Are We Playing Too Much? Sharpening The Saw.
Perhaps you have heard of a concept leadership and management guru Stephen Covey calls Sharpening the Saw. While he was aiming this idea to the business world, it has applicability to those who coach and play sports as well.
Basically, the concept goes like this:
Don't get so busy sawing that you forget to sharpen the saw.
What happens to the saw while you are sawing?
It gets dull.
What happens when your saw becomes dull?
You can still saw, but the process becomes much less effective. The work is harder and takes longer - you just don't saw as well.
To bring this back to baseball and softball, I've noticed a trend that is not new, but may well be developing into a problem. The situation is the growing proliferation of travel teams at all age levels at nearly all times of the year. While things do slow down a bit in areas of the country with cold winters, in many places, baseball and softball are becoming nearly a year round activity.
First, there is the normal spring ball season. Practice for this may begin in January or February (in some places, even earlier), with games beginning in late March. The season continues until June, then summer league begins. This typically will run into August, and then school starts again.
In many areas of the country, this means Fall league ball. Practice for this often begins in August, and the Fall season can run into late October.
So, you have 10 or so months of sawing with young ball players, leaving perhaps two months to sharpen the saw. I wonder if this is enough time for players to work on new skills development, along with appropriate strength and conditioning.
No doubt that the best way to improve in baseball and softball is to play a lot. This is why many of the best (but not all!) players come from warm weather states - CA, TX, FL and others. They simply have better weather allowing them to play and practice more.
But is there a point where the returns for all these games and travel diminish? Where it's time to stop and take some time to 'sharpen the saw?' I think there is. Consider the major league season: April - September, then the playoffs. Two teams go all the way to the World Series in October.
Therefore, the vast majority of big leaguers are playing about 5 months (admittedly, a LOT of games), not counting Spring training (pre season). And there are various winter leagues that certain players participate in for additional skill development.
But, while playing a lot of games in a relatively short period of time is physically demanding, the big boys have a LOT of down time with which to recover or Sharpen the Saw.
I submit that coaches and parents need to consider this idea carefully. It is well known that acquiring a new skill takes time, and that there is usually a decrement in performance as one learns and implements a new skill. That's why it's usually best to not make any major mechanical adjustments during the regular season. And, with all the games and practices during the regular season, coaches know it's tougher to provide a lot of individual attention to their players.
This is becoming more apparent by the increasing number of questions I get about how to implement a good all around Strength & Conditioning program during the season. Or how to fit in arm strength or bat speed workouts between games and practices. It can be done, but it's not easy.
Here are some key points to consider:
1) In what areas does your player(s) need to improve? Prioritize them.
2) Take the first priority (let's say it's running speed improvement) and make it the first thing to work on after any skill work for that day. Skill work requires more precision as it is performed. For this to be most effective, one should not be tired or the skill work can suffer.
3) If your player has multiple areas where they need to improve, consider taking some time off from all the playing and games. Will missing Summer or Fall ball really hurt you, considering you'll be working on new skill development, along with S & C?
4) This brings us to the idea of active rest. The athlete remains physically active, but in some other sport or activity than baseball or softball. Sort of the cross training concept, which allows the ballplayer to recover physically and mentally from their regular routine. As long as the ball player is staying active, most any activity will suffice.
Here's a basic format for a well rounded off-season
S & C workout:
M - Strength, Flexibility work
T - Power work, Flexibility, Energy System conditioning
W - S, F
TH - P, F
F - S, F
Sat - ES, F
Do any hitting or pitching mechanical work before these workouts, e.g., skill work in the AM, S & C work in the PM.
5) Let the energy level of your player(s) be your guide. If s/he is having fun, is full of energy and enthusiasm about their workouts, is not feeling unduly sore, etc., then let them go. On days they may be feeling tired and worn down, it's time for a day off. Just pick up at the next day's workout - don't worry about making up for the missed work.
Remember, everyone needs to stop and 'Sharpen the Saw' at some point. If it means not playing as many games in order to do so, so be it. The idea of taking one step back in order to more quickly take two steps forward is very legitimate and worth making a part of your player development program.
(C) 2004 Baseball Fit, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Steve Zawrotny's BASEBALL FIT Hitting & Pitching Academy - www.BaseballFit.com
The information contained in this newsletter is the opinion
of the author based on his personal observations and years
of experience. Neither Steve Zawrotny or Baseball Fit
assume any liability whatsoever for the use of or inability to
use any or all of the information contained in
Maximizing Game Day Bat Speed
If you're a hitter - baseball, slow pitch, or fastpitch softball, you'll definitely find this to your liking!
As you know, I'm a big proponent of appropriate strength & conditioning as a way of increasing GAME TIME performance. This includes generating maximal bat speed. Unfortunately, science says what most of you are doing in the on-deck circle just prior to stepping to the plate is hindering your bat speed and quickness right when you need it most.
What are most of you doing in the on-deck circle? Swinging some type of heavy implement. Why is this wrong? I've summarized below the results of a study done in 1991 by Dr. Coop Derenne of the University of Hawaii. Results are ranked fastest to slowest by implement used. Bat velocity was measured by use of a photosensing computer timer. Players were college age; game bat weight was 30 oz:
1) Wooden overloaded bat (34 oz)
2) 27 oz underloaded bat
3) Standard 30 oz game bat
4) 25 oz underloaded bat
5) Power swing (adds 32 oz to bat)
6) 23 oz underloaded bat
7) Donut ring (adds 28 oz to bat)
Notice that the WORST item was the standard heavy batting donut. Also, using UNDERload (light) bats produced better readings than heavier implements. Just swinging your game bat with no weight attached produced better readings than any of the heavier tools!
The question you may be asking is WHY? Why, when you grab two or three bats or another heavy device, swing them vigorously, then grab your game bat (which now feels light as a feather) does this slow you down? You feel so much faster with your game bat after this, don't you?
What happens is simple fatigue of the fast twitch muscles you're depending on to perform at your best. At an imperceptible, neuromuscular level, all of this heavy work just before performing actually tires you out! So, right at the time you need to be your fastest, you've just slowed yourself down. It's sort of like a sprinter running a bunch of sprints or laps minutes before a race. Yes, he's warmed up, but he has also depleted too much of his energy, so he cannot perform at his peak.
Notice that the two best times were with weights that were about 10% above & 10% below the game bat weight. Just enough weight (the 34 oz bat) for you to get warmed up and ready, but light enough to not affect swing mechanics. The underload bat (27 oz) is noticeably lighter, allowing for an effective warm-up and priming the body to swing faster - overSPEED training.
Don't confuse this on-deck performance with a regular workout using heavy implements to develop strength and power. During such a workout, you're not appearing at the plate facing perhaps a 90 mph fastball. Tiring the muscles during a workout is the point.
However, this data underscores the fact that bat speed is most effectively developed by a combination of both heavy and light training. DO NOT NEGLECT OVERSPEED/UNDERLOAD TRAINING! If you only train slow and heavy, mechanics will be negatively affected (a real problem with a refined 'power skill' such as hitting) and you'll perform slow as well.
So put down that heavy device in the on-deck circle and go light! Especially when you're facing serious gas! And slow pitch hitters who are not facing 'gas,' you too need to generate maximal bat speed to drive the ball hard/deep.
FYI, you can find 4 oz donuts in our web site store that will fit baseball, softball, and youth bats.
(C) 2004 Baseball Fit, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Steve Zawrotny's BASEBALL FIT Hitting & Pitching Academy - www.BaseballFit.com
The information contained herein is the opinion of the author
based on his personal observations and years of experience.
Neither Steve Zawrotny or Baseball Fit assume any liability
whatsoever for the use of or inability to use any or all of the
information presented on this website.
How to Eliminate Your Golf Slice Quickly and Easily
Here's a really good tip that may help you to get rid of your slice. Best of all, it's really pretty simple once you get the hang of it, and understand why it's being used.
Chances are that you have battled with a slice at some point in your golfing days. To be completely direct with you, dealing with a slice really sucks. It hurts your golf game in many more ways than one.
Luckily, it's fairly easy to fix. I cannot claim that this small tip will completely cure your slice, but there's a good chance that it will. I hope it does.
First off, please understand that when you come into the impact zone, there are really only 2 factors that can determine the "shape" of ball flight.
1. The angle of the club face at impact.
2. The Path the club is taking at impact.
So, here's a few things you should concentrate on.
Try to keep your leading shoulder "down" on the ball through impact. This is called staying strong through impact. Many times the leading shoulder (left shoulder if right handed) flies up before impact. Now just for a minute, think about what that does to the club head when it's in the impact zone.
Get up from the computer and actually go though the motions slowly. Let your leading shoulder fly up as you approach impact and you'll actually be able feel and see the clubface coming from an outside-in path. That's the cause of the slice you are battling.
See, golf is all about thinking and analyzing your shots to get better. A huge part of this game is understanding "why" you're getting a certain result, and the physics behind that result. Thinking through your golf swing will provide huge dividends if you're willing to invest the time it takes.
So what can you do to correct that flying shoulder? Well, for starters, try to learn to keep your leading shoulder strong. Keep that shoulder "Down" on the ball all the way through impact, even after the ball is gone and flying straight down the fairway.
So, after impact the leading shoulder is still down. The triangle between your shoulders and chest is still present. Most importantly, the body has NOT gotten ahead of the hands. This is a HUGE distinction. As you may notice, the left shoulder is actually higher than the right shoulder. So what do I mean when I say "leading shoulder down"?
You have to envision yourself from the back looking down on the ball. When I say "down", I mean that the leading shoulder and chest is still facing the ball through impact.
So even though it may seem like the leading shoulder is higher than the trailing shoulder, it's still facing the ball at impact. NOT TOWARDS THIRD BASE in comparison to the ball. If your leading shoulder was facing towards third base at impact, which would mean that you have let the leading shoulder fly up.
Furthermore, hand action is huge in this game. You must learn to release your hands correctly through the ball. This means that you release the hands while the leading shoulder is still "down", or facing the ball.
The key is to let your arms release through the ball, while your left shoulder is "Down" on the ball. To do this you will need to rotate your forearms correctly, and use your leading ELBOW (not shoulder) as a hinge. So another way to explain this movement would be that your hands are still moving towards the target, but your leading elbow has almost stopped.
Keep the leading shoulder down and let your arms and hands release through the ball and you will see the ball go farther and higher. This will take a while to get used to, but once it clicks, the results will be outstanding.
Carl is a pro golfer. Get discounts when buying golf equipment and purchase from cheap online stores:
http://golfcartbattery.blogspot.com