Posted by: rql () on Sat Oct 11 13:22:23 2008

For the young guys that are actually hitting on this site I will lay out a plan that covers the full year that you may find something to enhance your skills in the upcoming years.If you focus on just hitting a 125 swings a day of front soft toss as I see so many instructors use as their staple then your potential will not find its capacity.
1st it is important to realize that during the regular season is not the time to experiment with new mechanics,If you are in a winter program this is the time under game situations to experiment.
2nd studying film and learning to see what we do in the load and unload process,the adjustments for in and out vs up and down are imperative.Now study film of yourself and see what it is that you do differently and try to mirror a quality hitter that is similar to your style.learning your style based on your makeup your speed is critical.
You will need to get a bag to train your swing with as well as a tee to focus on in and out contact points learning where you drive the ball at certain points which is what you build into your swing as the point of contact in a game,learning how to keep the inside pitch fair as well is instrumental in becoming a 400 hitter.
Next you can evolve to the cage for the soft toss in and out finding the points and swing to drive the ball best on inside and outside.
Their is a tennis machine drill that shoots balls out at up to 140 miles per hour with #s on it and the object is to work from 70mph on up and read the # on the ball.Pena is the best and his ability to get 4 out of 6 right at high speed has helped him to focus on the ball,depth perception and tracking the ball are extremely important to making good decisions on speed and spin.
I believe if you chase the high pitch alot then you can set a machine for high pitches borderline,and think about the ball down where you want it and just practice preparing to hit and then laying off the pitch as you read it.The same can be done for the curveball,learn to look fb and then read curve even when you know its coming that starts to be a strike and see spin and learn to lay off.the same for curves that will look like balls and drop in for strikes,you must learn not to give up on that pitch,more on that later.
As I get more time I will post strength /flex plan drills and the mental game to round out the year,anyone with thoughts feel free to chime in.