The Evolution of Players

I’m asked a lot about how players are different today as opposed to when I was younger. My answer is always the same in that I say they’re better and worse at the same time. There is no question that players today are far more advanced fundamentally then when I was in high school and college. With the increasing popularity of private instruction, camps/clinics, and travel ball players today have much more opportunity to improve and are more prepared when they reach the college and professional levels. So in that regard the players today are far better then just 15-20 years ago.

The problem I see is that everything in the game has become too organized. Players today have so much opportunity to play organized baseball, on nice fields, with nice uniforms, umpires, coaches, and fans that they rarely, if ever play a simple pick up game, over the line, or even whiffle ball. In my opinion this is hindering the players today by taking some of the fun from the game and stifling their creativity. Players today are so used to playing in an organized, regimented environment that they’ve lost the ability to just go out and play. This has translated into an increase in the number of players suffering from fear of failure and has increased the stress levels of many players. It appears that very few players today play for the shear joy of the game. From an early age they are constantly striving to reach a higher level of play, to improve, and to reach some level of performance or some long term goal.

It’s important for us to remember that baseball is just a game. One that should be enjoyed and played with passion and joy from the earliest levels of T-Ball all the way up to the Major Leagues. The more we organize the game, the more we rob the players of today of the joy of playing. Instead of worrying about constantly pushing to develop take some time to get back to the pure essence of the game. Go out and play some whiffle ball, play a game of over the line. Encourage young players to get a couple of friends together and play a pick up game. It may not seem like these unorganized games away from parents and coaches are valuable however it helps remind players what they play for. It helps players develop creativity which is where great plays come from. It helps players play freely without the pressure of winning and it helps players take ownership of their own game which develops in them the passion and desire to put the work in to improve.

Slow Your Feet Down

Working with a lot of high school and college infielders I notice a common mistake that increases the likelihood of a bobbled ball or an errant throw. It seems to me that most infielders today are taught to have so much movement in their feet and are schooled that it’s so vitally important to have “quick” feet that they don’t put themselves in good position to catch the ball or to make a good throw. To often high school and college coaches are more concerned with how an infielder looks rather then how an infielder performs. If you watch most Major League infielders you’ll notice how smooth and deliberate they look when fielding the ball. This is due to the efficiency of their movements. Major League players understand that the more efficient they are with their movements they don’t have to work as hard to complete a play. What I notice is that most amateur infielders take twice as many steps to go the same distance as professional infielders. Everything they do is done with a lot of movement and at a high rate of speed. So why is this a bad thing?

First of all, the more movement an athlete has the more the head moves which makes it more difficult to get a good read on a hop and field the ball cleanly. Secondly, when it comes to getting the throw off and completing the play the added quick movement causes the infielder to feel rushed and doesn’t allow him to get his arms in good position to make the throw. As a result he has to take 2 more steps before releasing the ball and when he does make the throw his lower half is ahead of this upper body causing the throwing arm to drag and causing the ball to sail creating more errant throws.

My advice to my infielders is to think about slowing their feet down. Infielders are already quick enough so there is no reason to try to move quicker. What’s the old John Wooden quote, “Be quick but don’t hurry.” That couldn’t apply more to fielding ground balls. Your feet will be quick enough naturally there is no reason to try and be quicker. I tell my infielders to think about taking bigger, slower, more deliberate steps and to take a more direct route to the ball. As opposed to taking the short quick choppy steps the bigger more deliberate steps stabilize the head, allows the body to be in good position when fielding the ball, and allows the upper body to move together with the lower body allowing the player to have a consistent release point on the throw.

So if you’re an infielder do yourself a favor and slow down. Think about taking bigger more deliberate steps. You won’t be too slow, in fact you may just notice that you’re actually quicker by slowing down because you’ll be more efficient.

Infield and Hitting Classes

I wanted to let everyone know about the infield and hitting classes I am now offering at The Brickyard in Lake Forest. Infield classes will be held on Monday nights from 6pm-7:30pm and will not only cover basic infield skills such as footwork, transfer, backhands, and double plays but we will also cover advanced level infield skills such as angles, mental approach, reading bat angle, and positioning.

My hitting classes will also cover the fundamentals of the swing and help you to develop more consistency and power. We will also have the opportunity to get into some mental approach skills as well as learning about mental blocks that might be preventing you from consistently repeating your swing in a game situation and the skills you need to remove these blocks and maximize your ability. The hitting class will be Wednesday nights from 7pm-8pm.

Both classes are $25 per athlete and there is a limit of 10 players per class. Anyone interested should contact me at: Ryan@unlimitedperformancebaseball.com.

Defining Success

In baseball and in life we sometimes have a tendency to judge ourselves by everyone else’s definition of success and rarely our own. We push and strive to get better and achieve a certain level of success and many times we have no idea what success really is. Especially in sports we have a tendency to judge our success based on what the general population considers to be a successful athlete. Getting the D1 scholarship, getting drafted, playing at the major league level, all these things are generally the standard by which we judge the ability of our athletes. The problem is these things may not be right for everyone. Not everyone will be happy at the big D1 school, some guys go to schools because they’re D1 but they are located in some pretty undesirable places to live. Maybe you’d be happy at a small school. Maybe there is a D3 or NAIA school somewhere that offers you playing time, a good education, and a great experience. The point is that we need to understand what it is we truly want and what we define as success.

The same can be said about our performance on the field. It’s easy to judge our performance based on how many hits we get or our stats at the end of the year. But that is using outside influences to dictate if we are successful or not. The problem with that is 1) these are things that are beyond our control and 2) not everyone is at the same place in their career. Maybe hitting .300 is easy for you and you are able to do that year in and year out. Assuming that this means you’re successful is limiting the amount of overall success you could potentially have. If you’re a player who doesn’t hit .300 consistently and you base you’re success on hitting .300 you are limiting yourself as well since you will consistently feel like you’ve failed which won’t allow you to make the adjustments necessary to improve.

In every situation you encounter you need to first define what success is for you. This definition needs to be based on things that you can control. If you’re working on a particular adjustment in your swing you could base your success in that at-bat on wether or not you were able to execute that adjustment. Whatever you decide I encourage you to take the time to really define what success means for you. This will allow you to consistently improve and allow you to become a better player then you ever could imagine. In addition you will be able to recognize when you are successful and that will be based on your definition and not that of others.

Perceptions Shape Performance

I’ve written about this before but it’s something that’s been on my mind lately. Our performance is dictated by the way we perceive the different situations that arise in a game. Why is it some players perform with the game on the line while others consistently come up short? Why is it you might be able to hit well with the bases empty but with runners on you aren’t able to come through? Why is it some players bounce back from adversity quicker and easier then other players do? Quite simply, each player perceives situations and events differently. The trick is to recognize which perceptions are limiting you and then changing your perception to one that empowers you to succeed. When you strike out do you see that as something bad? Or, can you change that perception to see that strikeout as an opportunity to learn about the pitcher you’re facing? How do you perceive pressure situations? Do you see the situation as a fun, exciting opportunity or do you see it as a stressful situation where if you don’t succeed you’ll let the team down? Whatever situation arises you must understand that how you perceive the situation will dictate your ability to perform. If you understand that the mind controls the body, and you understand that in order to perform that you must put your mind in the best possible position to allow your body to execute mechanics then you’ll do whatever you can to make sure that you are not limiting what you’re capable of by perceiving situations negatively.

So how do we do this? It all goes back to the questions you ask yourself in your head. When you strikeout and you ask yourself, “What did I do wrong?” You are putting yourself in a disempowering state. You are replaying negative events in your mind making it more likely for those events to repeat themselves. Instead change the questions you ask by asking, “What can I learn from that at-bat?” “What adjustments can I make?” Doing so will change how you feel about the event and ultimately change your perception and change your performance. When you come up with the game winning run on secondbase and two outs in the ninth inning just change your perception. Instead of seeing it as a stressful, pressure packed, all on your shoulders situation, look at it from a positive stand point. Tell yourself that getting the game winning hit will be fun and that these are the situations you live for and the reason you play the game. What you’ll notice is the pressure is reduced, you’re able to enjoy the situation more, freeing your mind to perform.

Chunking

Many people ask me how it is I develop the swings of my hitters. Many people believe that you can’t teach everyone to have a good mechanically sound swing. They believe that your ability to hit was given to you at birth. While it is true that some people pick up on movement patterns and learn skills easier then others it doesn’t mean that everyone can’t learn them. With proper instruction and the right amount of deliberate practice anyone can become a good hitter. From a physical standpoint, hitting has to do with your ability to execute proper mechanics on hittable pitches consistently. Where most hitters fall short is their inability to execute these mechanics either as a whole or on certain pitches in particular locations. When hitters are introduced to proper swing mechanics they might become frustrated by an inability to perform the mechanics they are trying to learn. In addition they may have coaches or parents that become frustrated as well because the athlete isn’t picking up on or able to execute the desired adjustment. To which many athletes or coaches may simply give up and explain away the athlete’s inability to learn the skill by blaming some lack on inborn talent or not possessing the athletic ability necessary to make the adjustment.

Obviously, if you know me or have been following my other posts you know that I couldn’t disagree with this way of thinking any more then I already do. I feel that the key for coaches or athletes who are trying to make changes in their swing or the swings of their athletes is to not view the swing as a single movement but rather a group of smaller movements pieced together as one. What I do to develop my hitters is break the swing apart into smaller, easier to learn chunks. Small skills that when put together create one, superior movement pattern. When I run into an athlete that may have more difficulty learning the small skills necessary in the swing, I then break the small skill into even smaller chunks and build the skill that way until the athlete is able to grasp the entire movement pattern.

If you are working with hitters or if you’re an athlete trying to make changes in your own swing, break your swing down into easily learnable chunks. If you are still having difficulty making the desired change to your swing then break the chunk into a chunk and keep doing so until you are able to make the change you desire. Begin to think of building the swing as you would building a house. Start with a good foundation, set up the framework (the stance), and then piece it together one brick or one chunk at a time.

Hitting Pitches in Different Locations

One of the biggest misconceptions in all of hitting is that we have to change our swing based on the location of the pitch. You’ll hear many coaches or instructors talk about pulling the hands in on an inside pitch or you may hear them discuss “going with” the outside pitch. What we have to keep in mind is what happens to the barrel when we do this and how that is going to effect your ability to maintain a proper bat path and repeat your mechanics.

As hitters our goal is to repeat proper mechanics as much as possible. However, if we continuously alter our mechanics based on pitch location then we won’t be consistent with our mechanics and won’t be able to have consistent success. Plus, any time we “pull the hands in” or try to “go with” the outside pitch our bat path is greatly effected. Both cause the barrel to drop and force us to drag the bat head through the hitting zone. Ironically our intent might be to shorten our path to the ball so that we don’t get jammed on the inside pitch but we are actually lengthening out our swing and creating that which we don’t want.

It’s important to understand that if you have good, sound swing mechanics and a sound bat path then you are capable of covering both the inside and outside parts of the plate by simply repeating your swing. The only change is where you make contact with the ball in relationship to your body. I always tell my hitters that all you want to do is recognize where the pitch is and then stay disciplined enough to maintain proper swing mechanics. When you recognize where a pitch is that just let’s you know where the hitting zone is going to be. On ann inside pitch the hitting zone will be farther out in front of your body then an outside pitch. Once you recognize where the pitch is you simply wait for the ball to get into the hitting zone and then you execute proper mechanics on the pitch. It really is that simple.

During your next BP round take your focus off of hitting the ball hard and focus on repeating your mechanics as often as you can. Recognize where the pitch is and then once it’s in the hitting zone focus on executing proper mechanics. Watch how consistently you drive the ball. If you can take this same approach into your game, not only will you hit the ball harder and farther but you will do so with greater consistency.

Energy and Performance

My study’s into the mind and how the mind impacts performance has led me to some pretty interesting areas of research that I never had suspected it would take me. When I started out I simply wanted to know how I could relax more at the plate and become more consistent. As I dove deeper and deeper into the human mind and began to educate myself on what creates true athletic performance I found myself going deeper then just your basic positive self talk or goal setting steps found in most sport psychology books. Just like in my study of mechanics I wanted to know more, I wanted to know why I responded in game situations like I did and why many of those same responses played themselves out in my everyday life. What I’ve come across is the same principles that create success in athletic performance also create success in everyday life.

Maybe many of you have seen the movie “The Secret” or perhaps you’ve picked up a book on the Law of Attraction. Don’t worry, I’m not getting into a spiritual conversation about how you can improve your life or get the things you want in life (I’ll save that for my other website). But, if you have, then you are at least familiar with the idea that we are all energistic beings and we all radiate a different vibrational frequency based on the thoughts we have and the emotions that we are feeling. Okay, okay so how does this relate to baseball and performance. Well, very simply the vibrational frequency you are emanating has a tremendous impact not only on your ability to repeat your mechanics but also your overall strength and ability to drive the ball or throw the ball hard not to mention avoid injury. And, this vibrational frequency is linked to the thoughts you are thinking and emotions you are feeling.

I know this may sound a bit out there however think back to the last time you were in “the zone”. What were you feeling? What were you thinking? I can guarantee you weren’t feeling angry, depressed, anxious, or any other negative feeling. I can also guarantee you weren’t thinking about personal glory, winning or loosing, it’s probably safe to say you weren’t really thinking at all.

There have been studies conducted to show the effect negativity has on an athlete’s strength and performance. In kinesiology we use strength testing to determine how something effects human performance. With strength testing an athlete may be asked to hold something in one hand or even hold a thought in their head. The person conducting the test will then ask the athlete to hold out the other hand and try to resist him/her from pushing the arm down. When the athlete is around something negative or thinking something negative the arm goes week. When the athlete is around or thinking about positive things the arm is strong. I had the privilege to witness and be a part of one such test. At the front of the room there were two sealed manila envelopes. Myself and the other athletes in the room were instructed to hold each envelope separately while the instructor tried to push our arm down. Each athlete was unable to hold our arm’s up while holding the envelope marked “H” while we were each strong with the envelope marked “L”. When the test was over the instructor opened each envelope. Inside the envelope marked “H” was a picture of Adolph Hitler while in the envelope marked “L” was a picture of Abraham Lincoln. To say I was blown away would be an understatement.

In the book “Power vs. Force” Dr. David Hawkins did research to this very thing. He found that athletes who are motivated by negative emotions or are surrounded with negativity will go weak during competition. “The competitor who is motivated by pride, greed, or interested in primarily beating their opponent, will go weak at the moment of the starting gun and be unable to achieve the maximum continued effort necessary for great achievement.” However he found that athletes that were motivated by the shear joy of playing or playing to their own highest potential for the sake of excellence remained strong and performed better.

The point to all this is that you need to be careful with what you are surrounding yourself with. Are you up to the plate thinking negative thoughts? Are you listening to negative music or “pumping” yourself up before a game instead of clearing your mind and focusing on being as efficient as possible? Remember that only you can take responsibility for what’s going on in your own mind. Understand that while you might think that focusing on kicking the opponents ass might be the way to get you fired up to perform in reality you are just making it more difficult on yourself and limiting what you are capable of accomplishing on the field. Surround yourself with more positive people, spend time before each game quieting your mind and visualizing your mechanics. While you may not feel the same pre-game pump up, you’ll find that you will be far more consistent in your performance.

3D Motion Analysis 2 Day Performance Camp

***Limited to the first 20 athletes***

Unlimited Performance Baseball has teamed up with Zenolink and Southwest Health Professional Center to bring you the most cutting edge motion analysis and performance enhancement tool on the market. Zenolink will take a video of your swing or pitching mechanics and use the data to generate a custom performance enhancement program to help you become a more efficient athlete which is the foundation for developing more speed, power, and consistency.

“Unlike your more traditional sports analysis, we apply 3-D Motion Analysis to look at the dynamics of motion,” says ZenoLink founder and biomechanical expert, Chris Welch. “We look at patterns of movement, including the dynamic range of motion and speed patterns. From this analysis, we can evaluate true performance output and root causes of power leaks, inefficiency and injury potential.”

When: Sunday January 30th and Sunday February 6th
Time: 10am-12pm

Where: The Sports Training Complex
1590 S. Sinclair St.
Anaheim, Ca 92806

Cost: $249


Here’s how ZenoLink works:

Step 1: Collect Data. The athlete is filmed in their natural environment, hitting a golf ball, throwing a pitch, swinging a bat, spiking a volleyball or hitting a tennis ball. The process is easy – without the use of sensors, wires or a vest.
Step 2: Data Analysis. The video is made into a 3-D model of the athlete at the ZenoLink performance lab in Endicott, NY. Their biomechanical engineers interpret the movement of the model using specialized software to gather measurements including kinetic linking, joint range of motion, body segment coordination and outcome parameters.
Step 3: Get Results! ZenoLink provides the athlete with a specialized program that targets specific areas to help them get dramatic results toward improving their athletic potential and reduce their chances of injury. Athletes as well as their coaches and trainers can access their results on zenolink.com to incorporate the PST program into their current strength and conditioning routines.


ABOUT ZENOLINK

ZenoLink is a cutting-edge biomechanics analysis and training tool used by athletes of all levels to improve athletic performance – through the power of 3-D! By zeroing in on what’s really happening during an individual’s sports activity, ZenoLink provides athletes, coaches and trainers – primarily in golf, baseball, cycling, lacrosse, hockey, softball, volleyball, tennis and running– an easy and affordable solution that dramatically improves performance and reduces the risk of injury. Using specialized 3-D Motion Analysis, ZenoLink captures data related to functional movement, and turns it into a digital model of the athlete’s motion, taking the guesswork out of identifying flaws or restrictions in coordination. For more information, visit www.ZenoLink.com.

To register or for more information visit:
www.3Dsportsanalytics.com

In Order to Win, Accept Defeat

Let’s face it, nobody wants to lose, strikeout, or make an error but unfortunately these things are part of the game. Regardless of how hard you work, how much you try there is no avoiding these things and sometimes they come in bunches. Unfortunately losses, strikeouts, and errors have become symbols of something much worse then what they really are. From a hitting standpoint I see this a lot. Parents, players, and coaches have turned a strikeout into something much worse then what it really is. We’ve turned it into a direct attack on our ability, a sign that something must be wrong, a sign that you might not be as good as you think you are, or even a sign that you’re up to the plate with a lack of focus or not trying. Worse yet we’ve turned a strikeout looking to be the ultimate insult to our ability. Something that just “can’t happen” and as a result we’ve produced athletes that are petrified of the strikeout. You see at at every level of the game even at the youngest levels. You rarely see an 8 year old cry after a groundball out. However watch him strikeout and the tears start flowing. At the high school and college level I get players who strikeout once, twice, or more in a game or two and it’s time to hit the panic button. “This can’t happen! He needs to go up there and be more aggressive!” the parents will tell me. Really? When is the last time you tried it?

We have this misconception that we can avoid these things if we simply try hard enough, as if they will disappear by shear will power. We simply can’t allow ourselves to fail or look bad. I mean after all, how could our fragile little egos deal with the fact you just struckout, kicked a ball, or even lost a game? Unfortunately what we don’t realize is that our intense desire to avoid these unpleasant parts of the game is actually creating athletes who strikeout more and make more errors. We’re creating athletes who don’t enjoy competing and as a result we are hampering their development because they are afraid to push themselves because God forbid they fail.

Look, in order to begin to change this problem we first have to see these things for what they are. A strikeout is just a strikeout, an error is just an error, and a loss is just a loss. They have no bearing on your abilities as an athlete or what you’re capable of becoming (yes even if you strikeout looking off a pitcher who “sucks”). In my career for example I’ve been lucky enough to get hits off of Major League pitchers and have struckout off of some of the crappiest pitching on earth. Does that mean I’m better then the Major League guy or worse then the crappy guy? No! All it means is that in that one at bat I got a hit or in that one at bat I got out. Nothing more, nothing less.

Secondly, we have to completely accept that these things are going to happen. What I mean by accept it completely is not to just know that these things will happen and do your best to avoid them, but to completely accept the fact that regardless of what you do, or how hard you work that you will get called out looking, you will swing and miss at hittable pitches, you will make errors, and that there is nothing you can do about it. You have to begin to embrace failure, so much so that you begin to look at it as a good thing. As an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve. In my own career for example I made the switch from the outfield (in college) to the infield (in the minor leagues). At first this transition was very difficult. Each day that I took the field I was terrified of booting balls, of making errors, and looking bad in front of the players, coaches, and fans that were in the stadium that day. I wanted so badly for everyone to think that I was a good player and that I could make the transition and yet I hit a plateau in my development. I kept booting balls and wasn’t able to extend myself into more and more difficult plays. It wasn’t until I accepted that I was going to make mistakes, that I was going to boot balls and that there was nothing I could do to avoid it. Not even the hundreds of groundballs I was taking each day was going to prevent me from making mistakes. So what did I do? I actually embraced “failure” so much that each day before I took the field I made it my goal to fail. I actually said to myself, “Today I’m going to make a mistake.” I told myself this before each game and even each practice session. I began to understand that if I wasn’t making mistakes then I wasn’t learning and a funny thing began to happen. I began making less and less mistakes. My learning curve accelerated and over night I started making plays that I had never made before.

What I didn’t realize at the time was by doing this I completely liberated myself from failure. In my desire to avoid it I was putting up a mental block that wasn’t allowing me to perform freely. I was hindering my performance by simply not accepting defeat and making my mistakes into something more then they really were. Martial arts expert Bruce Lee called this “learning to die”. He believed that when a person accepts that they are going to die and they no longer fear death then they are free to live life to the fullest. From his standpoint this detachment from death allowed him to face an opponent free of fear which is the greatest hindrance to human achievement. This detachment meant that he was able to execute his movements freely, without any hesitation which allowed him to perform at a higher level then that of his opponent. Which, for him, prevented the very thing most people fear.

I encourage you to put strikeouts, errors, and losses into a different perspective. To begin to see them for what they really are and accept that they will happen regardless of how hard you work or how focused or prepared you are. Liberate yourself from your fear of these things, embrace them, and begin to watch your development sky rocket to new levels.

“To accept defeat- to learn to die- is to be liberated from it.”
~Bruce Lee

Tiger Day

I was watching “The Haney Project” last night. This is a show on the gold channel that I really enjoy because it features Tiger Wood’s swing coach Hank Haney. Basically, Hank takes on celebrities and helps them develop their golf game. It’s really appealing to me because he essentially does what I do and it’s fun to watch how he develops his athletes. In a recent episode he was working with Charles Barkley as I’m sure some of you have seen, he has the worst golf swing in the world. At the start of the show Hank asks Charles how hard does he want to work. Of course Charles answers that he wants to work hard. So Hank asks him if he wants to do a Tiger day? Which is a typical training day for Tiger Woods. A Tiger day is as follows:

6:00am-7:30am Workout
8:00am-8:45am Breakfast
9:00am-11:00am Hits balls on the range
11:00am-11:30am Putting
11:30am-12:30pm Plays 9 holes
12:30pm-1:00pm Lunch
1:00pm-3:00pm Hits balls on the range
3:00pm-4:00pm Short game
4:00pm-5:00pm Plays 9 holes
5:00pm-5:30pm Putting
5:30pm-6:00pm Finishes by hitting balls on the range

It’s not hard to figure out why Tiger is great at what he does!

New Year, New Opportunities

Hey everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is ready to get back to work. The new year brings with it the opportunity to reevaluate where we’re at, start over, and get recommitted to achieving your performance goals. I hope you are all as excited as I am about the upcoming season and are ready to start working hard toward achieving your goals. Let’s get the season started right by putting in the work now. I’ll see everyone soon.