2007 WebBall Challenge - Optimum Performance

And have a parent or two sitting outside the cage yelling at them to just "hit the damn ball".  Maybe have them scream out a few explatives at a make-believe blue   Sorry, couldn't help myself.

If you REALLY want t0 make it real world, have them out there yelling "hands to the ball," and "stay vertical!"   

Regards,

Scott

Steve,

Would mentally seeing a good result from a good practice swing be an appropiate approach?  We have a freshman in a rut (trying to pull everything and failing) and we have been working on using the opposite field more.  Would her focusing on the swings and the result (line drives she hits opposite field in practice) be smart?
Or just seeing the swing?

Another cue I have used is to focus on the release of the pitch (hip).  You would be surprised how many hitters do not do this.  Most of them report that they see the ball better and I think focuses their concentration on the ball instead of the result.

Ray

Ray there are numerous books and articles on athletes and various "visualization " kinds of cues techniques ,etc .

The research ,however , is somewhat unclear as to how effacacious this kind of thing really is .There are somewhat conflicting accounts as to what works ,how it works ,and why .

Having said this ,there is no doubt that for some in some situations ,with some people ,these kinds of visualization techniques  can be very effective .

Many athletes [myself included ] have reported as to being able to "see themselves performing " or visually "reherse " their technique in the "minds eye " so to speak .And that this kind of visual rehersal or internalized vision can be variously effective ,ie channels focus , helps to mitigate against negative thoughts or "extraneous "kinds of of impediments,acts a kind of controller of arousal states ,etc .

In terms of the other question ,that of tracking the ball ,this is ,in actuality ,a very complex kind of question .

You might want to do a search on the "ambient visual system"  and "optic flow",to better understand why I would say that trying to conciously focus on a point would be somewhat "problematic " ,ie you are using a visual system that is designed for tracking slow moving objects .[If you do this search put it here and start a thread and I will add some stuff to it ].

I know that years ago ,when I first heard people talk of actively focusing on "the square" for example ,I said to myself "where and what the hell did I focus on " and when I went to hit live and think about this ,I said to myself that "I have really no idea exactly what I am focusing on ."

Later ,as I read some of Paul Nymans "stuff" that he put up on high speed tracking ,and when I saw othersimilar articles---including articles on elite athletes and "anticipation "---- I came to realize why my "instincts " were more correct than I realized .

I have Richard Schmidt's book and I have two books that I am currently reading "Visual Perception and Action in Sports" [A.Williams] and "Interceptive Actions in Sports" [eds.Kieth Davids].

Three sources of which have nothing but hundreds of pages explaining why its the BRAIN and not the HANDS that controls the process ,ie the "coupling of action to perception " and the process involved in how a dynamical system --in this case the dynamical system which is the brain ,and the human body ----learns to to ,for example ,find a ball at a precise point with a bat in hand .

Coupling action to perception is a "systems problem with systems soloution ."

Sorry to get all pedantic and sh*t on you Ray .Its just that the question came at a time when I have been going thru these books under the ongoing thoery that ---

-----"I aint that smart ,Ijust aint got nothin better to do ."

steve

I will do a search and see what I come up with.

I wonder if it is more of active concentration that helps instead of the actual tracking the ball?  I know in my case that when I watch our pitchers and try to pick up the spin coming out of their hand I track the ball better.  It seems like it slows down for me rather than just having a general focus and then keying in.

Maybe I am not really focusing squarely on the hip, but just picking the ball up quicker because I am "in that area?"  I will have to pay more attention today as we are facing a pretty good pitcher.

I have read that keeping a general focus during the windup and then narrowing the focus to the release works better. 

Ray

What I am reading is that certain physiological and psychological variables weigh in heavily on visual perceptions.

A person viewing a steep hill from the ground or from the top sees the hill angle much differently because of the associated risk of falling down the hill as opposed to climbing up.

This idea can translate to why hitters hit better off a machine pitched ball at a higher MPH than live pitching at a lower MPH using the same optic focus patterns (concentrating on release point).  Bascially, the fear/risk of being hit.  The pitcher seems faster because the hitter senses the risk involved.

A study also reveals how carrying a heavy backpack makes distances appear greater than they really are.  In my experience, I always felt slower on colder days because of the extra clothing I wore.  And maybe I was, but just the thought that I was hindered my ability to perform. 

How many others feel this way? 

.........." I wonder if it is more of an active concentration that helps....."

The simple answer is yes .Of course that begs the question ,"What does active concentration mean?"

Some years back Paul Nyman had a conversation with Jesse Barfield  [ex big league hitter whose son is Josh Barfield] and he ask him "when do pick up a curveball ?"

And Jesse replied "before it leaves his hand ."

Meaning that there was some "environmental cue " [Schmidt et al] that he was picking up prior to release .

This would be consistent with numerous studies of elite athletes [tennis players, etc. ] and how they using various  environmental cues that are largely tacitly [sub-consciously] generated, and which allows them to actually start moving slightly sooner than would  a novice .

Environmental cues would be things such as body movements, body angles, racquet positioning ,etc.,  etc.

This is known as "anticipation " ---see John McCrone very good articles under the heading of "Going Inside "----or using visual/environmental cues in an anticipatory manner. [See, for ex. John McCrone's very good articles under the heading of "Going Inside."].

In numerous studies of expert performers vs novice or non-expert performers, this is something that is part of explaining /understanding the difference between the expert performer relative to others .

[And of course one of the other relatively stark differences is the relative consistency of performance in terms of kinematic parameters, eg., in a study of world class table tennis players ,the movement of the arm and the paddle was within a remarkably narrow range --- spatio-temporal parameters, i.e., the range of movement and the range of timing of that movement, relative to non -expert performers.]

As to the processes involved in developing the capacity to move and react in anticipatory fashion, that is a subject that is not at all clearly understood.

Other than to say that it has everything to do with the brain, and how it goes about processing information. And how it goes about adapting [learning] in a manner that, over time, heightens this kind of of tacit [sub-conscious] awareness as described by researchers studying high level athletes.

And it also means that all of the above has very little to do with some label as "hand -eye  coordination ."

Essentially the term "hand -eye  coordination " is a very superficial term that is almost completely bereft of "explanatory power", i.e., it does not remotely explain how one goes about moving body and implement to a precise point in time in expert fashion [or in non-expert fashion for that matter].

Mel Siff has similarly argued  that you cannot think of movement in "isolation "--- by noting that even in the relatively simple act reaching for a cup of coffee there are 5 joints and 27 muscles involved, [and not  counting the appendages of the fingers].

How the brain, nervous system, and muscle/connective tissue  systems goes about coordinating movement is, even in the mere reaching for a cup of coffee , a remarkably complex event .

When you add to this complexity, trying to track a 90 mph baseball and intercept it at a very precise point with an implement like a bat, you are adding complexity by orders of magnitude .

It is a near miracle to even touch a ball much less hit it consistently well !!!

One thing is certain. Explaining it as an act of "hand-eye  coordination " does not at all explain the actual complexities of the process.

steve

I can relate to the "environmental cues" while playing OF.  Many times I was able to see from CF pitch location and the start of the swing that gave me a "jump" on the ball before contact.  Late/early swing, etc.  Or by seeing previous swings. Or by locations of foul balls.

These cues are very similar to avoiding a car accident by anticipating what another driver is going to do by seeing the upcoming traffic. 

All of these have nothing to do with hand/eye coordination.  Simply put, the ability to process information and draw logical conclusions are the basis for what we call game savvy or having good instincts.

Can someone email Arod the article by Steve...If he is not going up there thinking, "I gotta get a hit, I gotta drive in some runs" then I will eat my hat...