See It and Hit It

Caylyn Carlson - ASU

Well, Assuming you made the team, the season is here. Some of you have worked hard and others have hardly worked. But whoever you are, all you can do is BE ON TIME. There won;t be much room for making major repairs on your swing -just tweaks. therefore, focus on what really matters in-season, and that’s timing. Here is an excerpt from my soon to be released book. Enjoy …

Hitting is Timing. People who have been around me for a significant amount of time know that this premise is the primary basis for my teaching. I structure all of my focus with students around this as primary because even with the perfect swing and the strongest body, without timing it is impossible to be consistent.

The two elements of timing I am most concerned about are recognition, and front-foot discipline.

RECOGNITION

With improved recognition skills, comes the ability to be on time. I like to say that there are 2 types of hitters visually -those who see the pitch and those who read it. Hitters who read the pitch can anticipate where the ball is going and hitters who see it don’t. Certainly, we cannot really measure visual speed and how quickly a hitter can get to the front side of a moving ball objectively. However, an experienced coach will be able to discern hitters with great eyes.

FRONT FOOT DISCIPLINE

When stride lengths are more controlled and timely, then timing is easy. So many hitters don’t realize the importance of establishing the front foot as firm early in the process. Actually, this should happen before commitment but generally happens at the same time –this is the problem. Now this is an oxymoron for sure, because while the swing should remain connected, there must be a separation of stride and actual commitment.

-Rob Crews

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