This is my hitter’s final week of the Assessment Phase (August-October). During this time, we remain committed to trying new things to determine what works and what doesn’t.

November-January is all about building strength and habits based on what works.

Taking good swings usually is not the major issue for most hitters, especially if you are athletic.
Being athletic is the ability to make things happen, particularly when you do not have the fundamentals and habits to do it.

In order to become a skill, a good swing must be supported by strength and habits.

There are three types of strength I focus on with my hitters:

1. Mental
2. Emotional
3. Physical

Talent is what you do well. Habits are what you do well repeatedly without thought. Habits can be broken up into three parts:

1. Cue
2. Routine
3. Reward

Skills are things that you do well repeatedly without thought while under stress.

I will unpack all of this for you in future blogs. In the meantime, if you have not spent enough time this fall trying new things, try one of the following ways to load using a tee. Try this along with your 25 reps each for five straight days—employing the mindset of making adjustments and being athletic leading the way.

• High Leg x 25 reps for 5 straight days
• Toe Tap x 25 reps for 5 straight days
• Bat Wrap x 25 reps for 5 straight days
• High Leg x 25 reps for 5 straight days
• Your Way x 25 reps for 5 straight days

Remember, skills pay the bills.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today. Also, check out our Digital Magazine.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

 

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going—it is what you do well repeatedly without thought. Skills are what you do well repeatedly without thought while under stress.

November through January is the time my hitters commit and discipline themselves to build habits and strength after spending the fall (August through October) trying new things. This is done to find out what works and what doesn’t.

Habits are divided into to three parts:

1. Cue
2. Routine
3. Reward

Hitters spend most of their time focusing on important hitting routines such as being on time, having a short approach, extension, etc. But if you never change the cues during practice and training time, you will not be ready to perform in the spring and summer.

Changing cues include pitch types, speeds and locations.

I am not much of a golfer, but I may subject myself to mental anguish once a year. Recently I was playing golf and my swing was feeling great at the driving range. I thought, “This is going to be a great day.”

As soon as I saw the water to my right and the houses to my left, reality set in and reminded myself that my swing was not as good as it felt.

The houses and water were cues. Tiger Woods wouldn’t have even given either a thought. Why? Because he has a swing that works well without thought while under stress.

Practice well this winter (October-January) to build your habits so that you are ready to train well in the spring (February-April) to convert those habits to skills.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today. Also, check out our Digital Magazine.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

 

November is knocking. Are you ready to start building habits and strength? Successful people are simply those with successful habits.

As we have discussed, talent is what you do well, while habits is what you do well without thought. Skills are what you do well without thought while under stress.

There are seven parts of the swing and it takes 3,000 reps to build a habit:

1. Stance/Load
2. Timing
3. Tempo
4. Tracking
5. Approach
6. Contact
7. Extension/Finish

That’s 21,000 reps.

What parts of the swing need the most attention this winter during your habit building workouts? For the remainder of October, focus on trying new things, which will help determine what works and what doesn’t.

Remember, skills pay the bills.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today. Also, check out our Digital Magazine.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

It is still October, but November nears. August through October is the time my hitters commit and discipline themselves to try new things. The goal is to determine what works and what doesn’t. November through January are the months of engagement—the time to build habits and strength based on what works.

Compare these two phases to gardening. There is a tilling process that requires digging, stirring and overturning of the soil before planting seeds. Planting seeds in baseball is the act of teaching.

Do you believe learning lasts after you have been humbled?

When I was a teenager, I was like a lot of teenage boys who thought they knew everything. I was talented and very athletic. Now that I am a seasoned adult who has experienced many ups and downs, I realize that talent is the floor and skills are the ceiling.

A bridge between talent and skills is humility. I define humility and not thinking less than of yourself, but thinking of others more than yourself.

The tilling and humbling phase of development that should happen August through October can make it much easier to plant seeds and learn November through January.

So throughout October, commit to trying new things to determine what works and what doesn’t.

Experiment with your load and timing. Build strong habits and strength this winter. Feel empowered in the spring by converting those habits to skills. Maintain those skills this summer with an application mindset.

Remember, skills pay the bills.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today. Also, check out our Digital Magazine.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

Never be afraid to try something new because life gets boring when you stay within the limits of what you already know.

• 25% of what you do is based on what you know
• 20% of what you do based on what you don’t know
• 55% of what you do is based on what you don’t know that you don’t know

I love the fall (August-October) because I can recommit myself to trying new things so that I can determine what works and what doesn’t. In the winter workout months of November through January, I build habits and strength for the things that I know work.

When I continue to do things based on what I know, I feel safe but I don’t feel fulfilled. Wanting to improve myself causes me to be in spaces where I can be challenged and inspired by others.

I am a member of a Life Group at my church, Elizabeth Baptist Church, in Atlanta. This is an environment where I can ask questions based on what I don’t know and get the answers I need to grow.

Have you ever been in the presence of somebody who was knowledgeable and wise, and you find yourself not knowing the right questions to ask?

The questions you may have are good ones, but they are frequently asked questions (FAQ) you could easily Google to find the answers, rather than wasting the time of your guru.

The appropriate question to ask is a “Should Ask Question” (SAQ). FAQs are fast and shallow; SAQs are slow and deep. Asking SAQs requires courage because the responses can only be answered from a place of conviction.

Gurus are not intimidated by SAQs. They are a gift to us.

What SAQs do you have for me?

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today. Also, check out our Digital Magazine.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.