The problem that most all parents have when they seek out hitting instruction for their son or daughter:

In stark contrast to most products or services wherein one can find relatively objective information [“Consumer Reports” is one source along these lines], there are few objective sources by which a parent can leverage that will really help them choose wisely in finding a competent and effective hitting instructor.

Many times, as I talk about here, parents tend to assume that most all instructors understand “the basics “, as I have heard it phrased often.

They assume that most all instructors are on the same page ,so to speak, in terms of having a good working knowledge as regards understanding how the body works when swinging a bat.

From my vantage point, nothing could be further from the truth!!

When I first became interested in possibly becoming an instructor,it did not take me too long to realize that many of the instructors I watched were guys who were good hitters in college or at the professional level; they were guys who could “do it ” pretty well.

But they had very little understanding as to what they were ACTUALLY doing with their bat and body when they hit!

This is not an uncommon kind of thing with many good athletes.

In motor learning research on athletes, there is a term for this.

It’s known as the “action -perception gap” or “action–perception differential.”

Meaning that it is many times the case that good hitters THINK they are doing things to swing the bat well;but the reality is vastly different compared to their perceptions.

Most parents, understandably, typically are not aware of this gap and they simply assume that guys who could or can swing the bat at a high level much therefore know how to teach at a high level.

Again,this is simply not true.

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As I have talked and written about many times since becoming a hitting instructor, the fundamental problem with most of the instructional material is that it derives from verbal cues that do NOT really convey “how the body works” when someone tries to swing a bat.

The phrase of “how the body works” is a simple way of saying that in order to really understand how someone swings a bat, one needs to have at minimum, some understanding as to how forces and movements are actually being created to move the bat.

As I will try to point out with a number of video demos here at you tube, VERY few of the kinds of typical verbal cues that are used by many hitting instructors even remotely explain as to what these movements and forces are that are actually involved in creating movement of the bat.

Simply put, these typical cues that many have heard lack “explanatory power.”

Meaning that they do not explain a swing in a manner that will actually help a hitter [or a coach] to really understand what they are actually doing when they swing a bat.

And thus, these cues will be ineffective at best, and harmful at worst, in terms of helping a hitter really understand the kinds of forces and movements that they need to create in order to develop a high level swing.

[I do realize that some will argue that some of these kinds of very vague cues either can be, or have been, helpful to players. The refrain will be along the lines of, “Steve,I used this or that cue, and I have a really good swing as a result.” To which I would reply along the lines of: “Well yes, I realize that you THINK it was this cue that helped you, but I think that your swing has improved due to OTHER factors.” I have written quite a bit about these “other factors” on my website. And I will be explaining what I mean in some future public blogs in the not too distant future].

So, what I am saying about what I refer to as “the culture of hitting instruction” is the following:

1] Most instruction is based on verbal cues which in no manner really describe how a swing actually happens in that it does not remotely explain the forces and movements that are actually involved in moving the bat—thus;

2] these cues are not going to help hitters either understand how they are currently creating movements and forces, or help a hitter know how to create movements and forces that will help them to develop a high level swing;

3] in order to be a really effective instructor, you have to be able to understand and explain the actual movements and forces that are causing the bat to move.

EnglishbeyHitting.com offers a variety of products designed to help baseball and softball players develop the best swing their body is physically capable of achieving.

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