A PROFESSIONAL HITTING COACH BREAKS DOWN HOW TO...
MAKE MORE HARD CONTACT & BUILD CONFIDENCE AT THE PLATE...
...BY WINNING THE AT-BAT!
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WIN THE AT-BAT COURSE.
7 VIDEOS SESSIONS & A 25 MINUTE MENTAL HITTING PEP-TALK.
Mark Has Worked w/ Coaches & Organizations Affiliated with the following...
TWO TRUTHS IN HITTING...
WHY IS HITTING SO DANG HARD?
It takes 400 milliseconds for an average FB to reach home plate. It takes about 100 milliseconds for your brain to process a visual cue.
It takes about 25 milliseconds for the brain to tell the body to swing.
An average MLB swing is about 150 milliseconds. That means a hitter has about 125 milliseconds to recognize the spin, speed and location of a baseball, and then put a good swing on where they think the ball will be at point of contact.
So the next time you don’t go 0-4 and fall into a little funk, just remember you're trying to do what’s probably the hardest thing to do consistently in all of sports.
Cut yourself some slack!
truth #1
YOU WILL NEVER BE AN ELITE HITTER IF...
In my opinion, you will never be an elite hitter if your shoulder’s shrug when I ask what your approach is. Even worse, if I ask what your approach is, and your answer to just get a hit, you’re hosed.
Especially at the higher levels. Approach is everything.
You need to be able to communicate what your plan is at the plate.
Especially for you Varsity guys, but the sooner the better for you younger guys. For all you hitters, the approach starts with winning the at-bat.
truth #2
6 STEPS TO WINNING MORE AT-BATS.
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1. Get a good pitch to hit.
As hitters - if we're only as good as the pitches we swing at we must look for something up in the zone early in the count.
When you're pulling pitches you have no business pulling, or chasing balls out of the zone, look for something up in the zone and then adjust down the same way you look away and adjust in.
2. Keep your finger on the Swing Trigger™.
It’s the worse feeling in the world - taking a fastball right down the middle. You’re thinking - “dang, i shoulda swung”.
Well, why didn’t you? because, you weren’t ready. You were thinking “if” it’s a strike, I” ll swing, instead of assuming the next pitch is going to be a strike, and I’m going to take a controlled-aggressive swing.
Hitters - we have to be thinking: “Yes, yes no.” on a ball. “Yes, yes, go” on a strike. Start on time to be on time, assuming the next pitch is going to be the best pitch you will see all day.
3. Attack the inner-half of the ball.
When you attack the inner-half of the ball, you're increasing your chances of making hard contact.
Good hitters learn to do it all while using the big part of the field & going gap-to-gap.
It begins with getting great at driving the ball up the middle. Repeat the efficient swing.
4. Swing w/ intent to do damage.
When we swing, we swing with intent to do damage. We don’t hope we can hit. We know we can hit. We don’t swing just to make contact, we swing with authority to drive the ball hard in the big parts of the field. We’re not just trying to hit a line drive up the middle, we’re trying to hit a laser off the pitcher’s neck. The difference between swinging to not miss, and swinging to do some serious damage is crucial. The more aggressive the swing - the better the hand-eye coordination.
5. Compete your tail off.
One of the first lessons I learned after signing a full Division 1 scholarship is that playing time is NEVER guaranteed, regardless of who you are. I was on full scholarship all five years of college ball, and I never stopped fighting tooth and nail for my spot in the line-up, and my coaches made sure I knew that. If you want to learn how to play & excel at the next level - you have to learn how to be a great competitor.
6. Keep your body lanuage on point.
Your body language, attitude, and the way you say things say more than the words you say or what you claim your goals as a ballplayer are.
digital download
30 Minute Pep-Talk on Winning The At-Bat.
Listen to Coach Mark break down the principles & best practices to Wining The At-Bat. Hitting is about being a better competitor than the pitcher.
The moment you step in the box, hitting is no longer a “looks-contest”. What you work on in practice will translate quickly to the game when you cultivate the belief that you can beat the pitcher.
Post-Up Drill
The first step to Win The At-Bat is to understand pitch selection & approach when early in the count. It starts with being aggressive up in the zone.
Pitches left up in the zone are considered mistake pitches because those are the pitches that are easiest to make adjustments on. In this drill - when we talk about swinging with intent to do some serious damage - we're talking about posting up and making the pitcher pay.
Swing Trigger™ Drill
When we're missing pitches we should be driving or we're freezing on good pitches to hit and we feel like we just can't "pull the trigger", often times it's because we're just not mentality ready to hit.
It all starts with assuming the next pitch is not only going to be a strike, but it's going to be the best pitch we're going to see all day. The thinking needs to be "Yes, yes, NO" on a ball and "Yes, yes, GO!" on a strike. With the Swing Trigger drill, you're going to train yourself to be primed and geared up to take controlled-aggressive swings on good pitches to hit.
Cut The Plate In Half Drill
If hitting is about timing, and pitching is about upsetting that timing, our job is to be on time.
It starts with understanding zone, and how that will dictate your rhythm and timing as a hitter. With the "cut the plate in half" drill, you're going to learn how to drive the tough pithces on the corner of the plate by becoming "selectively aggressive".
Gap-to-Gap Drill
The first step to Win The At-Bat is to understand pitch selection & approach when early in the count. It starts with being aggressive up in the zone.
Pitches left up in the zone are considered mistake pitches because those are the pitches that are easiest to make adjustments on. In this drill - when we talk about swinging with intent to do some serious damage - we're talking about posting up and making the pitcher pay.
L-Screen Drill
When we're hitting WEAK ground balls or getting jammed on the fastball inside, it's usually related to not getting the sweet spot of the bat on the sweet spot on the ball.
The ability to suck the hands in and attack the inner half of the ball will dictate how often you make hard-solid contact while achieving consistent back-spin. We want both.
Inner-Half Drill
Similar to the L-Screen Drill, being able to drive the ball back up the middle regardless of the location of the pitch will help to level out your swing and address swing-viruses.
The idea is simple. Hitting is a game of adjustments - the quicker you can make adjustments, the more success you will have, period.
A-Swing vs B-Swing Drill
If you want to hit at a high level - you better have to things.
1. A plan.
2. The ability to adjust.
When you can combine both - you're increasing your chances of success. In the A-swing v B-Swing, adjusting between swing types will allow you to feel comfortable with make quick adjustments when you're in count-leverage or being in the count with two-strikes.
WHO IS
MARK BROOKS?
Mark Brooks is the founder of Applied Vision Baseball, Art of Baseball Productions & Co-founder of Quality At-Bats Academy, and Goflank.
He's a graduate of Bethune Cookman University, where he played two years of Division One baseball with the Wild Cats under Mervyl Melendez.
Mark Brooks
Founder - Art of Baseball & Applied Vision Baseball Co-Founder - Quality At-Bats Academy
Instagram:@AppliedVisionBaseball
Facebook: Facebook.com/AVB
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