Melissa Kantor once said, “Time does not care how precious it is, how hard you are working not to squander it. Time passes.” It is May and the temperature is starting to rise in Hotlanta.
May-July is the Maintenance Phase for my hitters. They’ve earned it.
As summer baseball gets into full swing, hitters want a lot of hits and they want to get them in bunches. Don’t deal with the maybe aspect. Maintain skills as a fact.
The ultimate goal for hitters is to get hits. But there are seven parts of the swing and it takes 3,000 reps to build a habit for a total of 21,000 reps. It takes another 21,000 to convert the habit to a skill and another 21,000 to maintain those skills throughout the summer.
- Stance/Load
- Timing
- Tempo
- Tracking
- Approach
- Contact
- Extension/Finish
Over my 20-plus years of coaching, I teach my hitters that productive at-bats is a key to getting a lot of hits.
A productive at-bats consists of:
- Seeing at least six pitches regardless of the outcome
- Drawing a walk
- Hitting the ball hard somewhere regardless of the outcome
- Executing an offensive strategy, i.e., advancing a runner, hit and run, etc.
If you can have a productive at-bat 50% of the time, you should expect to get hits 30-40% of the time. We don’t have time for maybe.
Let’s go!
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.
