Stabilize To Powerize
Stabilize to Powerize
One of the most common questions we have received over the years has been “How do I get my kid to hit with more power?” This is a pretty loaded question as there are a number of potential reasons that could be causing players to bleed power. Things like age, strength, timing, hand eye coordination, disconnection and so on all have a major impact on a player’s ability to generate. But the most common, and most commonly overlooked, swing flaw that causes a loss in power is STABILITY. As a coach, stability is one of the very first things I look at when assessing a swing for the first time and often times a few simple adjustments to fix this typically yield massive returns. In this article I will explain what stability looks like in a swing, why it’s crucial for power generation and swing development, and also provide you with a few tips on how to improve it.
What Does Stability in a Swing Look Like?
Before we jump into it, we should understand exactly WHAT stability looks like in a swing. In short, stability looks like balance and control. Balance and control throughout the movement, yes, but also balance and control AFTER the movement. Things like excessive head movement, excessive body movement, and a loss in balance after the swing can all be indicators of a breakdown in stability. The next time you watch your favorite MLB team playing, take a look at the hitters in the box and the level of stability and control they possess. I bet what you will find is that every single guy who steps in the box shows the same level of stability and control. Yes, I understand these are professionals and they are expected to possess these qualities, but that doesn’t mean we can’t teach our own to possess the same!
Stabilization for Power Generation
If you think about the three key identifiers of a breakdown in stability mentioned above, each and every instance relates to a loss of power in their own way. Take a look at your own player, identify which of the following fits your player the most, and then work to improve upon that flaw. Sometimes the simplest adjustment can yield the largest returns.
Excessive Head Movement
How excessive head movement can affect power should be somewhat obvious. Simply put, the more your head is moving, the harder the ball is to see. The harder the ball is to see, the harder it is to hit. You could have the most violent and explosive swing on the planet but if you can’t make contact with the ball, none of that matters. A commonality amongst successful hitters is how little their head moves before, during, and after the swing. Their eyes lock on to the pitch and stay there throughout the entire swing. The most effective method for correcting this requires the use of video, snap a shot of your hitter from the perspective of the opposite batter’s box and watch closely to see how much, if any, head movement occurs. You should be able to draw a circle around his head and for the duration of the swing his head should remain in the circle. If there is excessive head movement present, the only real way to fix that is by focusing on reducing it during the swing. Use video frequently to show whether or not your player is executing on the adjustment or to show that there is still work to be done. Reduce head movement and watch your ability to deliver power improve tremendously.
Excessive Body Movement
As you could probably imagine, excessive head movement and excessive body movement are often times linked together and where one exists, the other is typically close follow. There are all sorts of variations of excessive body movement, but the excessive body movement I am talking about here pertains to a hitter’s barrel direction and ability to get THROUGH a ball. Take a right-handed hitter for example, if his body tends to pull to the left aggressively off his axis, his energy and barrel direction will follow that same movement. Baseball is very much about matching angles, the better you are at matching the angle and energy of the pitch being thrown, the better you will be at delivering power through it. So, if my body and barrel direction are pulling towards left but the ball is coming from center, my angles don’t match up and thus will impact the hitter’s ability to efficiently send force through the middle of the ball. This will result in sharp pull-side groundballs and/or frequent “cutting” or “overspinning” of your ball. To fix this, the best method is to think of your barrel not just moving to the ball, but THROUGH it. Draw a line or lay 3 baseballs out in front of your tee, imagine hitting through not only the ball on your tee, but the 3 that lay in front directed towards center. This should help you control your body and barrel and maximize the amount of time you spend working through the zone.
Loss in Balance
Balance, the single most common and easily recognizable sign of instability in a swing. Yes, excessive head movement and body movement throughout the swing will most definitely knock a hitter off balance. But the MOST common and easily adjustable reason for a loss in balance is a hitter’s lack of focus on the finish. Most young hitters do not spend enough time focusing on maintaining their balance after a swing. They take a healthy hack, hit the ball, fall over, and jump back in the box to prepare for the next one. The inexperienced hitter believes that once the ball has been hit, his job is done. When in reality, hitting the ball is only half the battle. Being stable enough in your legs to support that final push of the barrel through the ball is really where the magic happens. One of the most basic and effective ways of improving post swing balance is simple, teach a hitter what a finished swing looks like, and require him to get there and hold that position for a minimum of three seconds before bouncing back into his stance. If the end goal is to maintain balance, there has to be a higher level of stability present throughout the movement in order to accomplish this. Therefore, if more attention is paid towards the end goal, everything in between will begin to clean itself up to assist in successfully accomplishing it.
So, How Do We Fix It?
The first step to fixing a hitter’s stability issues, along with any other problem that can arise, is to first identify the problem. Take these three examples of instability, identify which could be impacting your hitter the most, and then hyper focus on making the adjustment to improve it. Utilize video and compare before and after shots to see whether or not improvement is being made. Start with implementing a balanced finish, then move to the head and body movement issues next. If the problem persists, there is likely a bigger issue that pertains to the hitter’s strength and ability to control his/her body that is preventing these adjustments from being effective. Because strength and stability are such crucial pieces to developing an athlete, I have included a few links to one of my favorite sites, Stack Sports. Follow these links to view a few bodyweight, core strengthening, and stability building workouts that will help your athlete improve upon their ability to produce and apply power.
Oh man, that ended up being way longer than I intended but hopefully you gathered some useful information! Thank you all for reading along and as always, if you have any questions at all or need some help fixing the issues affecting your hitter, please do not hesitate to reach out.
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Thank you again for reading along and we will see you soon!
Noah Brewster