Posted by: () on Mon Jun 24 11:17:57 2002

> > Hi Scott
> > Are you suggesting that if someone wanted to just improve their swing (not necesarily hit the ball 500 feet), and they understood and followed Jack's method, they would not improve unless they practiced as long and hard as you outline here!
> > Len
> >
> > They may improve, but as Epstein likes to say "the only place success comes ahead of work is in the dictionary". My own 12 yr old is an example. We did (and are doing) Epstein's drills this year and he's better in many ways- only 2 strikeouts (against the league's slowest, worst pitcher- he lunged desperately going after the barely moving object) and one pop-up. But he ain't where I'd hoped. He hits like a statue too much of the time- just not cutting loose. Maybe the new muscle memory isn't ingrained or he's still just thinking too much. And he definitely needs to learn how to get to the launch position more quickly. But getting him to do the work- or even think about baseball instead of kid stuff- is like pulling teeth, and I'm no dentist. (Maybe if I disguise myself as a 12 yr old girl...) And until he gets that burning desire to pay the price, he'll be just OK.
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Hi Len, and Chip:

I pretty much meant what I said. Most kids, including young ball players, and including my own, are into "instant gratification". Video games are more fun than baseball, for example, because they return almost instant gratification with almost no work. Nothing in real life, including baseball skills, teamwork, and education, etc. comes that way. It is a philosophical battle that every coach will have to fight and win to convince kids that hard work is worth the reward, including getting hits.

More specifically, it takes good, really good fundamental mechanics to hit a baseball consistently. Any flaw will be exposed by a smart pitcher, and everytime that pitcher beats the batter, he'll have less confidence at the plate at the next AB. The only way to pick up those mechanics, for most hitters (i.e. the 1 of 10000 gifted athletes don't need much help), is to drill, drill, drill.

Like Chip, my kids have had inconsistent experiences. My daughter had problems hitting anything. Then she picked up Jack's tape, started swinging with 700 repetitions per week. She went from a 3 pitch strike-out, to a five pitch ground out, to a eight pitch walk and ground out, and finally got her first hit, a two-rbi double. She didn't hit much the rest of the season, but her league has a dozen or so remarkably strong pitchers (we had two 13-14 yo men on her team throwing 70-80 mph stuff with good location, and great off speed stuff). She had some very good AB's. However, her work ethic also dropped off after about two weeks, once she started making contact. (She was also playing injured; couldn't put in 100%.)

My son and several other hitters had the same pattern. They'll try the new drill, new technique (whatever it is), and if it shows promise, practice for a week. Then they stop practicing, and low and behold, their avg. and slugging percentage goes in the tank.

A few kids stayed with the program 5-6 days a week, hitting first and last in practice, and at home between practices. They're also on the all-star team, and will be playing high school ball next year. Sure, they have talent, but they only "discovered" it through hard work.

Regards.. Scott