I am as guilty of this as anyone. When I was younger I prided myself on my work ethic. I would hit every day and make sure that I took over 100 swings. I could usually get my 100 plus swings done in 20-30 minutes. Obviously I wasn’t taking too much time between each swing. My level of improvement was limited, I wasn’t performing the way I wanted and I had no idea how to succeed. I was just hitting to hit.
As I matured I began to realize that I needed to focus on the process of hitting more and less on the result. I needed to focus on how to produce a particular result in order to produce the results I wanted. The more I began to think about my swing the more I began to understand what I needed to do in order to produce the results I desired.
The way I practiced when I was younger is what I see from most athletes today. It’s a waist of time! If you are not able to think about what it is you are doing from swing to swing how can you improve?
In Geoff Colvin’s book “Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else” he states, “Deliberate practice is above all an effort of focus and concentration. That is what makes it “deliberate”, as distinct from the mindless playing of scales or hitting tennis balls that most people engage in. Continually seeking exactly those elements of performance that are unsatisfactory and then trying one’s hardest to make them better places enormous strains on anyone’s mental abilities.” When you engage in deliberate practice it takes a tremendous amount of focus. You are continually making adjustments from swing to swing. You may not be able to get anywhere near as many swings as you normally would however you will improve at a much faster rate. In addition at the end of a deliberate practice session you should feel mentally drained. Normally in most athlete’s practice sessions they end when you are physically tired. Mental fatigue is far more powerful than physical fatigue. If for some reason you get to physical fatigue in your practice session you probably weren’t practicing deliberately.
There is a previous example of this on an earlier blog I wrote on Manny Ramirez. In an article on his practice routine it states, "By 8 [a.m.], he's in the cage. He'll only take 30 to 35 balls, but he's almost perfect with them. He does it slow. He doesn't rush. He's not firing ball after ball. He takes his time with each swing. It's like each swing is a whole at-bat. He thinks about what he wants to do and then he thinks about what he just did. Every swing he takes with a purpose. And he doesn't talk much when he's hitting.”
This quote shows that Manny is completely focused on what each and every swing.
Similarly I have completely changed my practice routine. In my daily practice routine I hit for 45 minutes but now in that amount of time I may only get 50-60 swings in. The “less is more” approach has worked very, very well. I have improved faster than I ever did before. I have a great understanding of my swing and what I need to do to produce the results I want.
In your practice sessions, slow down. Think about your swings and the adjustments you need to make from swing to swing. Take less swings but focus more on the swings you do take. You’ll find you will improve much faster and have a better understanding of what you need to do to succeed.
To review, Deliberate Practice must be:
- Be specific
- Be repeatable
- Be able to gain feedback on your performance
- Be demanding mentally
