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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

VISUAL EVALUATION

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.

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.

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

THE BALL SPEAKS LOUDLY

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"

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...

Learn to listen to the ball!

GAME STATISTICS

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.  

METRICS

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.

METRICS SWING HEALTH CHECK UP

Just like our body health, we need a swing health check-up from time to time.  Our swing health check-up is where we put the hitter through an evaluation to test their metrics.  This is a great way to see if things are matching up with what you are seeing or how she is doing on the field.  

Sometimes we don't see some things that the metrics can tell us.

We test the following Metrics  (click on for more details)

  • Bat Speed

  • Bat Velocity

  • Hand Velocity

  • Power Index

  • Timing Factor

  • Exit Velocity

  • Attack Angle

  • On Plane Efficiency

  • Power Efficiency

  • Consistency Factor

  • Production Ratio

VIDEO ANALYSIS

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