By Coach Billy Kehoe, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Are Built… It’s Earned!
A good program has a standard. A bad program makes every player look the same.
What every team can share
- A repeatable way to assess the hitter.
- A common language for timing, decision-making and adjustability.
- An individual plan for the one thing each hitter needs next.
The Brewers’ reported lesson: individualize the road
A detailed Brewers October analysis described an offense moving away from one team-wide answer and toward individual solutions. Some hitters reportedly changed contact-point intent or attack angle. Others used a different plan to create the same effect. The coaching point is bigger than one organization or one season: the baseball does not care whether every hitter arrived there the same way.
One player may need to get the ball farther out front. Another may need to keep the barrel in the zone longer. Another might need a different pitch plan, not a different swing. The shared goal is better contact on pitches they can handle—not a matching set of screenshots.
Same standard. Different blueprint.
What youth programs get wrong
When a 12U team hears one mechanical command all season, the early developers may survive it. The players who need a different entry point can get stuck. A taller hitter, a smaller hitter, a hitter who is early, and a hitter who is late should not automatically get the same homework.
That does not mean every player gets random drills. It means the coaching system has to be strong enough to sort the problem before prescribing the solution.
Every hitter owns the four pillars.
Move well. Build athleticism. Process the pitch. Compete with a plan.
Each hitter earns a next step.
One priority based on video, ball flight and game behavior—not a group guess.
Every change gets tested.
Compare the video. Test the decision. Watch the ball. Keep what helps.
How AHD makes individualization practical
Start with the same two-angle video for every player. That makes the conversation fair. Then ask the same questions: Is the hitter getting to launch on time? Does the barrel work through the zone? Can he adjust to a different pitch? Is the decision getting him to a hittable ball?
From there, make the plan personal. A hitter who is consistently late does not need the same first assignment as a hitter who is chasing. One needs a timing or movement answer. The other needs better visual and decision work. Both may hit more when they solve the right problem.
The parent takeaway
Do not ask, “Does my kid’s swing look like the good hitters?” Ask, “Does he understand his own job right now?” A real plan gives a player a reason for the work, a way to measure it, and a next step when it improves.
Use SwingChecker™ to start that conversation. Compare two swings. Identify the priority. Then put the player in the AHD system built to develop his answer—not a team-swing costume.
Quick answers
Is there one correct swing for a team?
No. Teams can share standards—athletic movement, good decisions, adjustability and honest feedback—without forcing each hitter into the same stance or path.
How can a coach individualize without overcoaching?
Use the same assessment process for everyone, identify the biggest limiter for each player, and train one priority at a time.
Source: Brewer Fanatic: How the Brewers remade their offense (October 2026). The coaching read is AHD’s; the MLB example is not a universal mechanical prescription.
Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter.
