Your Swing Health

We determine the health of our swing in four ways:

• Visual Evaluation of the swing

• The Ball Speaks to you

• Game Statistics

• Objective Metrics

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VISUAL EVALUATION

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This will soon become discussed less and less I am afraid.  Even though I am a huge believer in the importance of technology and what it can tell us, I still believe it is critically important to be able to see the swing and its components.  To be able to see a long swing or a hitch or, well, whatever.  The more technology develops the less this skill will exist.  It is like the impact of the calculator.  Once we started getting used to the calculator we slowly lost the ability to do math in our head.

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The more you Coaches and Instructors, don't allow technology to decrease your ability to evaluate visually.  Use technology to improve it, not harm it.

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Use video often.  This is a great way to stay connected with your visual abilities.

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THE BALL SPEAKS LOUDLY

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I like to tell my hitters the ball is talking to you.  She tells you four things:

• "Wow, you hit me hard"

• "Great job, you hit a line drive"

• "You are staying inside the ball"

• "Keep up the backspin"

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The ball will give you an idea of what you are doing with the bat if;

• You aren't hitting the ball very hard

• You are popping up or grounding out

• You are getting beat or way too early

• You are rolling over/topspin

• and more...

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Learn to listen to the ball!

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GAME STATISTICS

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I knew a college coach that used game statistics exclusively to determine playing time.  I think this is a pretty good way to do it but it can also take you down a path of failure.  Some statistics can be misleading.  

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METRICS

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Yes, this is becoming more and more important and the great thing is that Metrics are objective.  It isn't just your opinion that her bat is slow but you can confirm it with metrics.  As technology improves so do metrics and there are more and more metrics available almost every month.  Metrics are great but you must learn to look at them as just one part of the evaluation.  Honestly, they are an important part but doesn't take in consideration the emotional & mental aspect of hitting.

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