of the swing, many times the root cause of the issue is being ignored. This week Justin addresses these cues and discusses the order to attack on each body part to get your hitter in sequence.

Justin Stone tackles another Ask.FM question from a member in this week’s Members Only Blog.

This week Justin talks about the instructional regimen he puts his hitters through in preparation for a season. Different times of the year call for mechanical work while others are strictly for timing and approach.

See some highlights from the Q&A Portion of Justin Stone’s appearance at the NWBC in Portland, Oregon.

This past weekend Justin Stone traveled to Portland, Oregon, to the Northwest Baseball Convention. Stone concluded Friday night’s activities with his presentation on hitting efficiency.

In the first Members Only blog post Justin Stone discusses the importance of controlling the ground during the swing.  Check out a short preview of the blog below.