Absolute Hitting; Part II.
Part II. of Absolute Hitting takes a deeper diver into executing training in and around common practices such a as:
Assessment/Testing
2. Batting Practice/Competitive Rounds
3. Bat Speed Training
Assessments and Tests
Measuring and practicing general movement skills under a controlled tempo, load and direction (magnitude) can explain the why while simultaneously improving the “how”. The insights gathered by the coach and or athlete during this segment of training can be used to enrich the proceeding, more specific practices.
Batting Practice/Competitive Rounds
During “BP”, certain limitations are exposed and exploited to improve the hitter’s ability to improve execution in specific scenarios ***you can use (temp) to troubleshoot and immediately retest a theoretical cause for the error. A specific example can be in attempting to improve a hitters initial commitment to swing (positive acceleration), whereas if the “early-late” error persists, then the issue can be attributed to a non-physical characteristic. Perhaps the hitter is late due limited balance during the stride. This physical error results in the hitter pushing off the back leg which disrupts rotational timing, thus decision making.
Bat Speed Training
This seems to be a controversial topic at the moment in the sports performance zeitgeist. The purpose of introducing max effort velocity training for a hitter is like any other special strength development. The value goes only as far as the purpose and dosage. Raising the athletes tolerance for strength and speed requires a spectrum of volume, intensity and density. With a healthy dose of variable inputs, sport-related stain/stress does not put the athlete at a “repetitive deficit”. Specifically, the capacity the hitter has for rotational (angular) velocity in game and over the course of the season is a fraction of what they possess in a maximal (and potentially sub-maximal) setting.
To go back to the analogy well, if a car CAN drive 300 MPH, and is frequently driven at the edge of its limit, it will mechanically break down faster than a car that CAN drive 400 MPH and is frequently driven the same way.
In the 3rd and final entry of Absolute Hitting, will conclude with examples of how the Hyper Stride can be systematically implemented to improve the hitter’s preparedness all year round.