“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” – Vince Lombardi
There are only a few months remaining this fall to get your swing ready for spring baseball. Competing at the highest level of the game means you must have good swing mechanics, timing, tempo and awareness.
As Diamond Directors students know: Good swing mechanics include the load, approach, contact and extension. Often times, your swing becomes long because you don’t load properly.
Through quality reps, you can develop a good load, but that means getting into a good position, on time. Good hitters achieve a good load position – on time – 90 percent of the time in order to get a hit 30 percent of the time.
If you do this, you’ll be on your way to at least becoming a college hitter.
But to seal the deal, you must learn to control your tempo. Tempo is all about the speed in which you load and complete your swing. Most amateur hitters speed up their body in order to generate bat speed. That’s not an effective method and it never will be.
Remember: A slow body allows for quick hands, while a fast body causes slow hands.
One of the bridges between the gap of tools and skills is awareness. Knowledge of the swing without awareness results in failure and frustration. You must develop awareness.
Drill Time:
Here is a simple, yet effective drill to help you develop sound swing mechanics, timing, tempo and awareness using an agility ladder.
* Start with your back foot in one box and your front foot in the other
* Move forward to the end of the ladder, then move backward (immediately)
* End with a trigger and stride the length of the bat to complete your swing
Key: Focus on separating your load from your approach by keeping you front foot closed.
Repeat this drill up and down for 20 reps for the next 20 days. You will begin to notice a big difference at the plate. Send me a tweet at @AtBats to let me know your progress.
For more information, visit www.diamonddirectors.com today.
BIO:
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 area scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, CJ has more than 12 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 take your game to the next level, C.J Stewart has a proven track record of helping players reach their goals.
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