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The Essence: Walking the Tight-Rope of When to Talk and When Not to.
Jordan Stouffer, CSCS, BMS
One of the main reasons I love coaching baseball and training athletes everyday is that it means I don’t have a job where I sit at a desk looking at a computer all day. I’m telling you this because I want you to judge the content rather than my writing.
This blog explains my thoughts on figuring out a way to filter all of the information we hear from fellow coaches and baseball industry experts, so that we can become better at providing knowledge to our students. In a world where there is information overload, I believe it is important to evaluate what content and advice we offer. Often, less is more. Today I am bringing you a post on how we find the balance between too much and too little information and how we as coaches choose to give information.
Coaches are always balancing on the tight rope of too much information. Coaches need to shoot for giving the right info at the right times, and then understand how and when to sit back and let self-discovery happen. In the past, I have mistakenly hounded a guy after every swing, only to realize he was focused on pleasing me and not on feeling the true goal, which is ALWAYS flush barrel contact.
Before we speak to a player, I believe coaches should consider a few things:
1. If I never talk to this kid will he/she figure this out on their own within a few days?
Some, if not most, athletes perform better if mechanics talk is left out of their coaching around competition time. For these guys focus on being the guiderails on the highway. Keep strategy at the forefront. Their bodies work well and they have above average tools, so help them learn the odds and ends of hitting strategy such as anticipation of pitch types and location, understanding hitters counts, and learning strategies that allow wiggle room for error. Focus on LISTENING to the way these athletes talk about their swing and approach, because they love when you remind them of THEIR cues later on when they are struggling or lose sight of what is most important.
2. Is their body language screaming for someone to help them?
a. These guys are more prevalent and honestly these guys are what make coaching fun. MOST PLAYERS WANT HELP. Most players also don’t want to feel singled out or embarrassed, so being a bit of a psychologist here can really help. Make sure these guys know you love them and care while you go to help them.
b. We still want to choose our words wisely here. Find the focal point that makes these guys tick, but give every experiment and method a good 7-10 swings before cueing and giving feedback. Let the drill or environment work a little.
3. Are lightbulbs going off for my athlete in a good way in the past week? (Don’t mess that up)
When guys are having learning moments happen, we can sometimes feel the urge to spill more info. More is always better right? Nope. Honestly don’t even say more than 3 words at a time to these guys in my experience. If you clearly can tell that they are processing some new sensations with a decent success rate, just let that weed grow. The only comments we need to be making here are “nice job”, “reset and try again”, “Did you feel early or late there?” etc. I would not even talk about pitch types or get too deep into what is happening during at-bats.
4. Will talking about a non-hitting topic actually help my athlete?
a. This can be a valuable tool. Ask how guys are doing outside of baseball- girlfriends/boyfriends, family struggles, schoolwork, or fatigue can all be concerns that ruin true high-intent on the field.
b. Talk about another skill they do well and relate it back to hitting. For example: How do you feel when you throw a hard fastball and hit a spot, or what are you thinking when you make a diving play and throw a ball on the money to first base? What do you feel in your core and back during long toss, and do you feel a similar sensation on a high-intent swing? Make things relative to keep “checks and balances” throughout the brain and body.
5. Am I reinforcing the ultimate goal?
a. Its crazy but even as coaches we forget that producing runs is the ultimate goal, rather than our ego about that our hitting philosophy. WE ARE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF GETTING CREDIT! We are here to be servants to our athletes, teach them to be better people through pushing their limits individually and as a unit of 12-25 guys.
b. Make sure what you are about to say to this athlete makes sense with your offensive philosophy and that you have made it clear to your team what you want from them as an offensive unit. See my blog post about “Individualization in Team Settings.”
These are things I like to consider before I open my mouth. On a weekly basis, I catch myself before saying something that might have had negative consequences. Usually I am happy I chose not to talk. It doesn’t mean you aren’t coaching. In fact, that is the art and the essence. Thanks for reading.
Jordan Stouffer is the owner and lead hitting performance coach at Rounding Third Baseball Performance in Fort Collins, CO. He is a former NCAA Division 1 hitting coach, as well as a former junior college and high school coach. Jordan holds certifications as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a Biomechanics Specialist from NESTA, and holds a degree in Human Performance from Metro State University.
Bang for Your Buck Strategies for Hitting Individualization in Team Settings
Jordan Stouffer, CSCS, BMS
In my past experience as a college and high school baseball coach, I would often get frustrated with the lack of time, lack of care from players, and the overall lack of ability to make change in my hitters. A lot of team coaches feel this way and it leads to overgeneralization of practice modalities. Meaning, everyone will do the same thing or same swing, so (coach) can stay within a singular philosophy. This can work for some guys, but sometimes it doesn’t work for a guy that might be really gifted and talented and he just doesn’t fit the mold. This is a bummer if you have spent hours recruiting someone only to realize the coaching style is only making him worse when he gets to campus.
Unfortunately for time-sake, it takes a lot of hours on our end (coach) to be able to bring the best out in each player and MOLD TO THEM rather than THEM MOLDING TO OUR SWING PHILOSOPHY. I am not speaking about whether a player needs to execute the team offense plan, but rather that we as coaches need to realize what strengths our guys have and make them even stronger.
So how can I better adapt to each athlete? How can I get a larger portion of my athletes to make positive change? You have to individualize.
“Only private instructors and travel ball guys get time enough to make changes in guys swings.” While private sector guys do in many instances control their destiny a little more, there are quality coaches at all levels getting their guys better throughout a season. I am talking noticeable change we could see on video or measure. One example is Dan Heefner at Dallas Baptist University. NCAA division 1 baseball has some of the most restricted practice and contact hour rules of any organization, but they seem to make it work and hang out in the top 10 teams in college baseball in team offense. Another example would be CJ Gillman at Air Force Academy. Those guys make noticeable changes with minimal equipment and arguably a more restricted and grueling schedule than any other college baseball program with all the extra-curriculars. Again, they are a top level offense statistically. What I am saying is that managing each guy is very doable. It takes extra time, no doubt. If you’re a youth coach, a volunteer at a program, a father who is passionate, or work 2 jobs to coach junior college baseball in the afternoons (me a few years back), then your time is obviously more limited. However, there are still strategies that can drastically improve time management, minimize player frustration, and improve your team’s love for offense.
First,
My general guidelines are as follows. Think common sense.
Number 1. What do I want from my offensive unit because I need to build around that? Do I want a team that can put pressure on defenses with bat speed and the ability to execute bunts for hits? Are we a high pressure baserunning squad combined with guys who can hit to all fields with power? Know your personnel and how you could reasonably improve your personnel, and build that season’s culture. MAKE SURE YOUR PLAYERS KNOW WHAT YOU WANT FROM THEM!!!! I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH!
Number 2. Each guy has the “low hanging fruit” adjustment that needs to be made. Finding that adjustment takes a little time up front, but saves you time in the long run. Why? Because every guy has one adjustment that will actually clean up 2 or 3 other problems or “symptoms.” We will spend less time long term dealing with lunging, prematurely dipping back shoulder, pushing hands, etc. because we will have found the root cause. Remember it isn’t always mechanics- it could be movement, strength and coordination, decision making, timing, mentality, or strategy.
Number 3. Address Causes rather than Symptoms. What is required for MOVEMENT as a hitter. I have to have a repeatable timing mechanism (load), I have to transfer energy forward (Center of Mass), I have to rotate in sequence (Kinetic Link), and I have to manage a simple barrel path with depth and extension to maximize opportunities for contact. Those are key movements required to hit. Along with movement, hitters require vision, dynamic balance, rhythm and timing, and decision making skills. Start with these items I just mentioned. For example, don’t expect great barrel path when timing is poor or the hitter didn’t load well. A good loading mechanism or focus on being on time would have cleaned that up.
My 3 favorite “bang for your buck” individualization strategies are as follows:
1. GET EXTERNAL
a. Research has proven all across sports performance that the knowledge of results and goal oriented feedback are many times more powerful that being over-conscious of what your body is doing during a given action (external vs. internal)
b. Cue the target
i. Get your guys to hit to targets or above targets. Reorganizing the body to a given location can work really well to simplify the process
c. Cue the speed
i. “go fast, hit ball hard, aggression, do damage, swing fast” are all examples of a quick mentality change or reminder that can work wonders without ever talking mechanics
d. Cue the distance
i. “Hit ball far” – cuing to hit a ball as far as possible can be effective with certain guys and its definitely worth a try for that guy who’s a bit of a “movement perfectionist” – it is a thought that embraces a “lack of fear” for failure.
2. EXPERIMENT WITH LOADS AND TIMING MECHANISMS
a. Play with the toe tap, leg kick, and no stride timing mechanisims on the same day or in the same practice rounds. Let guys get 5-10 swing before switching it up.
b. If you want to get real crazy, add different implements to these rounds like a short bat, long bat, heavy bat, handle-load bat, tennis racquet, or even PVC.
c. Your guys will have valuable self-discovery time here and might even develop some hybrid loading mechanism that really works for them.
3. EXPERIMENT WITH POSTURE
a. Posture dictates function. Without athletic starting posture and dynamic posture (posture and balance throughout swing), we cant utilize the potential for speed, quickness, and adjustability that could otherwise be had.
b. Change the starting posture.It can act as a natural constraint and force the athlete to adapt. If you’re normally upright with hands high and struggling, try starting more bent over with hands low or upright with hands low. Never undervalue that feedback is always occurring, but the athlete needs to be tuned in and have high intent.
c. Cut the swing in half and start from a posture that is required somewhere in the middle or end of the swing.This relates to a performance strategy called BACKCHAINING. The brain loves to know what the end goal is, and working back from that end goal can be a powerful tool to create better proprioception over time.
Once you address some of these things, start writing things down. Make your players keep a notebook or if you want to control it, make a quick excel spreadsheet of the most important drills and thoughts to remember. Hitters need to learn to REPEAT success and learn from failure.
Thanks for reading and I hope this was valuable. Reach out to me at jordanstouffer@gmail.comor visit rounding3.com to subscribe to my email list. Check out the youtube video below for further explanation on this post.
Twitter @hittingforpower
Instagram @roundingthirdbp
Jordan Stouffer is the owner and lead hitting performance coach at Rounding Third Baseball Performance in Fort Collins, CO. He is a former NCAA Division 1 hitting coach, as well as a former junior college and high school coach. Jordan holds certifications as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a Biomechanics Specialist from NESTA, and holds a degree in Human Performance from Metro State University.
The "why" on feel drills
Here is a new video I did recently on the value and utilization of dry work routines and fillers. Subscribe to my youtube channel and enjoy!
Coach Jordan Stouffer featured on The Farm System Baseball Podcast
https://thesystem.farm/2018/07/19/episode-24-jordan-stouffer-rounding-third-baseball-performance/
Check out the podcast here. It was a blast getting to discuss hitting and performance training with these guys. Hope you enjoy! Episode 24 : The Farm System Baseball Podcast.
What is real vs. feel? And how important is body awareness in hitting? (Part 1)
Swing down or Swing slightly uphill? ...
Move forward or Sit back? ...
Use hands or Forget hands? ...
Foot down early or get going early?...
If there is one thing we know about hitting, it is that we have to be on time for a pitch with enough bat-speed and strategic trajectory to land fair without being fielded cleanly. Honestly, that might be the only point that you can win an argument with in terms of hitting philosophy. I am most interested in the functional application of human performance as it applies to hitting and throwing. I have attached a few videos below that provide example of just how varied opinions on hitting are from elite major league all-stars. Even with as much technology and data that is available today, I believe science has only tipped the iceberg in terms of how we can better coach and develop athletes in general. Take a sport like sprinting for example. Sprinting experts seem to agree that a primarily single plane action (although rotational in nature to create locomotion) like sprinting has only truly tapped into a tiny sliver of what is available to develop their athletes. Baseball and softball hitting and throwing is a more complex set of movements (arguably) than sprinting, and baseball athletes also HAVE TO SPRINT!!! Talk about complexity and the definite handful of work it takes to have the skill to be a great baseball player.
Before I go off on a tangent, lets think about how an athlete's brain needs to work to be successful at their craft and then lets ponder what a great coach's brain needs to do to be most successful. I coach athletes 35-40 hours per week with hitting, throwing, and strength and conditioning, but everyone is involved in strength and conditioning in some form if they take instruction from me. Its a requirement. I find myself jumping back and forth between both sets of shoes so lets look at a different perspective.
An athletes brain is focused on managing oneself. Sleeping, training, nutrition, practice, and mental approach are honed based on the individuals personality, needs, body type, etc. Good athletes have an ability to manage these pieces well and find what works for themselves to yield repeatable success.
Coaches manage multiple personalities and levels of athletes. Often times they are managing team finances, working with administration and front offices, dealing with parent criticism, recruiting, coping with time away from families for extended periods of time, and also have to develop and learn new information.
Great players repeat successes and great coaches lead groups of players in a coordinated effort to repeat success. My point in real vs feel is to take into account all of this background information about players and coaches and create the realization that swing mechanics, motor patterns, anatomy and human movement research is probably on the backburner for the people I described above. Although, I do know many coaches (I was one of them) at college levels as well as others who develop themselves as instructors and distributors of valid information. I would say those guys might live in the 10-15% of coaches who really dive deep into learning. Lets face it, if you recruit well then player development probably is a lower priority as your main goal is not to mess up guys up who already have high kinesthetic feel!
Watch all the videos below. Then keep reading. Turn the volume up for the first video.
If you watch Chipper Jones explain his swing and then watch his swing in a real game setting, you might realize that there is some obvious disconnect. Backspin is possible with a downswing, but common sense physics tells us that it won't be square contact on a line. Chipper is employing a "cue" to guide his body into what he thinks he feels is correct in the cage. Keep in mind he has probably been coached that at some point as well.
Donaldson was taught probably a similar mechanical approach early in his career, but clearly took a different route to on-field success than Chipper Jones. We can argue that Donaldson feels things that don't actually happen in his swing (though from a science perspective, he is arguably a lot closer to what is real than Chipper).
Real is what we can see happen from a number of angles on video (preferably 3d biomechanics analysis) or something we can measure. Feel is what we think we know or the description of the proprioception we currently have to complete a task. In simpler terms, a learned association with a desired outcome.
Lets think about the number of muscle groups our body has (roughly 640) and remember what controls these muscle groups, tissues, bone, and fascia. Our brain and nervous system control our body much like set of buttons linked with programmed codes on a computer. So if we believe that the movements themselves are what is important to yield hitting success, we are horribly mistaken. Our nervous system is vital in coordinating parts. Coordination is the key and can only be carried out in a small window of time (like in hitting a ball with less than .4 seconds) when information relay is lightning fast and super organized.
Research, namely from Frans Bosch in his book Strength and Coordination: An Integrative Approach, tells us that external cueing ( focus on external factors and variables) are much more effective for performance than are internal cues. What I believe is common for these hitters is that they focus on "the system" or the body as whole. For example: Josh Donaldson's plate approach is very focused on his rhythm and he uses a tempo cue "gather, go" when the pitch is being thrown. Chipper, on the other hand, is a very skilled veteran who really understood what types of pitches he was going to see and had an absurd amount of confidence in his abilities. From pitch to pitch and at-bat to at-bat, Chipper would talk about his simple approach to hit line drives and guessing pitches based off information from other at-bats. At the big league level, the pitching is just too nasty to not be making quality guesses as to what pitches are coming. You have to guess and cheat to pitches in certain counts.
This is what I call mentality. The right self-talk, a comfortable posture where the body is conscious of its rhythm, an intent to be fast, and an ability to recognize pitches is where most elite major league hitters can claim success. They already have world-class athleticism and the ability to swing well, but pretty swings only work when you are on time to hittable pitches.
More to come in Part 2 of this article....
6 keys to Pre-season and In-season Training for High School Baseball Players
It is that time of year again... young athletes are phasing back into team skill work at random times during the week and getting accustomed to the competition, soreness, time commitment, and extra preparation for tryouts.
In my opinion, the off-season is such an easy time to program the right things for the body. The training volume in the gym can really be ramped up and the skillwork is moderate. Adequate rest time is almost never an issue. As the season approaches and practice starts, often times the strength and conditioning element can be mismanaged or eliminated entirely due to a lack of understanding by the athlete or the coach.
I wanted to give some quick advice on how to manage oneself during this transition period to ensure increasing strength, a healthy arm and body, and the ability to compete well for tryouts.
- If you did not lift during the off-season, this may be a very tough time to start a program. If your practice load is only 2-3 days per week, you might have about 3-4 weeks where you can introduce your body to some moderate resistance training exercises 2-3 days per week. Ideally this should occur on the same day as your skill work, preferably immediately after. This will help to maximize rest for adaptation on the other days.
- If you were diligent about lifting during the off-season, the transition period should feel slightly less taxing on the body depending on your practice volume. Your lifting volume or total work should slightly decrease and the emphasis on strength and speed with smaller high-intent reps is key for your staple compound exercises (generally squat, deadlift, DB Row, Sled Push to give a few examples).
- Your main goal is to practice and play with your best speed and athleticism. Your workouts should represent that goal. Gauging your body's level of fatigue is very important. A number of factors are involved in fatigue including nutrition, rest, workload, sleep, hydration, and schoolwork load. Creating balance is top priority.
- Figure out if 2 or 3 sessions per week is the right fit for the next four to six weeks before more competitive play starts. Generally 2 sessions is realistic, but with a higher training age (college and pro level) 3 sessions per week may be necessary.
- We want to address all phases of health in terms of conditioning including: mobility, stability, strength, speed, flexibility, coordination and overall neuromuscular reactivity.
- Try to avoid excess volume on training elements you probably are getting at practice (lateral plyos, overhead throws, etc.) and spend the time in the weight room on things you definitely don't want to lose strength on and elements that your body is most likely lacking from practice. (Example: back squat, anterior core movements, rotator cuff stability, rotation for the opposing side are not being trained at practice)
At Rounding Third BP, we program these elements for students throughout the competitive season as well as the off-season. Keeping the body healthy and strong through the season is how we can express all the positive changes that have been made over the off-season and also allows the athlete to keep improving. Comprehensive training is the true key to getting results that not only reveal better metrics, but also translate to the field.
Jordan Stouffer, CSCS
Must Watch...
This is a must watch. It is probably more in-depth than what you may normally hear from an elite level baseball player. Josh is an extremely mobile, strong, fast-twitch, and intelligent athlete, so it is important to keep in mind that building a swing as good as his takes a high level foundation.
He says "every movement has a purpose and a function." Those movements have to be timed, rhythmic, and he has to maintain dynamic balance of the posture of every joint that is in action. Notice he will mention clearing his front foot open to initiate hip/shoulder separation. The other notable phrase he mentioned was "stretching his rubber band" to achieve maximum bat-speed.
If motor learning has taught us anything, it is that the body will organize itself based on the ultimate goal. If the ultimate goal is well timed aggression (bat-speed), we will ultimately yield more valuable swings over time. With proper training of "intent" and an ability to recognize pitches, make adjustments when necessary, and use movement for timing/energy, we can build athletic hitters who express bat-speed.
Enjoy the video.
Biomechanics of the Baseball Swing- Video
This is a must watch video for those thirsting for knowledge from a science perspective on the swing. It shows how each link in your chain of movement works to manipulate the flow of energy.
Notice Josh's mobility. Keep in mind his body is what we consider "hyper-mobile" and even with proper training, most individuals will never have capabilities like him. He was genetically destined to be a freakishly speedy athlete.
What we definitely take away is that understanding how our movements can improve will make us more efficient hitters. If proper strength and conditioning is in place, our bodies can continue to feel better patterns if we understand what movements actually take place and how to manage energy through these movements.
Key points:
1. Notice how repeatable and rhythmic the timing mechanism is. He has changed this through his career to find more comfort and repeat-ability.
2. Notice the movement of his barrel and how he creates a "running start" as Bobby Tewksbary would say.
3. He continually builds energy throughout his motion. He isn't rushing through his early movements. Much like a dancer, he intuitively can sense the rhythm and tempo he needs to stay in sync with a ball moving towards him. The early force he creates is expressed as speed as it travels to smaller muscles and joints.
4. The bat-speed is frightening :)
5. For those of you who train with me, this is one of the videos I include in your hitting handbook that we will discuss in detail.
Enjoy!
2 staple exercises for baseball training
These are great exercises as part of a complete baseball training program. I chose to isolate these two because of the "bang for your buck" in overall functional baseball movement stimulus. I feel many baseball movements I try to teach in the swinging and throwing motions can be greatly improved through proper resistance training. Sometimes it is the only way an athlete can feel the movements. I can't tell you how many times the light bulb goes off for an athlete who really learns a training movement well, then has that feeling translate into his baseball movements on the field. If you train with me, you will be completing these movements as part of my development program. Enjoy!
Yoga Push-Up:
This is a quick video on how to do a solid yoga push-up from Cressey Performance. This is a great staple exercise for baseball training due to the stability it takes to control the motion well and the stimulation that the entire body gets during the motion. It involves a gradual stretching of the posterior chain, anterior core activation, and eccentric extension of the shoulder girdle.
One arm dumbbell row:
The single arm dumbbell row is a great way to train 1) to strengthen the scapular region for efficient throwing and hitting patterns and 2) to establish proprioception and feel for chaotic loading, slotting and separating movements in the swing and throw.
Video resource: Eric Cressey (Cressey Performance)
Lehmen's Baseball- Understanding Deceleration in Baseball
This is a great read for parents and players. It is complete with some great video examples to help simplify some of the content.