As we enter the final week of October, we are wrapping up our assessment season. During August, September and October, we use combines and assessments to try different things and discover what works and what doesn’t.
From November through January, our focus shifts to practice and building habits around what works.
A habit has three parts:
- Cue – What the player sees or experiences that prompts a response.
- Routine – What the player does in response.
- Reward – The benefit the player gets from that response.
For a hitter, the cue is the pitch: its type, speed and location. The routine is how the hitter recognizes and responds to it. The reward could be making solid contact and feeling confident that he made a good decision.
Coaches often focus on the hitter’s routine: developing good bat speed and taking a short approach to the ball. Those things matter. But if a player practices those movements mostly against fastballs, he may struggle when the cue changes and he sees an off speed pitch or breaking ball.
That is why we need to change the pitches during practice. For example, a coach can mix fastballs and changeups so the hitter practices recognizing different speeds. The coach can also vary pitch locations so the hitter learns to make decisions based on where the ball is going.
The goal is not simply to repeat a good swing. It is to help the player recognize different pitches and build a useful response to each one.
Practice is where we build habits. Training is where we work to convert those habits into skills. They are connected, but they are not the same.
From February through April, we will focus on training and converting habits into skills. I’ll go deeper into that next.
For now, coaches, parents and players should remember: If you want a hitter to respond better to different pitches, practice must include different pitches. Change the cue, then build the response.
If you have questions about how my coaching and wellness counseling approach can support your son, email me at askCJ@DiamondDirectors.com.
Remember: Intelligence tops being smart.
For more information, visit www.diamonddirectors.com today.
If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.
C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 29 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.
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