Holiday Infield/Catching Clinic

This year's Holiday Infield Clinic will be on Tuesday December 29th from 10am-1pm at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, Ca. In addition to focusing on infield fundamentals we are also opening our clinic up to catchers. The infielders will be instructed by UPB Founder Ryan Dambach while the catchers will be instructed by UPB's Director of Catching Instruction Kenny Dobbs. The cost of the clinic is $75 and is open to athletes 14 and up. Anyone interested should contact Ryan Dambach at: ryan@unlimitedperformancebaseball.com.

Holiday Infield Clinic

This year we will be hosting our annual Holiday Infield Clinic. The clinic will be a one day event lasting 2-3 hours depending on attendance. Right now we are trying to get the field reserved but our plan is to either hold the clinic on Saturday December 19th or Sunday January 3rd. Last year we had a great turnout and all of our athletes learned a lot. We will let you know when more info is available. The clinic will be run by UPB founder Ryan Dambach and we hope to have some special guest instructors attending.

UPB Still at 100%

For the second year in a row every freshman athlete that UPB has consistently worked with has made their high school team. In our 2 years of existence UPB has had 100% of their incoming freshman make their high school baseball team. Congratulations to the following athletes:

Trevor Townsend Yorba Linda High School
Tyler Maloney Corona Del Mar High School
Tyler Beutel Mater Dei High School
Carlos Quintana Mater Dei High School


Also a quick player update of two of our college athletes. Taylor Richardson is finishing up his first semester at Oklahoma State University. All reports are that Taylor had an unbelievable fall and just may have won the starting centerfielder job as a true freshman. Alison Kooistra from Boston College is entering her junior year at BC. Going into this fall she was slated to bat 7th for the Screaming Eagles softball team. But after a great offensive fall and a meeting with her coaches where she basically told them to leave her swing alone (I love it) she is now slated to bat second in the line up. A goal she had set for herself at the beginning of the summer. Great job to Taylor, Alison, and our freshman class keep up the good work. We here at UPB are proud of you.

UPB Development Pyramid #2 (General Physical Development)

When an athlete reaches the General Physical Development portion of the pyramid they are beginning to learn about the aspects of their skill however they still don’t take ownership of the development of that skill. They may attend private lessons but once the lesson is over they don’t give what they learned a second thought. There is no extra work done on the part of the athlete and they usually have to start over from square one at every lesson.

You can find athletes at this level in every level of baseball but they are usually found from high school to the major leagues. Their mechanics are better than those at the “Natural Talent” level but they are still below average. Athletes here exhibit a good performance followed by a poor performance. They show flashes of what is possible but they have no real understanding for either their successes or their failures. They may know what they need to do in a particular skill such as “stay back” or “stay inside” but they won’t have an understanding as how to get themselves to execute what it is they need to do.

These athletes usually suffer from the ego mindset. They believe that they are they last performance. Many will lie and over exaggerate their abilities or their accomplishments to fit in or feel like they are the athlete they desire to be. Their self confidence is based on at bat to at bat or inning to inning which means they really don’t have any self confidence. If things go well they feel good if they don’t they feel terrible. They experience extreme highs and lows in both their performance and in their emotions and may be prone to outbursts of anger during games.

They are limited in their thinking and believe that if they hit .300 then this means they are a good player and that they don’t need to improve. As such they may have success for the majority of their lives but when they first begin to experience struggles they usually have nothing to go back to. They will make excuses and ultimately quit because they, “just weren’t good enough”.

In order to move to the next level on the pyramid these athletes need to begin to take ownership of their physical skills. They need to do the extra work on their own and begin to think about what it is they are being taught.

Parents: Are You Helping or Hurting?

Probably the most difficult part of what I do is to try and take an athlete and get them to break through the mental barriers that are preventing them from experience the success that they desire to have. In most cases what makes this task exponentially more difficult is when I have to battle the parents in order to get through to the athlete. I have to say that it’s a battle that I have never won. But yet I see this take place on almost a daily basis. A parent brings their athlete to me, desperate to get help for the athlete. They are usually at a loss and don’t understand why the athlete isn’t succeeding. Many times I will get comments like, “I have been trying to get him to understand but he just doesn’t” or “I don’t understand why he can’t just go out there and relax and have fun!” Parents look to the athlete never seeing the connection that the problem, the thing that is limiting their athlete is the parent them-self. As a third party I have the ability to stand back and observe what is going on. I can see the dynamic between the athlete and their parent and almost instantly I am able to recognize where it is that the athlete’s limiting behaviors originated. Unfortunately, rarely (if ever) is a parent willing to look inside themselves and recognize that they might be the problem. For the athlete’s entire life the parents have been instructing and molding their child to become the person they want them to become. Parents understand that they have flaws but instead of facing them themselves it is much easier to just tell your child how to be without ever changing aspects of their own life.

As such I get parents who are frustrated that their athlete won’t pick up on things that they are telling them. They just won’t learn and as a result both the athlete and the parent are unhappy and upset. A wise man once told me that, “What we dislike in others are the qualities we dislike in ourselves.” At first I didn’t understand what he was saying but if we are truly honest with ourselves we will begin to realize that this statement is entirely true. Again I see this everyday with the parents and the athletes I work with. The very qualities that the parents bring their athletes to me to fix are the same qualities that the parents themselves exhibit. It’s a battle that I can’t win, if I have the athlete for 30 minutes a week and the parents are with them the rest of the time how can I possibly win? How can that athlete ever change?

I can hear all you parents getting upset now. It’s not fun to look ourselves in the mirror but if you truly want what’s best for your athlete then it’s something you are just going to have to do. Consider for a moment that “Do as I say, Not as I do” just doesn’t work. Imagine that your athlete has been watching you everyday since the day they were born and everyday they were learning from you. Your fears, anxieties, worries, frustrations, and actions all were learned by watching you. Now that they are in their later years, now that they are getting older don’t fool yourself by thinking that they aren’t still watching. They watch your every move and you can talk to them until you’re are blue in the face but that won’t change the years of conditioning they have developed by watching. I mean think about it! How can they remove fear of failing if you are afraid they will fail? How can they put an at-bat behind them and focus on the next one if you are stuck on the previous at-bat or at-bats? How can they relax and play if every time they look up in the stands you are a nervous wreck?

Now I know that parents do what they do out of love. They love their athletes and want the best for them. They want them to experience the joys of playing at a high level and want them to be the best. All of this is fine and good but there is a line that parents must be careful not to cross. Parents cross it all the time without realizing it and it happens to be the most detrimental thing that could happen in an athlete’s career. Parents must be careful that what they want for their athletes isn’t what they want for themselves. Too many times parents allow the accomplishments of their athletes to impact their ego. They can walk around and say, “My kid plays at this college” or “My kid was drafted in this round” all the while never realizing that the kid is the one who has suffered. In the grand scheme of things what does it all mean? So what if your athlete plays at Cal State Fullerton. So what if he plays a Nowhere School University. As long as the athlete is happy and enjoys his experience playing isn’t that all that matters? Oh sure parents might not get to puff their chest out and say, “My kid is the best!” But so what! Whatever the athlete’s accomplishments, however far along the ladder they may climb in the baseball world, none of it, absolutely none of it is worth the parent’s relationship with their athlete. Unfortunately many times that is exactly what the parent trades.

Even if you are a great parent, even if you do everything perfect as a parent the one thing you don’t understand is how to develop an athlete. You may even be extremely knowledgeable in the sport of baseball but being knowledgeable and developing an athlete are two very different things. Besides your athlete doesn’t want to be developed by you. He doesn’t want to go home and hear about what he didn’t do or what he could do better. All they want is for their parents to be proud of them. 4 for 4 or 0 for 4 that’s all they want. They don’t want to breakdown their at-bats with you. They don’t want to be reminded that what they just did wasn’t good enough. They just want your love and support. They want you to be their biggest fan. Believe it or not they do look up into the stands, they see your response to at-bats, they know how you are feeling, and it matters to them. It’s hard enough to get a hit off a pitcher with the game on the line let alone without the pressure of trying to get your parents approval. Don’t add to the difficulty of getting hits by adding any type of pressure on your athlete.

So what can you do? How can you help your athlete reach the levels of performance both you and he want to reach? Look in the mirror! Work on yourself first before you ever attempt to work on your athlete. Become aware of the words you are saying, the body language you are giving, your actions at and during games, your energy on the way home. Don’t allow yourself to get lost in the heat of the moment. Understand that everything you do is going to impact your athlete and their performance either positively or negatively. Before you say something, before you act a certain way, ask yourself, “Does this help him or hurt him?” You may want to say something or act a certain way because you’re pissed off but be the adult, get control of yourself knowing that even though you may not say something verbally you may be saying it non-verbally. Trust me, your athlete will pick up on this, it will effect their performance. If you want to help, if you really want to help then start with yourself. Talk to your athlete. Ask him how you can help him get to where HE wants to go. Listen to what your athlete says, really listen. In this case they just might know more than you.

A Recent Hitting Session

Yesterday I had an experience that further discredited the “natural talent” theory. I was working with an athlete who has recently committed himself to his development. This particular athlete has made huge gains in performance but has a tendency to compare himself to a teammate that is much further along in his development. Since I work with both athletes I have the ability to see just how much further along one is over the other but like I tell them one guy has been working with me for 3 years while the other one for just under a year.

Anyway, this particular athlete has had some difficulty taking the next step in his development. He has reached a point where many would have considered him to have reached his “genetic potential” or as some would say “he has gotten the most out of what he was given.” And it is true that if you were to watch both athletes you might make the mistake of saying that the one who is further along in his development is more “naturally gifted” but to make this mistake (like most people in baseball do) would be detrimental to the development of the athlete. As most of you know I don’t buy into this theory and refuse to believe that we are limited in anyway. As such I have continued to search for ways to get this particular athlete to perform to the level that he wants to perform at. As the lessons have progressed he has made gradual improvements but not the type of improvement that I had been hoping for. That is until yesterday.

Yesterday I had the privilege of witnessing this athlete take his game to levels higher then he had every been. What changed? One statement. That’s right one statement by me, one comment that I had never really said before allowed him to see and feel what I have been trying to get across to him for months now. All of a sudden he was able to perform a skill that many would have given up on long ago and just chalked it up to the fact that “he just can’t do it.” In fact he was able to perform as well as the athlete he has been looking up to for the past year. Proving once again that “natural talent” doesn’t exist. I was shown again that the athletes ability or inability to perform a particular skill doesn’t reside in his genetics but rather in how he is able to process that skill mentally. So what does that mean? Very simply, that if you are coaching an athlete that “just can’t do it” or if you are an athlete you feels like you are having a hard time perfecting a particular skill it’s not because you can’t it’s just because you haven’t found the way yet.

Athletes, keep plugging away. Don’t give up just because someone has told you that you aren’t talented enough sooner or later someone will say something, you will see something, or something will happen that will allow you to process what you need to do mentally. Once that happens the execution of that skill will be easy. Coaches, don’t give up on your athletes. Don’t assume that because they can’t perform a particular skill that they are limited or that they are not talented. Maybe the problem is you just haven’t found the way to properly communicate it to them. Keep moving forward, you never know when you will say something that will click in the mind of your athlete.

My athlete walked in one way and one comment later he is completely different. Imagine how many athletes could have “gotten it” if they would have just kept going. Imagine how different the game might be if we eliminate the idea of talent and focus our efforts on development. Imagine what could be accomplished if we just remain patient enough to allow the ideas and skills to click.

Introducing Intention

In a quote by Deepak Chopra he states, “It is human nature to make our dreams manifest into physical form, easily and effortlessly.” The same could be said for playing baseball. When done correctly (both physically and mentally) playing the game becomes easy and effortless. We hit balls farther then we ever have even though it feels as though we barely swung. As pitchers we hit spots and throw harder even though it feels as though we are throwing at 60% or 70%. Often playing at this level is referred to as “the zone”. A quick, fleeting moment in time when everything lines up and the game seems to slow down causing everything to be easy and effortless.

What we don’t realize is that when we are in the state of “the zone” we aren’t in some magical, mystical state that only comes around every so often but rather we are performing in what is our natural state. For those fleeting moments when you feel so locked in and the game becomes easy you are actually in the state of mind that is our natural state. The state in which we should be performing and living in at all times.

So if this is true and we should be performing at this level at all times then why is it “the zone” only comes around every now and then? The combination of our mental conditioning combined with our learning of poor and ineffective physical mechanics prevents us from living in “the zone”. We are limited because we are never in a state where we allow things to happen. We are constantly struggling and striving to “make something happen” that we create our own obstacles to reaching the level of performance we desire to reach.

I see it all the time in the performance of my athletes. They are going along, learning, improving, and seeing the results they were hoping to see. Then something goes wrong a bad swing, a bad at bat, whatever. They begin to analyze what it was they did wrong and the next swing they “try” to fix or make the adjustment they know they need to make. With this effort comes mental clutter and physical breakdown and then one bad swing turns into another, and then another, and then another, until the athlete is convinced that, “somethings wrong”. They show up distraught and upset, “There’s something wrong with my swing!” they usually say, with desperation in their voice as though their world is coming to an end. By the end of our session they are usually fixed and then go out and play very well for the next few weeks. But what did I really do? Usually, more times then not all I did is remind the athlete what adjustment they need to make and then help relax their mind so that their body can perform the movement. In essence I simply removed the obstruction that was preventing them from performing the skill.

This could have all been done by the athlete on his own. I want you to change the way you look at your mechanics and how you perform the skills in baseball. Begin to see them not as something you do but rather something you allow. Once you obtain the knowledge of proper mechanics you then have everything you need to perform the skills over and over again creating limitless success. Many times all of the problems in your mechanics will fix themselves if you were to simply quiet the mental clutter that is going on in your head. Slow down your thoughts, your body, and begin to relax.

One of the things I work on with my hitters is what I call “Introducing Intention”. After a poor swing I get the hitter to set an intention for the next swing, that is think of the adjustment they intend for the next swing. Then instead of having them “try” to make this adjustment I get them to simply relax, slow their mind and body down, focus on slow deep breaths and then deliver the next pitch. The results are astonishing! The hitter usually executes a perfect mechanically sound swing. The ball us usually hit better then any of the balls before it and the hitter is able to maintain this swing until they get back into the mental habit of creating the obstacles to the execution of the swing. It really is amazing.

If you are going through some struggles or are having a hard time developing consistency performing your mechanics I urge you to try something different. Visualize the adjustment you wish to make and then step out, relax your body, slow down your thoughts, slow down your breathing, and allow yourself to perform your mechanics. Remember playing at a high level isn’t as hard as you think. We just make it that way.

Congratulations to the 2009 World Series Champions

Just a quick congratulations to the 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees. I know, I know I am a big Yankee fan but really it was a great post season and a very fun one to watch. Almost every series was really well played and it ended in a classic 6 game world series where both teams were very much in every game. You can’t ask for much more than that.

The World Series just ended and I already can’t wait for spring training. I hope everyone enjoyed this season and was able to learn something from watching.

Timeless Development

It’s crazy how we think that we can’t develop a certain skill or develop into the athletes we want to become. We have this idea that others might be more “talented” then us or just have the skills “naturally”. We get frustrated when we haven’t mastered a particular skill by a particular time which may leads us to believe that “we suck” or that we just don’t possess the talents that we need to accomplish our goal. But really what is talent? Someone who is more “talented” is really someone who is farther along in their development of a particular skill than someone else at an equal or earlier age. But does this mean that you can’t achieve the same level of performance by continually developing your own skills? Is it true that you are limited by genetics, environment, or whatever or is it just that you believe you are because of your own self imposed perception of time?

You see that’s all time is, a perception. Time is man made, created by our need to count and categorize things but reality is that time doesn’t exist. Our frustrations as athletes and our belief in our own “talent” is nothing more then a product of our ego. Our ego’s desire to compare ourselves to others creates in us a false idea or our own skills and abilities. We look at others, at their skill level at a particular age and assume that this equals their “talent”. We place time constraints on ourselves and others believing that we must have mastered a particular level of proficiency over a particular skill by a particular time otherwise we “just don’t have it”. We do it all the time in our daily lives. We believe that by a particular age you must do this, and by that age you must have done that. All the while the ones who haven’t gotten there yet feel bad about who they are and are flooded with negative thoughts and emotions that only hinder their further development. The same is true in sports. In baseball our attachment to time (in particular age) has us comparing ourselves to other players of the same age and if we aren’t as far along in our skill development we then begin to label ourselves and our abilities, get flooded with negative thoughts and emotions, and overall inhibit our growth and development as athletes not to mention our overall enjoyment of the sport.

We see it all the time in the draft or when it comes to moving our way up the professional ranks. Scouts and coaches see someone who is farther along at an earlier age and immediately define that person as more talented. That person is then promoted with the belief that “if he is this far along now where will he be in a few years?” But, how many times does that really play out the way we think? How many athletes have you seen whose numbers get a lot better over the course of their careers? For the most part most athletes stay the same year in and year out. Where someone who continues to develop themselves will probably end up being a better player down the road but the problem is they never get the chance. It’s important to understand that in order to reach the level of performance you desire to reach it takes a “kaizen” approach. An approach where your focus is timeless and you don’t stress about where you are currently but rather embrace where you are currently with and eye on where you want to go.

Understand that time is an illusion that we have created and that talent is nothing more than skill development at a given time. So if time is an illusion then so is talent. When we put time to things this creates frustration and negativity if we are not at a certain spot in our development by a particular time. We believe that just because we haven’t mastered a particular skill by a particular time then that means that we can’t learn or master that skill.

We can master any skill by consistent, deliberate practice. We limit ourselves and what we can achieve by putting time limits on ourselves and believing that we have to be so good by a certain time. Imagine how must faster we will master a skill if we focus on the timeless and avoid the negative thoughts and emotions that come with perceived talent and perceived time. The master athlete embraces the timeless knowing that time is an illusion. By staying in the moment, allowing yourself to be where you are, deliberately practicing toward what you intend to create you will achieve mastery over that particular skill. You will then become the athlete you desire to be regardless of how many sunsets you have witnessed.

Why is this important in baseball? The timeless athlete avoids frustration and negativity because he isn’t comparing himself to others. His focus is on the continual, never ending development of his body and mind. Therefore he learns quicker, performs better, and ultimately becomes the best athlete on the field regardless of where he started from. If you want to reach the highest levels you must embrace the idea of timelessness and understand that through continuous, deliberate practice you can become anything you desire to be.

UPB Development Pyramid #1 (Natural Talent)

Recently I developed something I call the UPB Development Pyramid. My inspiration for the pyramid is to educate athletes on how to achieve the levels of performance they desire to reach and to show them where they currently lie on the pyramid. To further expand the pyramid I am going to start a 7 part series focusing each one on a different segment of the pyramid. Hopefully, you will be able to figure out which portion of the pyramid you fall into and how you can advance up the pyramid ultimately to where limitless performance becomes a reality for you.

The lowest and biggest section of the pyramid is the “Natural Talent” section. This is where most athletes spend the majority of their careers. In this section of the pyramid athletes are consumed with the mentality that talent is something you are born with. They buy into the belief that, “you either have it or you don’t” and so don’t feel the need for any type of physical or mental development outside of normal practice time. Athletes in this section have a strong attachment to their ego and feel better about themselves when they are more “talented” then others.

This isn’t to say that athletes here don’t work hard. Players at this level may get to practice and be hard workers during their mandatory practice time. However, they are usually unmotivated to consistently engage in any additional practice. They may stay after for extra work from time to time but overall there is no consistency to their extra work.

Mechanically these players are not sound. They generally have major flaws in their mechanics creating holes that open them up to inconsistent performance. Any success they may have is based in large part to their physical size or strength that enables them to succeed despite these flaws. Due to this occasional success these players may be lulled into the belief that mechanically “everything is fine” further strengthening the belief in their own “natural talent”. Unfortunately this will only take them so far and eventually they will begin to struggle or leave the sport thinking that they did all they could and they went as far as their talent will take them.

Mentally players at this level tend to be very weak and are not adept at handling the ups and downs that comes with competition. Players here are attached to their ego believing in their own superiority or inferiority. Their thoughts and emotions are directly related to their performance and they exhibit no control over themselves mentally or physically. Generally these players have low self confidence and will try to mask it with cockiness or arrogance. These players tend to play the victim, blaming umpires, teammates, coaches, parents, or whoever for their struggles or short comings.

These players are limited in what they can accomplish because they have no idea how to do anything more then what they are doing naturally. They are taken over by the limited mindset so they may hit .300 but they will be satisfied with that and not look for ways to improve. “Natural Talent” athletes may even make it to and find success at the Major League level but their career will be defined by inconsistencies. They may have great performances and put up decent numbers but they will won’t be able to reach higher levels of performance.

Characteristics of players in this section include:

• Poor physical mechanics

• Attachment to the ego

• Poor ability to handle pressure situations or struggle (poor mental skills)

• Inconsistent performance

• Playing down to the level of their opponent

• Low self confidence/Arrogance

• Victim mentality

Dealing with Coaches

Almost daily I hear at least one of my athletes upset or giving me some kind of complaint about their head coach. I started thinking back to my early playing days and I have to admit that I was right there with them. Most of the time I couldn’t relate to my different coaches, didn’t understand what and why they did certain things, and probably most importantly why they made certain decisions. But, really my frustration came from my own inability to please my coaches. I listened to everything they said, tried to apply and do what they wanted in the hopes that this would increase my playing time.

As I’ve gotten older I can now look back and see the mistakes I made in dealing with my coaches. I now have the ability to recognize what coaches really are and how I could’ve handled things differently. I am certain that by taking a different approach in how I dealt with my coaches I not only would have had a lot more fun playing but I would have been able to improve at a faster rate which would have ultimately allowed me to play more and at a higher level. I want to provide you with a couple of ideas that you can use to help you deal with any situation where you might be unhappy with your head coach.

Common misconceptions about coaches:

1. The hardest workers play- This is something every coach says. Almost every coach that I have ever had or have ever worked with uses the old saying, “I am going to play the guys who work hard.” This statement inevitably leads to a few players working their tails off while the rest of the team goes through the motions and more often then not some of the hard working players don’t ever get off the bench. This leads to frustration on both the player and the parents part which ultimately affects the team, your happiness, and your performance. It’s important to understand that this statement is nothing more than a motivational technique. It is geared to get players fearful of losing playing time and force them to work hard. The irony is that this technique usually only works on the players who would work hard anyway. Always remember that while it’s a noble idea that the hardest workers will play and in a perfect world this is how things should be the reality your coach isn’t getting paid to be noble. He is getting paid to win games. Ultimately that is the bottom line. Your coach while he may like you and your work ethic is getting paid to win games and if he doesn’t feel like you give him the best opportunity to do that then he is going to play the player that will.

2. Coaches don’t have “favorites”- All coaches do the best they can to not have favorite players on their team but let’s face it, they are human. Of course they have favorites, their personalities may mesh better with other players then they do with yours, or maybe a player reminds them of themselves when they were younger. Whatever the case may be unless you are substantially better then one of their favorite players then they are the one who is going to play.

3. Coaches are usually teachers or volunteers- Bottom line, most coaching jobs don’t pay well. As a result this has a tendency to keep many, very talented coaches away from coaching at the high school level. The mistake many players and parents make is that they always assume that your coach is the reincarnation of Casey Stengel. The fact is coaches are human. In order to make ends meet and to be out there coaching you they usually have to hold other jobs or become teachers. As a result their full time can not be spent on coaching. They have many other responsibilities and as such are going to make mistakes. As players we always expect them to be mistake free but they are going to make mistakes, mistakes in judgement both during the game and during practice. It helps if we remember that.

What can you do:

1. Take control over your own development- We always assume as players that our coach is there to help us develop into the players we wish to become. Once again we must remember that this isn’t their job. Their job is to win games and since they have other jobs and other responsibilities they can’t possibly develop each player on their team. That is why it’s important for you to remember that this is your career, whatever you desire to accomplish you can. Regardless of what your current situation you are currently in you can still accomplish anything you desire. But in order to do so you must take control of your own career. You are not a victim of bad coaching, you are not limited by being in a bad situation. You can take charge of your own development. Get outside coaching, read books, watch dvds, ask questions of other players or coaches, whatever you do it is your responsibility alone to develop yourself as an athlete.

2. Have a higher purpose- Sometimes it’s easy to become frustrated or deflated by the actions of your current head coach. Players will have a tendency to become sour on the game itself because of the actions of their current head coach. You have to have a higher purpose, a loftier goal, something that is going to motivate you to go to practice everyday with a positive attitude and get the most out of your time there. It’s also important to realize that the situation will pass and when it does you can still be apart of the game.

3. Transfer or switch teams- While this may sound a little drastic the fact is in some situations, no matter what you do, you may just be in a situation where the coach doesn’t think you are going to play or a situation where you and the coach just aren’t going to get along. It’s important to remember that you are not a victim. You are not stuck and your career is not over. It’s just one situation, one coach, one team. There are many teams out there, many schools, and many different coaches. You have the ability to find the right fit for you. Just because you didn’t fit in on one team doesn’t mean you won’t be a perfect fit for another. If you really want to play, don’t get bitter or angry at the coach, simply acknowledge that the situation isn’t the right fit for you and then go out and find the right situation.

Hitters to Watch

As the playoffs begin it gives us an incredible opportunity to watch some of the elite players in the game. It’s really beneficial because we get to see many players who we may not get to see on a regular basis during the season. Few players are perfect, if any, however there are certain players who have different aspects of their swing that enables them to put up the type of numbers that they do. Here is a list of the players I believe you should watch and what aspects of their swing that you should look at.

Albert Pujols

You don’t get closer to perfection then with Albert. This is one of the many reasons as to why he is the best player in the game and could potentially become the best hitter of all time. With him you should watch everything that he does. Watch his pre-at-bat preparation, watch what he does in between each pitch (notice how he works on swinging downhill), his hip separation, his base, his use of the top hand, his extension and one handed follow through, and check out the back spin he generates. Most importantly however watch how he repeats his swing. Notice how every pitch he swings at he takes the same swing. Same effort, same tempo, same mechanics, everything! Watch for this as this is the key to becoming a great hitter

Chase Utley

Chase is another guy whose swing is very solid. Again check out his base, extension, bat path, hip separation, and repeatability. Especially his repeatability, he is pretty amazing as repeating every aspect of his swing over and over again, just like Pujols. His bat path is incredible as well. He takes a downhill, direct path and creates amazing backspin.

Ryan Howard

Now there are some major holes in Ryan’s swing. However, if you have the chance check out his hip separation. Ryan gets away with a lot of flaws due to his size however he does get better hip separation then just about anyone in the league. This allows him to create more torque then any other hitter. So if you watch the Phillies watch the separation between Ryan’s hips and hands it’s remarkable.

A-rod

A-rod is tough because there are great fluctuations in his swing when he is hot as opposed to when he is cold. However, if he happens to be on (and we all know I am praying that he is) check out his bat path. When he is hitting well he takes a direct, downhill bat path, creating great backspin to all fields. In addition he gets great extension with the use of the one handed follow through.

Derek Jeter

There is probably no more of a clutch player in the game then Jeter. While mechanically he isn’t very sound what you can learn from him is how he stays relaxed, slow, and controlled in pressure situations. Watch his body language, watch how he slows himself down and rarely rushes anything. If we can learn to copy his approach more of us would be clutch players as well.

These are just a few of the players who demonstrate some great skills. Make sure you don’t allow the postseason to go by without trying to learn from these players. Whatever team you are pulling for by all means have fun with it and root your head off. However, don’t become so clouded that you miss the valuable lessons that these players offer us.

You Can Choose Your Ability Level

I am going to say something that at first might be a little hard to believe. For some of you it’s going to be even harder to swallow and it might even cause you to become a little angry. But I ask you to at least consider the idea for a moment. Before you right this blog off as crazy take a second to contemplate the possibility that I might be right. Are you ready? Here it is...

Whatever ability level you are currently performing at, whatever situation you might currently be in (starting, not starting, whatever), whatever tools you currently possess, you have chosen them. WHAT! That’s right if you are not currently performing at the level you wish, If you don’t possess the tools necessary to play you have chosen these things for yourself.

I know, I know, I can hear your arguments now. “Why would I choose to have a weak arm?” “Why would I choose for my coach not to give me an opportunity?” “What can I possibly do about my lack of tools I was born this way, I can’t control what genes I was given?”

Believe me, I understand where you’re coming from. For most of my life, most of my playing career I bought into these ideas. I bought into the fact that I was getting screwed, that my coaches just weren’t giving me an opportunity. I bought into the idea that I was small and had a weak arm and that I had to be the guy who “Got the most out of what he was given.” What I didn’t realize at the time was that I could choose for more. I didn’t realize that subconsciously I was accepting what other people were telling me. I was limiting what I was able to accomplish by mentally accepting the limitations others were placing on me.

So what can you do? Choose something more. Decide what skills you wish to possess and then go to work at developing those skills. The important thing is that you must remain open minded to the possibility that you can reach the levels of performance you desire to reach. Don’t judge yourself, don’t allow the judgements of others to limit you. Understand that you are headed in the direction toward the attainment of those skills and keep going that direction until you get there. When you start to judge and label yourself as not having the skills you need then without realizing it you are limiting your ability to reach those levels of performance. Visualize yourself as having the skills you desire to have, work as though it were guaranteed that you will develop these skills, and then allow these skills to develop in their own time. Visualize yourself starting on your team and then without any bitterness, anger, or expectation go out to practice each day and look to improve. Allow yourself to become the starter at the right time. Stay positive, stay focused on what you intend to create for your career, and then allow these things to develop when the time is right.

Basing Success on Hits

Unfortunately we have all been conditioned to focus on our batting average or how many hits we got in a particular game to determine our level of success for that day or that particular season. The problem is that there are so many variables that go into the getting or not of hits that basing your success on simply getting hits could get frustrating. It’s important that we focus on the bigger picture. That our goals are bigger then just getting hits. So what are some of these variables and how do they impact our ability to get hits?

You Are Facing a Pitcher

Many times my hitters will take and “0 for” and immediately want to change something or think that since they didn’t get a hit that something must be wrong and they must work harder or find the “flaw” before the next game. Many times this way of thinking actually creates the flaws we believe are there. You need to keep in mind that just because you didn’t get a hit doesn’t necessarily mean there is something wrong. Why? Because there is another player standing 60 feet away that is doing everything he can to not allow you to get a hit. Sometimes we forget that we are competing, we forget that we are playing in a game where there is an opponent and not just hitting off the tee or in the batting cage. There is a pitcher out there who is in complete control. He knows what he is going to throw you and where. He has the luxury of knowing what pitch is about to be thrown. You don’t! Sometimes the pitcher pitches you great, sometimes he throws you a great pitch. Whatever the case maybe this doesn’t mean there is something wrong. It just means the pitcher did his job and got you out. We need to understand that this is part of the game and focus on the next at-bat so we put ourselves in a situation that gives us the best opportunity to succeed.

You May Have Not Faced Live Pitching in a While

Inevitably every year when a new season rolls around I get a bunch of frustrated players who are upset that they are not getting hits from day 1. We need to remember that it is very difficult to take time off and still be in peak form when you come back to playing games. It is counter productive to be upset over the fact that you aren’t getting hits early on in a season or in your first couple of games. This is one big reason why MLB has spring training. Hitters need to be able to get acclimated to seeing live pitching again. Most of the hitters that are all over 95 mph fastballs during the season are way behind 85 mph fastballs in spring training. Plus you really don’t see them get too upset or frustrated when they make an out or strike out during spring training. They understand that it takes at-bats and time to be able to get into peak condition. Some of them aren’t even ready at the start of the season and they probably already had 100-150 at-bats during spring training. So how can you expect to be at the top of your game at at-bat number 1?

Where You Hit in the Line Up or in a Game Situation

One of the things I hear all the time is parents and players making arguments for why their son should be starting over another player because their batting average is a lot higher or they got a couple of hits while the other guy struck out. Keep in mind that where you bat in the line up or where you bat during the course of a game makes a difference in the pitches you see. Your number 3 hitter is pitched differently then your number 9 hitter. If you come into a blow out game or pinch hit in a 2 outs bases empty situation chances are you are going to get easier pitches to hit. Maybe you lucked out and faced an easier pitcher or maybe you faced the league’s best pitcher while your back up faced some joker. The point is coaches look at other things to determine who the best player is and not just stats. They see body language, your approach, the soundness of your swing, your plate discipline, the pitches you swung at, the pitches you took, etc., etc., etc. If you’re in a situation where you are battling for a spot don’t do the math. Don’t watch the other guy and assume that since he is getting more hits than you or that you are getting more hits then him then that means he or you is going to win the spot. Instead, focus on what you can control. Put yourself in the best position possible to succeed by eliminating anything that would detract you from your success.

So What Should Determine Your Level of Success

As I am sure you know by now (if you’ve read any of my other blogs) I believe that the best thing to focus on is having a “Quality At-bat”. But more than that you should focus on achieving mastery over yourself as a baseball player. Mastery over your physical mechanics, mastery over you mind, mastery over your approach, and mastery over your emotions. Look at each at-bat as an opportunity to improve both as a hitter and as a baseball player. See your opponent as a needed piece of the puzzle that is constantly pushing you to be better. Focus on what you can control, your preparation, your approach, and taking good mechanically sound swings at hittable pitches. Anything beyond that is beyond your control and worrying about it only takes you away from your development.

There are many reasons for getting or not getting hits. Sometimes you get lucky. You take a terrible swing at a poor pitch and it finds a hole. Sometimes you do everything correctly and hit the ball right at somebody. In either scenario basing your success on whether or not you got a hit would be counter productive. The athlete who got the hit would think everything is okay and even though it wasn’t. His belief that he’s fine because he got the hit stifles his development. Similarly the athlete who got out will stifle his development by searching for “what’s wrong”. Do yourself a favor and don’t base your success on whether or not you got a hit. Focus on improving and seeing everything we do on the field as a learning opportunity.

The One Handed Follow Through

It doesn’t seem like it would really matter as to which follow through you decide to use. Whether you decide to follow through with one or two hands, you wouldn’t really think that it has too much of an impact on the rest of your swing. For most of my career I have thought that the one handed follow through was just a matter of personal preference. Something that you did if it were comfortable. What I realize now is that the one handed follow through is a vital component to a mechanically perfect swing.

Look at all of the top hitters in major league baseball. Most, if not all of the top hitters use the one handed follow through. From A-Rod to Pujols to Adrian Gonzales, it seems that players that are able to hit for both power and average use the one handed follow through. So why is that? Why is it that these hitters all have the one handed follow through in common? What I have found is that when your bat path is sound and when you are driving through the ball as much as you should then the one handed follow through is a must!

You see when you drive through the ball as much as you can you are keeping the bat in the hitting zone as long as possible. This allows greater room for error, meaning that you can be a little out in front on the pitch and still drive the ball and it allows you to take all of your energy through the ball which helps you create more power. Finishing with two hands doesn’t allow you to drive through the ball and to stay in the hitting zone. It forces you to cut off your swing early so you are not getting the maximum use of your body when you hit the ball. You will have less room for error and won’t be able to drive the ball as far.

Now before you go out and just start letting go with one hand it’s important to understand that when it is done correctly the one handed follow through is completely natural. When your bat path is sound and you are staying through the hitting zone you won’t be able to finish with two hands. You won’t have to try to finish with one hand it will just happen naturally.

So if you are using the one handed follow through think about staying through the hitting zone longer. Imagine you are trying to hit four balls out in front of your body and not just one. You will begin to notice that you are forced to finish with one hand. You will also notice an increase in power and consistency.

Movement and Performance Orginates in the Mind

When athletes are first introduced to proper swing mechanics they are usually amazed at the increased level of performance they experience. Some experience so much success that when they experience an off game or go through a period where they may not be having the same level of success they were once experiencing their initial reaction is to assume that “something is wrong”. They immediately begin to think that the reason why they aren’t having the same level of success is that something physically must be off. That mechanically they must not be sound and are immediately sending me an email or text practically begging to get a lesson in because they want me to fix them. Usually the fix is something simple but many times it is just simple reassurance that everything looks good or that everything is fine. Upon leaving the lesson they leave with more confidence and usually pick up where they left off and continue to perform at a high level.

I am always interested in what I really did. Did I see a mechanical flaw that no one else could see? Or, did I just calm the mind, allowing what was already there to come out? My belief, especially with my more experienced clients, is that I simply calmed the mind and allowed the mechanics that were already there to come out. To understand what I am saying it’s important that you understand the mental principles behind human movement.

Your ability to perform as a baseball player, believe it or not, originated in your mind. Every movement, every skill, every hit, everything began in your mind and was then manifested in physical form by your performance on the field. Your “talent level” is nothing more than your ability to perform certain movements successfully. The more “talented” athlete is just able to perform proper movements more frequently than an athlete with less talent. Your ability to perform these movements is entirely based on your ability to ingrain the movement into your subconscious mind. Once the movement is imbedded into your subconscious your overall success on the field is determined by your ability to allow your subconscious mind to tell your body what to do.

Every movement your body engages in starts in your subconscious mind. From breathing, to the beating of your heart, to digestion, all of the functions and movements that we take for granted and never think about originate here. The same is true for your ability to perform your mechanics in baseball. Once you have been introduced to proper movements it is then up to you to practice these movements in a way that ingrains them into your subconscious. Once they are ingrained into the subconscious mind the movement become “automatic”. But, even when the movement becomes automatic we experience mechanical breakdown. The question is why?

When a movement, any movement is ingrained in the subconscious mind it must pass through the conscious mind in order to reach the body. Think of it as a smooth flowing river. Most of the time this river flows freely because we don’t stress or worry about the majority of the things that are imbedded here. I mean when is the last time you had to consciously tell yourself to breath in and breath out? Probably never, you just focus on other things and allow your body to work naturally. In athletics and baseball specifically we have much more mental clutter that takes place in our conscious mind. Most of which is caused by our need for success.

Many times our ego is so attached to our performance that we need to get hits or get hitters out in order to feel confident or enjoy the experience of playing. Playing in this ego dominate state produces stress, worry, fear of failure, second guessing, and putting too much effort into your movement (again originates in the mind). Any one of these things will block the smooth flow of information from your subconscious mind to your body. The river becomes blocked, slowing down the flow of the water, so to speak or in extreme cases a dam blocks the river entirely.

As you mature as an athlete begin to look more inward at what might be causing your mechanical breakdown or your reduction in performance. If you went 4 for 4 one day and 0 for 4 the next it’s not likely your body forgot how to perform the mechanics. Instead look at what you were thinking from one day to the next. Monitor your effort level and see if that 4 for 4 caused you to “try” to produce results the next day instead of allowing them to happen like you did the previous day. Remember all movement both good and bad has a mental origin. Don’t assume that something is wrong physically because you made an out. Your thoughts that something is wrong will cause something to be wrong. Understand that your subconscious mind already knows how to hit, pitch, or whatever. Your job is to allow yourself to do so.

2009 Spring Season Recap

Well, it’s been a great season. UPB’s athletes have experienced some amazing success. I wanted to take the opportunity to recognize what some of these athletes accomplished.

This season started with Kenny Dobbs and Cody Sandzimier both receiving invitations to minor league spring training. These two guys improved tremendously and didn’t even resemble the players they started out as.

Of course we had David Nick who as you all know got drafted in the fourth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. In addition David was an Aflac All-American, played for Team USA and received a scholarship to UCLA. David’s success was fun for me as I have been working with him since he was 13. To see the growth and maturity he has had not only as a player but also as a man has been amazing.

We had two other players receive college scholarships as well. Taylor Richardson will be playing in the outfield next season for Oklahoma State University and Ryan Chapman will be catching for Cal Poly Pomona. These two guys are two of the most intense and hardest working players I’ve met and really deserve all the success they’ve had.

Andrew McNeill batted over .400 and was a first team all league selection in his first full season as a varsity player. Drew is another player who has worked tremendously hard to get to the level he is currently at. It has been very exciting to watch his progress.

Rudy Ledezma was also an all league selection. He made second team all league as a sophmore in his first season as a varsity player. In addition Rudy had a stretch where he hit 4 homeruns in 5 games! Almost catching David Nick for the team lead in homeruns.

Alison Kooistra from Boston College improved her batting average 40 points from the previous year and hit her first couple of college homeruns. Including a walk off bomb against Harvard.

This season we were fortunate enough to have ALL of our in coming freshman make their freshman teams. Drew Strohl, Matt Bui, Mitch Christensen, and Mark Tumlinson (If I forgot anyone I apologize) all made their freshman teams! In addition they all performed extremely well. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these guys.

Even young Brian Neal dominated in his final year of majors and was selected to his 12u allstar team.

I just wanted to say how proud I am off all the success you guys are having. It is very fun to watch your development as athletes.

As you guys know I started UPB based on the theory that we are limitless in what we can accomplish. From my experiences as a player who never played a day of varsity baseball and being a below average college player. To developing to the player I am today I have seen first hand what is possible. I have known that talent is not something you are born with but rather something you allow to happen and something you develop. The problem always was when I would try to inspire others by telling my story I would always get the response, “You are the exception to the rule”. Starting UPB I set out to not only allow baseball players to reach their goals but also to prove that I wasn’t the exception to the rule. To prove that I was the rule. To show that you can accomplish anything, become as good of a player that you desired to become and everyday you guys are proving this to be true. Everyday you guys are improving to levels that even I could only dream of. Everyday you guys are challenging me to be better, to look deeper into the mechanics of the game and deeper into the mind in order to enable you guys to get to where you want to be. The exciting thing for me about this season is that we have only scratched the surface. As good as you guys have become this is only the tip of the iceberg and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with you. Thank you for your desire to improve, your passion for the game, and your willingness to be open to new ideas. Even though sometimes I know you guys think I’m nuts. I know you guys are like, “This guy is telling me if I give less effort I will hit with more power?” or “How is focusing on my breathing going to help me hit?” Thanks for being open and trying it out.

So now we have set the bar. Let’s continue to work hard, let’s continue to improve and let’s have fun along the way.

MLB Draft

With the beginning of this year’s Major League Baseball Draft I am once again reminded of the flaws that are rampant in major league baseball. It never ceases to amaze me at the decision making process that MLB’s top scouts and executives go through before making their picks. The irony of the whole thing is that they draft one thing and then promote something completely different to the major leagues.

Early in the draft teams generally look for players with eye popping tools. What I mean is, they like to spend big money on players who are big, run extremely well, throw hard, or have jaw dropping power. They classify these players as guys with huge “upside”. They believe that if they draft players with “tools” that they can teach them how to play the game. The problem is, time and time again they are unable to teach these guys how to play the game. What ends up happening is the players in the later rounds (3rd round and on) are the players that generally end up making it and playing for many years in the Major Leagues. These are usually the players who have a little less “tools” but they work hard and know how to play the game.

You see, leading up to the draft they run you through a variety of tests. They test throwing speed, power, size, they run the 60 yard dash for running speed. All of these tests to determine your draft status. Generally the players taken in the first two rounds dominate in these areas. The problem is once you sign, once you get to the minor leagues you will never run another 60. As a position player you will never again be judged on arm strength. All they care about once you sign is, can you play baseball? For this reason I am always astonished as to why the big money doesn’t go to “baseball players”. Guys that can play the game. Why do they burn big money on guys with “upside” and “potential” that they will never reach.

Think of it this way... There were 32 players selected in the first round of this years draft. All of which will command signing bonuses in the millions. If 4 of those players reach and play extended periods of time in the major leagues we will consider this to be a successful draft. 4!!! ONLY 4!!! What will end up happening is that in there somewhere will be a couple of Hall of Famers. A couple of kids taken today in the lower rounds will in 25 years be in Cooperstown. Don’t believe me? Look at some of these players..

Albert Pujols 13th round (probably today’s best hitter)
Tony Gwynn 3rd round (arguably the greatest hitter since Ted Williams)
David Eckstein 26th round (2 time World Champ and World Series MVP)
Robb Nen 31st round (possibly one of the top 5 closers of all time)
Mike Piazza 62cnd round (greatest hitting catcher in history)
Andy Petite 22cnd round
Howie Kendrick 10th round
Roy Oswalt 23rd round
Johan Santana never drafted


As you can see these are some of the game’s greatest players who were not taken in the top two rounds. So what is the problem? Why is it that this continues to happen year in and year out?

Most certainly some of it can be attributed to the work ethic of these players. But it has to do with major league baseball’s inability to develop athletes. Baseball’s arrogance that they can develop athletes while at the same time having a limited mindset. They believe that they can teach the game, that they can turn these “athletes” into baseball players and time after time they are unable to do so. Why?

First of all, (and get ready for this one) the coaching and instruction in professional baseball is no better then the coaching and instruction you receive in high school. That’s right, I have heard a lot of you complain about your high school coaches and don’t think for one second that it is any different at the higher levels. We assume that it is, we want it to be. Primarily because these guys are getting millions of dollars to do their job and they do it in front of millions of people. The honest truth however is that coaches in professional baseball are no better then the ones in high school. So for that reason they are unable to teach the sport to these “athletes”.

The second reason is their limited mindset. Their belief that you are either born with it or you’re not (which really is just an excuse for their own inability to develop talent). Why do you think guys turn to steroids? Why is it guys cheat? Is it because they are bad people? No! These guys want to get better, they want to succeed. The problem is there is no one around them that can tell them how to get better and the ones who try are told that they have reached their “limit”. That they were born to be a .250 hitter. What a bunch of crap!

I am amazed that with all of the advances in major league baseball. The sabermetrics and all of the new and cool ways they evaluate talent that there has been zero advancement in the area of player development. If baseball would just admit to their own shortcomings maybe more players who can play the game would go higher in the draft.

Many of you have made tremendous improvements. Many of you are playing at levels higher then you ever dreamed possible. What I want you to realize is that there are no limits to what you can accomplish. Don’t buy into the limited mentality of major league baseball. We’ve already proven that you can develop into the player you want to become. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t currently poses the eye popping skills of a first round pick. Understand that you can be as good as you desire to be. You may not be a first rounder but you can be a Hall of Famer.

Developing Arm Strength

I am asked all the time, “How can I improve my arm strength?” It’s what everyone wants, isn’t it? Everyone wants to throw harder and have that blazing arm strength that makes scout’s jaws drop. The problem is that no one really understands how to develop arm strength. There are many theories and techniques used today to increase arm strength but what most athletes and coaches fail to realize is that while there are a variety of ways that you can go about increasing arm strength there are very few ways to increase your arm strength a without increasing your chance of injury. So in order to set up a throwing program that is going to help you maximize your arm strength while at the same time help protect your arm from injury you have to focus on three different aspects....

Mechanics

I can’t stress enough the importance of mechanics. Just like in hitting mechanics enable us to work with the natural movements of the body to maximize throwing velocity and minimize injury. Now there seems to be this idea that “everybody is different”! That different mechanics work for different individuals. Let me put this theory to bed right now! While we are all different, we are also all the SAME! That’s right, we are all the same. Same muscles and bones, and when it comes to movements same muscular firing sequences. Let me give you an example: A good friend of mine is a doctor, he treats and repairs sports injuries and injuries to the muscles, bones, and joints. He may have two patients, one is suffering from severe knee pain, and the other is perfectly fine. When he does a study of these two patients he notices that the one in pain walks completely differently then the one who is fine. He then sets up a rehab and training regiment to enable the person in pain to walk like the person who isn’t in pain. Low and behold once the person who is in pain begins to walk like the person who isn’t the stress on their knee joint is relieved and the pain ceases to exist.

The same is true in throwing. You may be able to get away with poor mechanics, you may even throw hard with poor mechanics but you won’t be able to maximize your body’s full potential. At the same time while great mechanics don’t necessarily guarantee you won’t get hurt it does lessen the likelyhood of an injury. (Not everyone who smokes gets cancer but are you going to take that risk?) Before entering into any throwing program it’s imperative that you make sure you are mechanically sound. If you are not then you will just be wasting your time. Make sure you are enabling your body to be in it’s strongest position at the release point. This will immediately increase your velocity and at the same time decrease the stress on your arm.

Throwing Distance

Here is where the big debate comes in. To long toss or not to long toss? I recommend not throwing any farther than 120 feet. As a player you will rarely thrown any farther than that in a game. Plus any time you aren’t able to throw the ball on a line you are altering your mechanics. You end up putting yourself in a weaker position at release and placing more stress on your arm. I used to long toss a lot. While I did experience some gains in arm strength it was nothing compared to the gains I experienced when I played from 120 feet keeping the ball on a line. I was consistently in a better position when I threw and I developed more consistency with my mechanics since I wasn’t altering my mechanics to throw farther. Think about it, when you back up you essentially are throwing the ball as hard as you can to get the ball to your partner. What’s the difference if you are at 120 feet throwing the ball as hard as you can or at 300 feet? There isn’t any! You are still throwing the ball as hard as you can, so you are still getting the same benefit.

Keeping the ball on a line helps you maintain a consistent release point which will only benefit you when you get into a game. You will be able to throw harder more consistently because you will be using proper mechanics more consistently. You don’t need to back up any farther then 120 feet. Do yourself and your arm a favor and make 120 feet your limit.

Throwing Time

I think you are going to be shocked at the amount of time we need to throw in order to develop our arm strength. We all think that we have to go out and throw for 30, 45, or even 60 minutes in order to develop the arm strength that we desire. What we forget is that we throw with our muscles. In fact, we throw with very explosive, fast, easily fatiguing muscles. The muscles we us to throw with fatigue very easily and very fast. There is no way around it but yet we try to throw and throw and throw trying to develop strength in these muscles. The more fatigued these muscles get the more we have to alter our mechanics to throw the ball. Once those mechanics are altered you end up putting more stress on your arm and strengthening muscles that you normally wouldn’t use during throwing.

For these reasons I recommend throwing no more then between 5-8 minutes per day. WHAT? That’s right you don’t need more than 5-8 minutes of throwing a day. I also recommend altering days. What I mean is 8 minute days on your non game or non throwing days at practice followed by a 5 minute day the next day. Never go consecutive 8 minute days as your arm needs time to rest. In addition you should always feel like you could do more when you end your throwing program. If you feel so fatigued that your arm is just “done” then you probably altered your mechanics well before you ended your throwing session. Keep your throwing programs short. You will find that not only will you have more arm strength but you will also have less arm pain.

Below I have attached examples of throwing programs and how to set them up...

12 and under example 8 minute day (60 foot bases)

Distance Time

20 feet 1 minute

40 feet 2 minutes

50 feet 1 minute

60 feet 2 minutes

70 feet 1 minute

50 feet 1 minute


12 and under example 5 minute day (60 foot bases)

Distance Time

20 feet 1 minute

40 feet 1 minute

60 feet 1 minute

70 feet 1 minute

60 feet 1 minute


18 and under example 8 minute day (90 foot bases)

Distance Time

40 feet 1 minute

60 feet 2 minutes

90 feet 2 minutes

120 feet 2 minutes

90 feet 1 minute

18 and under example 5 minute day (90 foot bases)

40 feet 30 seconds

60 feet 30 seconds

90 feet 2 minutes

120 feet 1 minute

90 feet 1 minute

The Bat Path

In baseball circles there tends to be much debate over the proper bat path when it comes to delivering the bat to the ball. For the most part it seems that most hitters, coaches, and instructors fall into two categories as to which bat path they believe is the correct one. The debate seems to be over whether a hitter should take a downward path to the ball or take more of an upward path to the ball. While most people involved in baseball agree that a hitter should take the most direct path possible and have a “short, compact” swing they differ on how this “short, compact” swing is achieved.

The predominant belief today is that the bat should be taken in an upward trajectory toward the pitch. This belief was first sparked by Ted Williams and his book, “The Science of Hitting”. Ted Williams believed that the bat must “get on plane” with the ball early matching the downward slope of the pitch. Since the pitch is moving downward (due to the pitcher on the mound throwing to a squatting catcher) Williams reasoned that if you get your barrel on plane with the pitch you increase your likelyhood of hitting the ball squarely. The argument also believes that this allows you more room for error since being on the same plane as the pitch (in theory) allows you to drive the ball even if you are not perfect with your timing.

Even with the advantage of video there is still a large majority of the baseball world that buys into this theory. They see that hitters have a small upward motion in their swing and naturally assume that the swing is in fact a slight upper cut. The problem is this theory is severely flawed and doesn’t allow the body to perform at it’s maximum capacity. Oh sure, you may think you see a small uppercut in a hitter’s swing but this generally happens during the follow through portion of the swing after the point of contact. An uppercut swing does much more harm than good and limits what a hitter is able to accomplish. Things such as: slower bat speed, being in weaker point at the point of contact, and the bat leaving the hitting zone early are some of the consequences of swinging in this motion.

What Ted Williams didn’t know and what most proponents of this bat path don’t know is that a downward swing works better with the body’s natural biomechanics. It allows for repeatability and gives the hitter more room for error. In addition there is a huge increase in a hitter’s power. The downward swing increases power by allowing the hitter to be in a stronger position at the point of contact as well as allowing the hitter to create backspin which aids in carry. But let’s look at the three main reasons as to why an downward bat path is best....

Increased Bat Speed

When a hitter uses a downward bat path they will notice a tremendous jump in bat speed and as a result they will be able to wait on the ball longer which helps with their pitch recognition. The increase in bat speed is due to a couple of reasons. First of all, this bat path allows the hitter to take the most direct route to the ball. When trying to get to the point of contact it only makes sense to take the barrel of the bat to the point of contact in the shortest distance possible. Swinging down allows the hitter to take the barrel from point A to point B as direct as possible shortening the distance the barrel has to travel to the ball.

Secondly, since we are gong “down” at the ball we are able to use gravity to aid us in the production of bat speed. That’s right! Gravity becomes our friend when we use it properly in hitting. Just like any other object that is traveling down our bat is pulled by gravity. The pull of gravity plus our own physical effort equals greater energy delivering the bat to the ball. In the upper cut model of swinging you have to fight gravity in order to generate your bat speed. While it may not seem like this could make that big of a difference remember baseball is a sport that is measured in 1/100 and 1/1000 of seconds. If you are off by just a small amount that could be the difference between a hit or an out. Between a homerun and a fly ball. Remember that the difference between a .250 hitter and a .300 hitter in the major leagues is 1 hit a week. Just 1 hit a week puts you in Cooperstown, wouldn’t you want to do what ever you could to help yourself out?

Finally, you are able to generate more bat speed because with the downward bat path the barrel is able to stay tighter to the body during the rotation phase of the swing. Think of a figure skater spinning. When they tuck their arms in they spin faster, when they extend their arms their rotation slows. It is the same in hitting. When you take the downhill path to the ball the barrel stays tighter to the body allowing the body to rotate faster. Obviously the faster the body rotates the faster the hitter’s bat speed.

Increases Power Production

Power production is obviously going to be affected by more bat speed however in addition to more bat speed the downhill bat bath aides your power production in other, more important ways.

First and probably most importantly the downhill bat path allows the hitter to get into their strongest position at the point of contact. Our posture at the point of contact is greatly effected by the bat path we take. When we use the “uppercut” swing our posture is altered in such a way that puts us in a weak position at the point of contact. Our hips, shoulders, and head tilt which is a much weaker position at the point of contact. However, the downhill bat path allows the hitter to keep the hips, shoulders, and head in a strong position which instantly increases the power production of the hitter. Think about it! I mean, if you were going to punch a punching bag would you hit it with your hips and shoulders tilted. You would make sure that your hips and shoulders were square and level so you would be strong and able to hit the punching bag as hard as possible. The same goes for hitting. You must be in a strong posture at the point of contact and the downhill bat path enables you to do that.

Secondly, the downhill bat path aides in power production by allowing the hitter to produce backspin. Backspin is important because it produces “carry” on the ball. When you watch a big league game you may have noticed two types of homeruns. The first of which are the towering, high fly balls that make it a few rows past the wall. The second type are the hard hit rising line drives that appear to gain height the farther they travel from the hitter. The second type is a ball hit with backspin. These balls travel farther and higher as they travel away from the hitter and usually produce balls that travel well beyond 400 feet. But, backspin isn’t just about hitting homeruns. If you hit the ball perfectly, sure backspin will help you hit the ball really far. However, you aren’t going to hit the ball perfectly every time. Backspin allows you to still get your hits by producing the hard skipping ground ball or line drive that gets through the infield as opposed to the high, choppy, slow ground balls and lazy fly balls that are caused by topspin. Either way, backspin helps you produce results as a hitter and the way to get it is through the use of the downhill bat path.

Allows more room for error

The downhill bat path allows more room for error because believe it or not it allows the bat to stay “on plane” or “through the ball” longer. This is the irony of the whole debate. The proponents of the upper cut swing believe that getting the bat “on plane” early allows the bat to stay on plane. However the way the body works doesn’t allow the bat to stay on plane when its gets on plane early. When a hitter gets the bat on plane early they are longer to the point of contact and shorter through the point of contact. As a result if you are not perfect with your timing then your bat will have left the hitting area before the pitch gets to you.

With the downhill bat path your bat gets to the point of contact sooner and as a result of the path you are taking stays in the hitting area longer allowing you to still drive the ball even if you aren’t perfect with your timing. In addition I have never seen a hitter hit a pitch behind them. So then why would you want to get your bat “on plane” before the point of contact? It doesn’t help you at all and limits the results you can produce.

Finally, you have more room for error because you are stronger at the point of contact. Like I mentioned earlier the bat path drastically effects our posture. When we use the downhill bat path your posture is in a stronger position at the point of contact. As a result you can mishit balls and still get your hits because your are so strong at the point of contact. If you are in a weaker position you have to hit the ball squarely in order get the ball to travel with any kind of velocity. If you don’t hit it perfectly you are so weak that you will produce lazy fly balls and ground balls and won’t maximize your ability to get hits. The downhill bat path or swinging down on the ball enables you to be in this strong position giving you more room for error.

So can you be successful using the uppercut swing or getting your swing “on plane” early? Sure you can! Many have done it. Especially bigger players as they have more mass and can get away with more flaws. However, why wouldn’t you do whatever you could to maximize your success? If you are having success, why wouldn’t you do everything possible to experience more success? Don’t limit yourself in any way. Adjust your mechanics accordingly and take you performance to new heights.

Deliberate Practice Part 7

Over the past couple of months I have been writing about “Deliberate Practice”. I have taken most of my information from both Geoff Colvin’s book “Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else” and from my own experiences as an athlete, coach, and instructor. The book is fantastic! It has given me scientific proof backing my long held theory that “natural talent” doesn’t exist and that anyone can achieve any level of performance they desire to reach. Over the course of the previous 6 posts on “Deliberate Practice I have given you ideas as to how to make your practice sessions more effective and “Deliberate”. In this post I want to explain why practicing deliberately will enable you to reach any level of performance you desire to reach and how some of the world’s top prodigies are nothing more than people who have been practicing deliberately longer than their contemporaries.

In Colvin’s book he refers to the “ten year rule”. Simply stated, the ten year rule is that few performers in any endeavor achieve any level of greatness prior to deliberately practicing for 10 years. These “overnight successes”, the people who burst onto the scene and seemly come out of nowhere and appear to have natural ability for what they are doing have been deliberately practicing for 10 or more years. The interesting thing is that this 10 year rule is ageless. What I mean is, the clock starts once you start practicing deliberately and has no bearing on your age when you begin your intense level of practice. For example a 15 year old kid can have the same level of mastery over their skill as a 25 year old man. If that 15 year old starts practicing deliberately when they are 5 years old they will posses the same skill level as the 25 year old who may have started practicing deliberately at the age of 15. But, because we live in a world that assumes the 25 year old should be better because of experience and the fact that they have been performing the skill longer we assume that a 15 year old who is as proficient as a 25 year old has “natural” talent. However the years of deliberate practice remain the same.

Think about what most of us do. Most athletes, if they ever do decide to practice deliberately never do so until their high school or college years. Most athletes just play until at some point they decide that they want to make a run at playing in college or professionally. So even though they may have been playing for 10 or more years they usually have only been deliberately practicing for 1 year or less. Believe it or not in my experience, most of the major league players I know never practice deliberately. The superstars do but everyone else just goes through the motions. Which only further lends credibility to the “natural talent” theory since most professional athletes or anyone for that matter would never admit that they didn’t work hard enough. Plus we all think that major league players know what they are doing and that they know how to practice. The sad reality is that most athletes, even at the major league level, never engage in deliberate practice. This can be for a variety of reasons and isn’t limited to laziness but usually lack of knowledge of how to practice properly or the proper techniques needed to perform the skill correctly. I think of my own career and at 31 years old I feel as though I could step into the major leagues right now and not only contribute but be one of the better hitters in Major League Baseball. This feeling of confidence has only happened recently and some could argue that I have reached this level of mastery at an age that most athletes come into their prime. The problem I have with that argument is that I have only been practicing deliberately for about 7 years. As most of you know I have been hitting off a tee everyday of my life since the age of 12. In those 19 years of practice I was unaware of how to practice properly and what the proper mechanics of hitting were until about 6-7 years ago when I finally began to figure it out (though I will be the first on to admit that I still have a lot to learn). I have no doubt that if I were to have began deliberately practicing at 12 years old that I would have achieved the same level of physical mastery at the age of 19. Think about that! If I had the same level of mastery over my swing at 19 as I do at 31 not only would I have been a very high draft pick but also would have been considered a “natural”. Somewhat ironic if you consider that my high school and college coaches and teammates would have told you that I was anything but a natural.

You might think that there are examples all over the world of people with natural talent. However, if you listen to them being interviewed and you do some research into their past you will find examples of deliberate practice all the time. From Pujols, to Bonds, to Manny, to Roy Halladay, each guy practices and works differently then their peers. Some of you may have seen the youtube video of Susan Boyle. She is the 47 year old British woman who was on “Britian’s got Talent”. All though she didn’t look like a great singer and has never (until recently) received any notoriety for her singing, she astonished the judges with her amazing talent. If you haven’t seen it I recommend you check it out. Anyway, when you do a little research into her past you find that she has been singing since she was a child. She grew up in a house where her parents sang and singing was a big part of the families’ life. Just because we had never heard of her we all think that she is a “natural”. However, it turns out she (whether she knew it or not) had been deliberately practicing for over 30 years!

To take this point even further let’s take a look at two of the people that were studied in Colvin’s book, Wolfgang Mozart and Tiger Woods. What follows will be excerpts from Colvin’s book, “Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everyone Else”.

Mozart

“Mozart’s father was of course Leopold Mozart, a famous composer and performer in his own right. He was also a domineering parent who started his son on a program of intensive training in composition and performing at age three. Leopold was well qualified for his role as little Wolfgang’s teacher by more than his own eminence; he was deeply interested in how music was taught to children. While Leopold was only so-so as a musician he was highly accomplished as a pedagogue. His authoritative book on violin instruction, published the same year Woldgang was born, remained influential for decades.

So from the earliest age, Wolfgang was receiving heavy instruction from an expert teacher who lived with him. Of course his early compositions seem remarkable, but they raise some provocative questions. It’s interesting to note that the manuscripts are not in the boy’s own hand; Leopold always “corrected” them before anyone saw them. It seems noteworthy also that Leopold stopped composing at just the time he began teaching Wolfgang.”

“Mozart’s first work regarded today as a masterpiece, with its status confirmed by the number of recordings available, is his Piano Concerto No. 9, composed when he was twenty-one. That’s certainly an early age, but we must remember that by then Wolfgang had been through eighteen years of extremely hard, expert training.”

Tiger

“Tiger is born into the home of an expert golfer and confessed “golf addict” who loves to teach and is eager to begin teaching his new son as soon as possible.”

“Earl gives Tiger his first metal club, a putter, at the age of seven months. He sets up Tiger’s high chair in the garage, where earl is hitting balls into a net, and Tiger watches for hours on end. “It was like a movie being run over and over and over for his view.” Earl wrote. Earl develops new techniques for teaching the grip and the putting stroke to a student who cannot yet talk. Before Tiger is two, they are at the golf course playing and practicing regularly.”

“Amid all that has been written about his legend, a couple of facts are especially worth noting. First is the age at which he initially achieved outstanding performance at a level of play involving regular international competition. Let’s call it age nineteen, when he was a member of the U.S. Team in Walker Cup play (though he did not win his match). At that point he had been practicing golf with tremendous intensity, first under his father and after age four under professional teachers, for seventeen years.”

My hope is that from reading the above two examples you realize that natural talent doesn’t exist. I hope that you can see that your level of performance, your level of greatness is entirely under your control. You are completely unlimited in what you can accomplish both on and off the field. Look yourself in the mirror, evaluate how you are practicing and make the changes necessary to make sure you are practicing more deliberately. I have seen it work in my own life and in the lives of some of the athletes that I work with. Once you make the switch from regular practice to deliberate practice I know that you will be amazed at your increase in performance. If playing college or professional baseball is your dream then deliberate practice is the way to get there. Don’t waist another minute spinning your wheels. Make sure there is a purpose to everything thing you do. Mindless repetition might produce small gains in performance but deliberate practice will unlock your unlimited potential. Don’t be one of those people who makes the excuse “I just didn’t have enough talent”. Begin practicing deliberately and create your talent.