Space & Time – Structure

The thing about structure that is often misconstrued is that it inherently stifles freedom and creativity. In reality it is by establishing and enforcing effective structures in our practice that we free ourselves to find new, creative solutions, effectively expanding the space we can control. In the swing big, complex, noisy movements looks like, feels like freedom. However, if those big moves reduce the hitter’s margin for error and in turn their adjustability that “athleticism” is actually a restriction, only allowing the hitter to experience success under certain conditions. Being able to accomplish the same tasks, check the same boxes with less/quieter movements allows the hitter to repeat their swing more consistently.

This concept applies to how we approach our cage and batting practice time as well. It is the value of the boring routine. The hitter and/or coach can identify a small number of key checkpoints that can be addressed with a simple, highly repeatable – albeit possibly boring – routine. This cuts down on time the hitter spends chasing their tail – rehashing the same conversations, finding new ways to attack the same problems. At the youth/high school levels this can free up time to talk about/address other aspects of hitting. For example, instead of spending 45 minutes of an hour session every week figuring out how to effectively turn the barrel a player and/or coach may consider implementing a 10 minute routine for that specific issue. This not only allows the hitter to continue the work on their own, it frees up 30 minutes per session to address things like hand-eye coordination and approach/strategy, or of course just to get more reps (at the youth level nothing is going to add more value than an uptick in focused, quality reps). At the college and professional levels – especially full season pro ball – hitters will benefit from conserving mental and physical energy. When you play 5-6 days per week simply figuring out how to “fix” your swing every other day is a costly drain, let alone the 50-100 extra swings hitters tend to take when the new drill fails to give them that “fix” or makes the problem worse. Besides leaving hitters physically and mentally exhausted this type of practice typically does not produce hitters that have the discipline or confidence to perform at the highest levels.

In conclusion for the coach or player reading this I encourage you to consider the structure of your practice – especially when problem solving for common swing issues. By designing simple routines for day-to-day work, efficient flows for your batting practice and private cage sessions you can free up space and time for a more robust hitting conversation and experience.

Happy hunting!