Opposite field hitting: Theory, cues, and drills

The ability to spray the ball to all fields becomes more and more important as a player gets older and pitchers begin to locate their pitches.  Show me a hitter who cannot hit the ball to the opposite field and I will show you a player whose time in the game is limited.  At some point, regardless of how good their hands are, they reach a point where their inability to hit the ball the opposite way puts a ceiling on their playing career.  In this post, I will be discussing the thought process behind hitting the ball to the opposite field, a few common mistakes coaches make, some good cues to give your players, and a progression of drills to help them translate what you do in practice to the game (which is the ultimate goal).

Thought process and cues

One of the largest hurdles young players have in hitting the ball to the opposite field is mental.  At the early youth level, the best pitchers do two things well, they throw strikes (probably not yet locating) and they throw hard.  Hitters quickly learn that in order to hit the best pitchers in their league, they have to get the bat to the ball fast.  Many times they end up cheating by lunging forward, trying to start earlier, and greatly shortening their swing.  As they get older, the best pitchers not only throw hard, but can locate pitches on both sides of the plate, and change speeds effectively.  At this point, those “cheats” that may have been successful in the past, now make you susceptible to pitches on the outer third and off speed pitches.  At this point the good hitters are the ones who are quick enough to catch up to fastballs, but have the ability to wait on fastballs away and off speed pitches.  

The first step in teaching hitters how to go the other way is to ensure that they are working with a solid mechanical base.  If a hitter cannot demonstrate proper mechanics on a ball down the middle, trying to teach them to hit to the opposite field will be a lost cause.  Feel free to introduce the skill of hitting to the opposite field early (9 or 10 years old) to more advanced players, but for average players, this is a skill best taught with emphasis a year or so before when most pitchers begin to be able to locate (12 to 14 years old).

The phrase I like to use to introduce the theory of opposite field hitting is “let it get deep.”  This means that hitters need to hit the ball near the middle (or toward the back corner of the plate) of their body instead of out in front of the plate where they used to hitting it.  This is a difficult adjustment for many young hitters because they are afraid of being late.  To help them get over this fear, have them watch a major league game and see how many foul balls go the to the opposite field, and how many foul balls go to a hitters “pull” side.  Major leaguers are late all the time, by design.  

Getting your players to wait to let the ball get deep is the single most important concept to master when a players is trying to hit to the opposite field.  This will allow them to not feel as though they have to “guide” the ball to the opposite field.  You will know a player is trying guide the ball when they drag the barrel under their hands and have a very tentative swing.  It will appear as though they are “aiming” the ball that way.  The phrase we use to avoid this is “let it get back, and attack.”  This reminds them that they can take their normal aggressive swing as long as they let the ball get deep in the zone.  

Drill Progression

Deep tee slow to contact - Set up a tee on the outside corner toward the middle of the hitter’s body.  Have them take slow motion swings to their contact position.  Emphasize proper hitting mechanics, and not changing the swing to hit the ball to the opposite field.  

Deep tee drive - The set up is the same as the previous drill.  This time, the hitter is taking a normal stride and load, and “driving” the ball to the opposite field.  Emphasize that they take a normal, aggressive swing with the ball deep in the hitting zone.  Do not move to other drills until this drill is mastered.  If they cannot hit properly to the opposite field off a tee, they will not be able to hit execute when a ball is coming at them.  

Inside/outside tee - Set up one tee on the inner half (out in front of the plate) and one tee on the outside corner (deep in the hitting zone).  When the hitter begins their stride and load, say either “inside” or “outside.”  They are to hit the appropriate ball to the correct field.  If their mechanics begin to break down, or they begin guiding the ball to the opposite field, back up in the drill progression.

Outside front flip - From behind an L-screen, flip the ball to the outer third of the plate.  Emphasize that they let the ball get deep and don’t guide or “aim” the ball to the opposite field. 

Angle front toss (Described for a RHH, a LHH would be reversed) - Angle the plate to so that the front of the plate is lined up to where the shortstop would play.  Have the hitter line up as he normally would on home plate (he will also be angled toward the shortstop).  The pitcher will be tossing from the same spot as normal (will be at an angle to the hitter).  When the pitcher tosses, the hitters goal is to hit the ball back at the L-screen.  In order to do this, he will have to let the ball get deep in the hitting zone and drive the ball the other way (in relation to the hitter).  Do not allow them to start early and hook the ball.  

Front toss mix up - Once they have mastered front toss drills where they know the ball will be thrown to the outer part of the plate, you can do front toss drills where you mix up outside, middle and inside pitches.  After each pitch, have the hitter tell you if they hit the ball to the correct field.  

Outside short toss (overhand) - Set up the L-screen about 40-45 feet from home plate (less depending on age group) and throw pitches only to the outside part of the plate.  Since this is easier said than done, you will miss sometimes.  For the purpose of this drill, have them try to take everything to the opposite field by letting the ball get deep in the hitting zone.  

Short toss mix up - Using the same set up as the previous drill, mix up inside, middle, and outside pitches.  Similar to the front toss mix up, have them verbalize if they hit the ball to the correct field or not based on the location of the pitch.  

If at any point the drill seems too advanced or mechanics break down, move backward in the drill progression.  The ultimate goal is that the hitter is able to recognize the outside pitch and react appropriately.  In order to do this we must get players to make decisions on their own once they have the proper muscle memory.  

Teaching your hitters to hit the other way will not only help your current team, but it will also help your hitters reach the their fullest potential at the plate.  

The way we teach vs. The way they learn

How many times have you spent what seems like forever meticulously introducing, going over, or reviewing a topic only to turn it over to your athletes and they are unable to execute what you just taught them?  Frustrating isn’t it?

Another scenario we have all seen is, we introduce a technique or tactic and they “master” it during a drill in practice.  We get to our next game, the exact scenario we just covered arises and they fail to execute.  At this point we assume it is the players fault since we “taught” it to them.  Right?  Wrong!  It doesn’t matter what we teach our athletes, it only matters what the athletes learn.  If an athlete gave an honest effort during practice and did not learn what we taught them, then we need to take a closer look at our methods.

Rome was not built in a day

Sometimes what we teach the athletes is sticking, but we get impatient because they cannot immediately transfer what they did in practice to competition.  When put in situations of stress (competition) athletes will revert to what is natural and what is most comfortable.  It takes time (and correct reps) for new techniques to take hold.  Be patient!

Appeal to a wide variety of learners

A good teacher in the classroom will carefully craft their lessons to meet the needs of auditory, visual, and tactile learners. Teaching by having athletes explore a skill, then answer questions about what they did is a good way to incorporate tactile and auditory learners.  Visual learners can be reached by having another athlete (or coach if necessary) demonstrate the skill correctly.  

In reality most of your athletes will learn best when the information is presented in a variety of different ways, however if you can learn which of your athletes learn better by which method, you will increase your chances of reaching them.  

Use technology

With technology being readily available to so many of us, it makes sense to use it to our advantage as coaches.  The simplest way to use technology is to video athletes attempting the skill, and playing it back for them to critique.  This method will reach visual and tactile learners very well.  Combine the video with a verbal critique of what they can to improve and you have now reached all three types of learners. 

A more advanced way to teach with technology is to post videos on a website or blog, or send athletes the URLs of videos you want them to view.  The videos can be of you teaching a skill, of an athletes performing the skill, or any other instructional video you find on the internet.  They can view these videos at home and come to practice prepared to discuss the video and try the techniques.  This method also reaches all three types of learners. 

Have them teach someone else

Think about how much more you understand about the game of baseball now that you teach it.  Coaches have the ability to give their athletes a taste of this by having them teach techniques their teammates, or to a younger team (I do this every Friday when we have our Sophomore team practice with our Varsity).  This will not only give your players a deeper understanding of what they are doing, but it will give them ownership over the technique they are teaching.  

If you want to get more advanced, have your athletes go home and view a video of your choosing online.  Tell them to come to the next practice ready to teach what they saw in the video their teammates.  Allow them to use notes if necessary.   

Summary:

Being an athletic coach is not unlike being a classroom teacher.  If teaching and coaching were as simple as telling people what to do, anyone could be a a great teacher and coach.  The real art of coaching lies in the effectiveness of conveying your message by any means possible.  

Do sports reveal character or do they develop it?

Chances are, every single athlete you coach will earn a living doing something other than playing sports.  Regardless of the profession they eventually choose, having good character and leadership skills will be a must in their professional career.  As a coach, realize that your job not only consists of teaching your athletes the game, it also includes teaching athletes skills they will use outside of the sports area.

I have heard people discuss, and have seen articles debating whether sports reveals character or develops character.  Most of those arguments take one side or another.  I see no reason why it has to be an absolute on either side.  My research and experiences indicate that sport can both reveal and develop character.

Sport reveals character through the various situations an athlete encounters during practices and games.  Regardless of the sport you coach, you have seen the player who you thought would rise to the challenge crumble under pressure, or blame others when times get tough.  Likewise, we have also been surprised by the one athlete who we consider to be  “gamer.”  This is the player who never fully showed their true positive characteristics and leadership skills until they faced adversity in competition.  These situations show you and the athlete where their strengths and weaknesses in character and leadership lie.

In addition to revealing an athlete’s character, participating in sports allows them an opportunity to work on character deficiencies and enhance character and leadership strengths.  Sports are the perfect forum to develop these characteristics under pressure in an environment where the consequences for failure are minimal.

For many coaches being a role model who can effect an athlete’s development as a person is a very daunting task.  The single most important factor in how your athletes develop character will be your behavior as a coach.  It does absolutely no good to tell your athletes to behave in on manner when you do something completely opposite.

Negative characteristics your athletes will mimic

1. Arguing with officials
2. Bad sportsmanship
3. Placing blame on uncontrollable factors such as officials, weather, field contions or bad luck
4. Blaming one play or player for the outcome of a game
5. Tying self worth/self confidence to wins and losses
6. Berating or talking bad about others (opposing coaches, players, parents ,officials)
7. Breaking or even “bending” rules in the name of winning

Avoiding these negative behaviors will set a good example for your athletes, and will give them a positive role model to mimic.  Regardless of your team’s wins and losses, if you are able to help athletes develop positive traits and leadership skills, your season will be a success.

My next post will give some tips for how to identify and develop leaders on your team.

Pitcher Safety Part II - Post Pitching Recovery

Similar to the controversy surrounding the use or over use of pitchers, the debate of whether pitchers should use ice after a start or not rages on in some circles. Many pitchers (including myself) just iced because it’s what we are supposed to do.  Many pitchers ice because they are afraid not to.  Some truly believe in the benefits and some will never know pitching without it.  On the other hand, many pitchers do not ice after starts.  Some pitchers don’t ice because they do not have access to it, some don’t like the way it makes their arms feel, and some don’t do it simply because they are lazy.  No matter what your personal belief on icing is, if a player requests ice, you should give it to them.   

I should again preface this by saying that I am not a doctor, athletic trainer, or physical therapist.  The findings I am reporting in this article are simply based on the research of others and are based on my reading and experiences as a player and a coach.

 
It is important to note that if the player has an acute injury to his arm such as getting hit by the baseball, a ligament sprain or muscle pull, they should be highly encouraged to ice.  It is true  that ice may be more effective for acute injuries such as those, and it may not be as effective for eccentric injuries (repetitive deceleration).   Understand that the type of injury that occurs after after pitching is a delayed onset muscle soreness, which is essentially micro-tears of the muscle.  This type of soreness usually peaks 24-48 hours after use and is characterized by stiffness of the muscle and joint.  

It makes sense that if stiffness is a problem, and ice causes constriction and stiffens the muscles and joints by constricting blood flow, it may not be the best modality to use after pitching.  There are several other options a pitcher has to decrease the amount of time that he is sore after and extended outing.  

1.) Proper warm-up prior to throwing (in order)

a.) Start with an activity that will get the heart rate up

b.) Dynamic stretching (most done at 10-20 yards)

i.) High Knees

ii.) Butt Kicks

iii.) Karaoke 

iv.) Lunge Twists

v.) Skip Series

vi.) Side shuffles

vi.) Jog to sprint series

c.) Warm-up your core

i.) Core twists

ii.) Twisting yoga poses

iii.) Med-Ball exercises

d.) Arm tubing

i.) Internal rotation

ii.) External rotation

iii.) Scap Squeeze

iv.) Iron Cross

2.) Refuel your body

a.) Eat something high in carbs and protein within 30 minutes of pitching

b.) Eat a balanced meal within 2 hours of pitching

3.) Next day stretching

a.) Shoulder girdle stretches prior to any activity

b.) Shoulder tubing prior to any activity

4.) Monitor post pitching practice and game activity

a.) Give your two-way players lighter throwing work loads in the two days after pitching

b.) Give a day off or game off if possible

c.) Try to avoid allowing pitchers to catch on a regular basis

Research shows that there are more (and possibly better) ways to recover from a start than to ice.  Encourage pitchers to experiment with their post throwing routines to find the one that works the best for them.  

References:

Yeager, D.W. (2011). An alternative to ice: A more comprehensive method to post pitching recovery.  Retrieved from www.baseballstrengthcoaching.com.

ASMI position statement on youth pitching. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/position_statement.htm.

Lyman S, Fleisig GS, Andrews JR, Osinski ED (2002).  Effect of pitch type, pitch count, and pitching mechanics on risk of elbow and shoulder pain in youth baseball pitchers. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 30, 463-468. 

Baseball Coaching Philosophies Moving!

I apologize for not having a post up recently, I have been working on a new project recently and will be transferring my blog over to my other website.  I will still be putting my posts up here for those of you who have been reading and would like to continue to reading on blogger.  The new website for the blog will be... www.cornerstonecoachingacdemy.com/blog.

Thank you again for all of you who have been reading and I look forward to more discussions with you about baseball and other coaching topics.

Look for Part II of the Pitching Injuries post to come up shortly.

Coach Nelson

Baseball Coaching Philosophies First Thanksgiving Blog

I know it is very cliche to write a “things I am thankful for” post on Thanksgiving, but this is my first Thanksgiving with a blog and I have a lot of things I am thankful for.  I have decided not to get very personal on this blog since the topic is baseball coaching, but I would be remiss not to mention how thankful I am for my one year old daughter, my wonderful wife, my parents, her father and all of our wonderful family.  They have given me so much support over the past several years and are helping to make some of my current projects possible.

The main topic of my post is a brief list of things I am thankful for in the game of baseball as a coach, former player (hitter, fielder and/or pitcher), and fan. 


In no apparent order:
1.) Bunt singles
2.) Throwing strike one
3.) Entering a new major league stadium for the first time
4.) Saving $2 by buying your peanuts outside the stadium
5.) Taking pitches
6.) Swinging at a good pitch to hit
7.) Hitting a ball so pure you don’t even feel it hit the bat
8.) Watching a player be great for one day
9.) Putting up a crooked number
10.) Watching someone make their major league debut
11.) Watching a player perform something you taught them perfectly
12.) The intensity of opening day
13.) A perfectly executed hit and run
14.) Getting out of a bases loaded nobody out jam
15.) Properly defending a trick play
16.) 7-2 or 8-2 or 9-2 double play
17.) Laying off a low and away slider
18.) Breaking the cleanup hitters bat
19.) Correctly executing a play you have never practiced
20.) Dog piles

Thanks to all of you who have been regular readers.  I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of people who read and by the feedback I have gotten.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Part II of my Keeping Pitcher's Healthy post will be coming shortly...

Pitcher Safety: Part I - What coaches can do to help prevent injuries

    There are few hotter topics in the baseball world than how to handle pitchers and keep them injury free.  This topic was pushed in to the national forefront when the Washington Nationals shut down Stephen Strasberg in early September and potentially lessened their chances of reaching and winning the World Series.  Everyone has an opinion on how to best handle pitchers and why they seem to breaking down more than ever.  In spite of having a significant shoulder surgery myself, I am not a doctor, nor to I pretend to know enough to about the anatomy of the shoulder and elbow to add any significant medical information to a discussion about pitcher safety.  I do believe that a little research along with an athlete centered coaching philosophy can give you the assurance that you are doing as much as you can to keep your pitchers healthy.

Here are a few of the things we know about pitching injuries:

1.) 1 out of 20 youth pitchers will have a major throwing related injury
2.) Pitchers who throw more than 100 innings in a year are 3.5 time more likely (may be as high as 10 times more likely) to sustain a major throwing injury. 
3.) Pitchers who also play catcher may have a higher risk of major throwing injury
4.) Pitchers who participate in a longer season and play in more games have a higher risk of injuries
5.) Pitchers who participate in more showcases have a higher risk of injury.
6.) Pitchers who throw with more velocity have a higher risk of injury.
7.) There appears to be no significant relationship between injury risk and private pitching coaches, exercise program, frequency of relief appearances, or ages at which types of pitches are thrown (I have read conflicting articles on this last one). 

Some of the things I have been reading, specifically the one about “no significant relationship and the age at which pitches are thrown” are conflicting. I am planning on doing more research on this, but my personal belief is that kids simply do not have enough arm strength at a young age make a curveball break without throwing improperly and significantly risking elbow injury.  Some of the studies I have read do in fact say that there is a relationship between the age someone starts throwing a curveball and throwing injuries.  For the time being I will err on the side of caution and try to discourage kids under the age of 15 from throwing curveballs.

With the plethora of information available, here is a brief overview of what you can do as a coach do to help minimize throwing injuries in your pitchers.
   
1.) Realize that sometimes things just break - You can be as cautious as possible, put your athlete’s safety first, count every pitch, limit innings, and still, sometimes things just happen.  Do not take a single injury to mean that what you are doing isn’t working.  If you have been taking the proper precautions keep with what you are doing.

2.) Research - Do as much research as you can on this topic.  There are constantly new  studies coming out in the medical community about pitcher safety.  The decisions you make on how to handle your pitching staff should be based on these, not what you hear on sports talk radio, read on a message board or remember from your youth baseball experience. 

3.) Count pitches, count innings, and count days of rest - The American Sports Medicine Institute has published the following recommendations for days of rest based on age and pitches thrown:









4.) Encourage your players to only pitch for one team in a season -  With the currently travel baseball scene, it is not uncommon for someone to play for more than one team at a time.  Research has shown that pitching for two or more teams is a bad practice as many times proper rest time is not monitored and pitchers are often overused. This can be a particularly difficult thing to do especially if your team is the one a multi-team player decides not to pitch for. 

5.) Put the athlete first - Remember that pitcher safety is more important than winning.  Everyone’s first temptation is to do anything to they can to win.  It may seem like just a few extra pitches, just a few extra innings, or just one game on short rest.  Realize that he may not suffer an injury while you are coaching him, but he may suffer one down the road because of those few extra pitches, those few extra innings, or that one game he threw on short rest.

6.) Develop more pitchers than you think you’ll need - If you want to help protect yourself from overusing pitchers,  make sure that you have more than enough to get through your season and every tournament you enter.  It is much easier to put someone into the game and have confidence in them if you have taken the time to work with them and develop them as a pitcher than if you have never worked with them.

7.) Work pitch counts up slowly - Many coaches are cautious at the very beginning of the season to limit pitch counts, but then just turn their pitchers loose after a start or two.    Remember that pitches in a game, and pitches in a bullpen session are different.  The pitches in a game are often thrown under much more stress with more intensity.  Also a 100 pitch bullpen session is often exactly 100 pitches.  A 100 pitch 7 inning outing in a game will also consist of 20-30 warm-up pitches in the bullpen prior to the game and 38 warm up pitches between innings.  That pitcher who was up to 100 pitches in their bullpen sessions may have just thrown 168 pitches in their 100 pitch game for a 68% increase in work load. 

As with any sport, there are inherent risks to participating in athletics.  The risk for being a pitcher is that you may have some sort of an arm injury.  The coach’s job should be to minimize this as much as possible by using his pitchers responsibly. 



Bibliography

Fleisig, G.S, et. al. (2010), Risk of serious injuries for baseball pitchers: A ten year prospective     study. American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Lyman S, Fleisig GS, Andrews JR, Osinski ED (2002).  Effect of pitch type, pitch count, and     pitching mechanics on risk of elbow and shoulder pain in youth baseball pitchers.  The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 30, 463-468.

ASMI position statement on youth pitching. http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/position_statement.htm, Updated June 2012.