Maximizing Your Offseason
11/04/2010, 8:15am (EDT)
By Joe Francisco, Photo by Ellen Schuerger
With the fall baseball season coming to a close and the winter right around the corner we will discuss what an off season development program should contain in this issue of BPM. With so many baseball academies, facilities and instructors on Long Island, finding the right program and instructor to train with it is extremely difficult. Here is a blueprint that entails everything you need to know in your pursuit of the best program possible.
Below you will find four essential components that will be contained in any legitimate program:
EVALUATION
Getting a high level instructor to initially evaluate and assess any and every problem area in the swing is crucial. A well trained instructor will be able to immediately identify technical deficiencies in the swing that will lead to negative results. What you do right, wrong, problem areas, misconceptions and fallacies about hitting should all be covered. It’s important to find yourself working with an instructor who has the ability to
recognize, both the strengths and weaknesses, of your swing The initial evaluation process will allow the instructor to assess how you generate power, assess whether your timing is effective, and understand what it is that will help you have the swing necessary for maximum success in the batter’s box. A thorough evaluation process is the first step to improvement.
EDUCATION
The next step in the hitter’s development is education. Hitting isn’t something that takes place just in the batter’s box. You must understand what it is you are doing in order to do it well. After realizing why you haven’t been reaching your potential as a hitter, its time to learn how to fix it. Being able to comprehend and absorb what you are doing is a must if you ever want to transfer it into the game. Gaining an understanding of how the swing works as well as movement patterns of the body is essential. If you don’t have a solid foundation of knowledge and mechanics, then hitting for more power and consistency becomes nearly impossible. During this process learning corrective drills and movements will begin to recondition the body and create a strong base. At this point, your mind and body will understand what has to take place for success.
PROGRAM
So your swing has been evaluated. You have been taught how and why to make improvements as a hitter. At this point it’s now up to you as the player to put forth the effort to making the change. In order for success you must give one hundred percent to make improvement. A program must now be put together that gives a guideline to follow. Putting days, times, exercises and drills on paper will organize your workouts and help you set a consistent training schedule. Just having a program in place is great, but if you don’t follow it then it will lose effectiveness. Winter training should be done at a minimum of four times per week, with sessions varying from day to day and week to week. A great program uses proper drills and training progressions that will ingrain the correct skills while shocking the body for maximum gain.
TRAINING
The program development and training aspects go hand and hand. It’s important to recognize that quality of both instruction and training is more important than the quantity. All of your training will not be with an instructor by your side, so it’s important to understand what you are doing, so when you train, you do it smart. Be sure during your winter workouts not to take part in a training session where you take a hundred bad swings and are told afterward what you were doing wrong or be told nothing at all. The swing doesn’t fix itself. Finding an instructor who will show you the proper techniques will allow for you to visually understand improvements that need to be made. During the training an instructor should show you what is expected of you then watch you take as many swings as possible.
These articles in no way are meant to discredit your ability as a hitter. We simply continue to prove that certain swings will not allow you to reach your potential. Why settle at a certain level because you have had success in the past? Every determined athlete in the world is constantly searching for the next best thing, something that will excel their game past the competition. Why shouldn’t hitting be the same? Whether it be hitting for power or average, don’t limit yourself. Athleticism, hand-eye coordination and genetics will only take you so far, but add the proper technique and see where this game can take you.
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