Habits to See the Ball Better

Parents spend $200 + on bats and $50 on hitting lessons…and thousands for travel ball! When kids struggle at the plate, it is typically because they aren’t seeing the ball as well as they could.

Pick up on the pitch and release point.

I want you to understand this simple fact: You can have the perfect swing and approach, but if you are not SEEING the ball out of the pitchers hand and to the zone, you are not only throwing away at-bats but also losing confidence and underachieving because of this problem.

The good news is, this problem has a simple solution.

When you see the ball well, you slow the game down. The better your abilities, approach, and confidence get, the slower the game will feel. Now, nobody is born with these things. It is always learned.

Confidence comes from having certainty. And certainty comes from knowing. Therefore, you just need to study and learn the skills in order to have these tools.

Having the correct knowledge is how you get to “playing with 100% confidence, toughness, and focus” instead of “with tension, pressure, and anxiety.”

You will see the ball better first by anticipating that it is going to be a strike. Many hitters aren’t picking up the pitch because they don’t expect it to be a strike. Has that ever happened to you?

This is VERY important. Remember, it is a strike until it is not.

Get your mind in the strike zone and then pick up the pitchers release point. Focus on the release point and pick out an area in your strike zone where the ball is going to be. In your mind, it should be “it is going to be a strike” not that it isn’t. You should be thinking, “yes, yes” until it is a ball and you think, “no.”

If you think “If it is a strike, I am going to swing” then it will be too late.

Thinking that it is going to be in your wheel house doesn’t mean you have to rush or get out in front. Think that it will be your pitch, be on time, and attack that inside part of the ball and hit it hard after you make sure it is a strike.

Think control, violent, and soft (smooth).