exercise adaptations for baseball and softball players
TRANSCRIPT
Jodi Fulwood
Sports Performance Consultant
Sports Performance Consultant
Bachelor Degree of Applied Science in Exercise
and Sport
Experience working with a variety of sporting
athletes
Athletic ability ranges from amateur to national
level
ALL SKILLS VITAL TO
PERFORMANCE
Increase the ability to concentrate & focus for
longer periods of time
Increase ability to avoid & block out distractions
Improve rhythm, timing, coordination & balance
Fine tune motor planning & sequencing & decision
making
Ask an athlete if they
THINK
these skills are important?
“YES” Ask them do they know
HOW
to train these skills?
“NO!”
ONE SIZE DOES
NOT FIT ALL
Regular coaching &
training available to athletes
Unique sporting skills now
identified by athletes as important
Personalized
IM Program
Using the Interactive Metronome to “FILL THE GAP”
OBSERVATION &
ANALYSIS
Observation is more than just watching a sport
Identify the:
(1) PHYSICAL requirements:
Movements
Skill requirements
(2) MENTAL requirements:
Concentration
Focus
Decision making
(3) ENVIRONMENTAL requirements:
Analyse:
How, why, frequency, duration of the mental & physical skills?
Can you duplicate them in an IM program?
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF IM
Training Focus (A) Training Focus (B) Training Focus (C)
Physical, Mental, Environment Demands
TARGET YOUR TRAINING AREA
Simulate
ENVIRONMENT
Challenge
MENTALLY
Simulate
MOVEMENT
A BALANCED IM PROGRAM
SHOULD INCLUDE ALL THESE AREAS
OPTIMUM POWER
GENERATED
INTENDED POINT OF
BALL CONTACT
Perfect Swing Timing is:
OPTIMUM POWER with MINIMUM ENERGY expenditure
Difficult skill to teach and acquire due to the essential millisecond coordination and acceleration of the whole
body WITH precise timing
Swing Rhythm is the TEMPO of Swing Timing
Swing Timing FOCUS
Emphasis on correct sequence
Swing Rhythm FOCUS
Is on tempo of components
Difficult to observe split-second, complex body components
Correct swing timing often relies on “trial and error”
Most effective teaching tool is the rhythm of music
Movement Sequence for Swing Rhythm – first movement occurs in the distal of the swing lever system and progressively moves to each component one increment closer to the final impact point
“HITTING is TIMING,
Pitching is upsetting TIMING” Warren Spahn, Baseball Hall of Famer
HITTING IS TIMING ....THE SWING IS MUSCLE MEMORY
A pitch at 85 mph takes approx. 0.425 seconds to go from pitchers hand to the hitting zone
Average human reaction time is ¾ of a second = 0.750 seconds. Players reaction time alone is not fast enough
A batter must begin his swing the same time the pitcher begins his motion
RHYTHM &
TIMING OF SWING
PITCH SPEED &
LOCATION
ESSENCE OF
HITTING
Correct mechanics allows a hitter to do 4 things:
Help players to see the ball better
Gives players a shorter swing, allowing them more time to see the ball and make better decisions
Generate maximum bat speed to hit the ball harder
Give players better balance and control through the swing
A baseball pitcher uses the entire body
during the pitching motion, beginning with
the lower extremities, advancing to the
trunk, shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand
ANY ALTERATION IN ANY
SEGMENT OF THIS CHAIN
CAN AFFECT THE OUTCOME
Commonly used phases of pitching
WINDUP Setting phase of pitching motion. Purpose is to set a rhythm and synchronized timing of the body parts
COCKING Divided into early cocking and late cocking according to the contact of the forward foot on the ground
ACCELERATION During this phase the speed of the arm has increased significantly
FOLLOW – THROUGH Occurs from the point of ball release, completion of the motion when the support leg stops forward motion
STATIC
STABLIZING DYNAMIC
Dynamic balance is very important
Double plays require a combination of skill, ability, coordination
and dynamic balance at the same time
Lunging movement is vital, requires static and dynamic balance
Agility is the ability to decelerate, accelerate and change
direction
Visual Eye Tracking
“YOU CAN’T HIT WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE”
Need to see the location, motion and rotation of the
ball
Speed and efficiency of players’ visual processing
allows keep eyes on the ball
Visual skills can impact softball and baseball
performance
Interactive Metronome® Training may impact performance in the following ways:
• Bat more consistently
• Sharpen pitch location
• Make faster decisions on field
• See location, motion, rotation of ball
• Speed of processing visual information
• Reaction time
• Know when to swing, when to throw and where
• Enhance pitch recognition
• Increase the velocity off the bat
• Improve timing, balance and confidence
• React more quickly to infield plays
• Develop visual confidence at the plate
The ability to throw the ball accurately with speed,
requires the entire body to work together
ARM MOTION: • Arm motion when throwing a ball
makes a circular motion
• Circular motion provides natural
momentum
• Front shoulder to point in the direction
of where you are throwing
LOWER BODY: • Lower body movements line up with the upper body
BEING RELAXED IS IMPORTANT TO ALLOWING A
PLAYERS MIND TO FOCUS SHARPLY
Concentrating on HIGH VELOCITY balls
Concentration is IMPORTANT to be able to hit the ball or return a shot
SPEED and SPIN increase difficulty
FOCUS is needed
…but, Focus is impossible to maintain for an entire game, so DONT TRY
Relax focus after a play / before the next play
Relax focus after a pitch / before the next pitch
Relax focus after a swing / before the next swing
Relax focus after team finishes part of an inning / before the next part
Weather:
• Heat
• Wind
• Rain
Crowds:
• Large crowds
• Stadium seating
• Open courts
What effect can these have on players?
Umpire:
Bad calls from the plate
umpire or base umpires
RE-EVALUATE THE PROGRAM
Is it CHALLENGING to athlete’s skill
level?
Is it
INTERESTING enough?
Are the (MS) scores reflecting IMPROVEMENT?
Is it FLEXIBLE?
When designing a personalized IM program it is important to:
OBSERVE
ANALYZE
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX FILL THE GAP
Check out the full presentation for more great
tips on using IM training for training baseball and
softball players.
Full version includes:
Extended discussion of baseball/softball mechanics
More information on softball vs baseball differences
Training videos
…and more valuable information to take your clients’
skills to the next level.
If you are looking for CEUs, look no further than
Interactive Metronome®.
We have an extensive catalog of over 100 webinars with
topics on everything from autism to motor deficits to
ensuring clinical profitability and success with IM.
And our new badging system makes it easy to identify the
information that is tailored to your practice. No more
wasting time looking for CEUs! It is time to take your
clients’ training to the next level!
visit www.interactivemetronome.com
or call (877) 994-6776 (*US Only)
Know your party’s extension?
call (954) 385-4660