Angular velocity – Implications on bat speed

Our Green Light Hitting book is being published sometime this Summer. Hopefully, our mobile app will be available then too. One of the most important principles to understand is the relationship between Angular Velocity and Linear Velocity. Think of Linear Velocity as bat speed. How fast is the barrel of your bat moving through the hitting zone at contact. Pretty important stuff, right? In Physics terms, Linear Velocity is represented as V = rω where r is the radius and ω is angular velocity.

So, if we maximize our “r” and we maximize our “ω” we will maximize our Bat Speed and ultimately our power potential.

What is r with respect to hitting? A direct quote from the book:

The easiest “r” value to identify is the lead arm stretched across the torso during the swing. A lead arm that rotates around the shoulder has a much larger radius than one that rotates around the lead elbow.

Understanding “r” is only half the battle. You can’t simply extend your arms across your torso and think you’ll improve bat speed. You must generate ω! You must generate Angular Velocity! Let’s begin with the definition of Angular Velocity. Angular Velocity is basically how far and how fast something moves around the center of an object. Specifically, how far and how fast the barrel of your bat moves around the center of your body (axis of rotation). How do you improve Angular Velocity?

Short Answer: Don’t get too technical. See ball….Kill ball with lead arm stretched and wrists hinged.

Long Answer: Again…From the book.

If you can’t apply ground forces you will never create angular velocity no matter how stretched your lead arm may be. The moment the front heel lands and provides an “impulse”, the momentum train is in gear. The body’s muscles contract (hopefully sequentially) and apply a force to the end of the bat. The more forces (from the joints about which each arc rotates) that are in play create more acceleration of the bat as it nears the hitting zone.

Full Reps!

Bret Wagner

Perceived Danger

Does your son pitch well in the bullpen and then struggle to execute in games? At least 80% of my pitching lessons begin with Dad or Mom explaining how he just doesn’t pitch the way he can when he gets in games. Look at the picture below. Harmless right? You wouldn’t think twice about joining them. Now go ahead and click on the image.

Totally different! Throwing strikes in the bullpen is easy. Just like joining these fellas for lunch. Throwing strikes in a game is a little more like the actual image. Many times pitchers (this includes grown men) see the “batted ball” as real danger. So, in an effort to avoid that danger, they do everything in their power to not let the hitter hit the ball. Well…Duh? Isn’t that what pitching is all about. Not letting the hitter hit the ball. Kinda.

Being an effective pitcher, especially as you get older, is more about courage than talent. Do you have the courage to trust that your stuff is good enough to get that dangerous guy out if you throw it in the strike zone? Because if you don’t have courage…it’s easier to throw ball 1…ball 2….ball 3….ball 4 and still avoid that dreaded danger.

Some of the best pitchers this game has ever known gave up a lot of Home Runs. The image below is the list of all time home runs given up leaders. Some pretty impressive names on that list. The skeptic says, “Yes…But they pitched a lot longer so they gave up a lot more Home Runs.” I say, “They pitched a lot longer because they weren’t afraid to give up Home Runs.”

FULL REPS!

Bret Wagner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To protect AND to prepare

I don’t think you’d get much of an argument if you defined your role as parent as the following:

“To PROTECT my child against any imminent dangers and to PREPARE my child to be a productive, well-adjusted adult.”

PREPARE. For what? For life. And all that life dishes out. Let’s begin with the end in mind and work backwards. Think of 4 people who you would consider role models for your son. These 4 people should embody those characteristics and values that you would like your son to one day develop.

Got your 4? What do they all have in common?

PASSION!

I’m not talking cheerleader, rah-rah type of passion. I’m talking simple give a damn passion. They care about what they do and they care about doing it right. I love passion. Sometimes passion doesn’t look so good sometimes. Sometimes passion spills over into crazy. That’s OK. I’ll take a dose of crazy for my son because I know 99% of the time he’s going to be bombarded with give a damn.

When a baseball game is over there’s a score. And that score decides a winner and a loser. Too often we PROTECT our kids from the pain of losing by promoting an air of indifference. Don’t forget about PREPARING your son too. PREPARING him to give a damn about this game and everything else that he sets his mind to.

PASSION. That’s what I want for my son and for his team.

Full Reps!

Bret Wagner

An Unfortunate Turn of Events

Showing off our Casio High Speed camera:

Make sure you watch the ending!

Green Light Hitting – The Book

Kyle and I recently sat down to go over his brand new Green Light Hitting book. 2 years and 191 pages later, it’s almost ready for publication. It’s unfortunate that Kyle is being inducted into the West Shore Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame this Friday, because I truly believe this book may be his crowning achievement. Our publisher even used the term “brilliant”.

If you or your son has ever had a hitting lesson with Kyle, I’m sure you helped contribute to the book. Maybe not in name or picture. But certainly in theory.

Most think of Green Light Hitting as a mindset. While that is a huge component of understanding GLH, there is so much more.

Would you believe it actually starts with a Russian physiologist named Nikolai Bernstein? Bernstein was a contemporary of Ivan Pavlov, the 1904 Nobel Prize winner who concluded that all action is a conditioned reflex to each stimulus. Remember his experiment with the dogs? Bernstein disagreed with Pavlov. Bernstein believed that movement was much more complicated than a simple reflex to a repeated stimulus. Bernstein contended that each individual was different all the way down to his central nervous system. Bernstein coined the phrase “degrees of freedom” to quantify this difference.

An excerpt from the book:

Green Light Hitting is a hitting program modeled after Bernstein’s beliefs. It takes into consideration the task at hand, the person performing the task, and the environment in which it must be performed.

Most rational people understand that teaching calculus to 2nd grader’s is preposterous. It doesn’t mean they aren’t good students or even that they don’t have a good math mind. What they understand is that all children develop their skills over time. These skills are developed as their body systems develop with them.

Green Light Hitting is the first baseball hitting system that recognizes what Bernstein understood years ago deep in the heart of the Soviet Union. The manner in which we learn cannot be replicated using conditioned reflexes. Rather, it must take into consideration our central nervous system, muscular system, skeletal system and also the demands that the game of baseball places on them.

Green Light Hitting realizes that a player doesn’t need to “let the ball get in” until a pitcher can throw something other than a fastball.

Green Light Hitting realizes that right-handed hitters have different demands placed upon them than left-handed hitters.

Green Light Hitting realizes that Level 16 might be unattainable for some, but it should be a whole lot of fun trying to get there.

Green Light Hitting – From the Backyards to the Big Leagues is scheduled to be released sometime this summer with an expected retail value of $25.

If you would like to pre-order a copy of the book for an introductory offer of $20 you can use the link below.

Full Reps!

Bret Wagner

The Smash Zone

I heard my brother tell a kid something the other day that I want to share. “Good young hitters don’t swing at a pitch because it’s a ball. They don’t swing at a pitch because they can’t smash it.”

Who are we to tell a kid what he can or can’t smash. Do you think Vladimir Guerrero ever had a coach say “Make it be a strike!”. Doubtful.

Green light hitting = smash zone
Yellow light hitting = strike zone

Full Reps!

Bret Wagner

How little league baseball can attract more kids – Part 2

I’m not sure if this one has more to do with attracting kids than simply losing kids.

“Protect the pitcher. Protect the pitcher. Protect the pitcher.”

I can imagine that was the mantra whenever Little League Baseball decided to implement their pitch count limits. In an effort to protect the youth pitcher, Little League Baseball has a very strict pitch count limit. I think it’s great and I’m all for it.

But, who decided that little league pitchers should only warmup before a game or before an inning with another kid? That’s right. A coach IS NOT allowed to warmup his pitcher. Only another kid. I’m not even sure why this one bothers me so much. But it does. It doesn’t make any sense.

In no particular order….

Longer games
Fewer quality warmup pitches
Greater risk of injury
Less coaching opportunities

Can anyone enlighten me on why this rule was implemented?

Bret Wagner

How little league baseball can attract more kids – Part 1

An interesting article was written last August by Dave McKibben. It was titled, “Little League Losing It’s Grip on Kids”. McKibben states that since 1987 the number of youth baseball players has plummeted 27%.

Article Here

Little League is concerned. Very concerned.

Unfortunately, they miss a very important aspect of why little league baseball can become “boring”.

UMPIRES NOT CALLING STRIKES!

There are so many reasons why the strike zone should be expanded for Little League Baseball. In no particular order:

1. The pace of the game would pick up ten fold
2. It would stop rewarding passive hitting (Yellow Light Hitting)
3. Youth pitchers would gain confidence. Increased confidence = More Hittable Pitches. More Hittable Pitches = Better Games
4. Youth hitters would stop looking for a walk and actually start to develop a Green Light Approach.
5. Nobody enjoys watching kids “get walked” around the bases. Nobody. It’s not enjoyable.

Full Reps!

Bret Wagner

Thoughts from Dylan

Dylan who? Dylan is an exceptional 9 year old baseball player who plays on my son’s GoWags Patriots travel team. We have a good team. Dare I say a very good team. During the week, many of the GoWags Patriots “split up” and play in our local Rec league. All in all, a very well run league.

Yesterday, my son’s team beat Dylan’s team. It was a close game early but toward the end of the game it got a little lopsided. I was coaching first base and happened to strike up a conversation with Dylan who was playing first base. He had just finished pitching. Here is a snippet of that conversation. Keep in mind that Dylan is used to winning. Keep in mind that Dylan is accustomed to a high level of play from all his teammates.

Me: “Dylan…I thought you threw the ball hard at times and other times you were aiming. If you’re ever going to be a good pitcher you have to have the courage to throw hard all the time.”

Dylan: “I don’t think so…I just wish I could play with our travel team all the time. We need better players. Players that can catch.”

Uh………..OK.

Full Reps!

 

 

Meeting Needs – Google Style

Do you know what baseball coaches want?

Competitive baseball games. Period. Unfortunately, many times this requires a tournament fee of upwards of $1,000. And even then, you aren’t guaranteed COMPETITIVE games. You’re only guaranteed games.

Enter the TEAM LOCATOR web application. This web application literally allows coaches to put their team on “the map”. A google map to be exact. Enter your team information and allow other coaches to find you and your team for competitive games and / or scrimmages.

Click Here to get “on the map”

Full Reps!

Bret Wagner