By BK, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Are Built… Not Given. Earned!
Can we be brutally honest for a minute?
Most amateur hitters are nowhere near their ceiling, and the gap is usually a development problem, not a talent problem. Get honest, film it, fix your #1 problem, train all four pillars with intent every day and get stronger every week, and you can see change in weeks, not years.
Train it: Complete Hitter Masterclass →We can be better. We. Can. Be. So. Much. Better.
At hitting. As a country.
I’m not talking about the top shelf. I’m not talking about first-round picks or the guys starring in the Power 4 conferences. They’re fine.
I’m talking about the rest of us. Amateur baseball and softball. Club ball. High school. Small-college ball. The 13-year-old in the cage tonight. The junior trying to get seen. The kid who has the tools but hasn’t put them together yet.
For the most part, we can get so much better. And we can do it in a hurry.
1. What I see on a club ball weekend
Go walk the complex on an average tournament weekend. Watch a few hundred at-bats.
Here’s what I want to see:
- Sweet-swinging hitters.
- Ultra-athletic movers.
- Adjustable swings that still work when the pitch isn’t perfect.
- Controlled violence.
- Dead-straight focus in the box, every pitch.
I don’t see a lot of that.
I see a lot of meh.
Meh swings. Meh effort. Meh body language. The same flaw at-bat after at-bat. Hitters with no plan. Cage rounds with no intent. Kids walking back to the dugout after a strikeout like it was somebody else’s at-bat.
Meh isn’t a talent problem. Most of the time, it’s a development problem.
A CLUB BALL WEEKEND
TOO MUCHMEH.
- Meh swings.
- Meh effort.
- Meh body language.
- No plan. No intent.
MEH ISN'T A TALENT PROBLEM.
2. Three questions. Answer them honestly.
1. Is what you’re doing working?
Not “does it feel productive?” Not “am I busy?” Is it working? Are you a better hitter than you were three months ago, and can you prove it?
For about 95% of you, if we’re being honest, probably not.
2. Are you seeking and making changes?
Doing the same lesson, the same tee routine and the same 50 swings and expecting a different hitter isn’t a plan. Great hitters go looking for what’s holding them back, and then they actually change it.
3. Do you care enough to commit to this?
Not for a weekend. Not until the next tournament. Every day, when it’s boring, when nobody is watching and when it would be easier to scroll.
3. Maybe…
I don’t know everyone’s story, and this isn’t about tearing anybody down.
Maybe you’re just young. That’s okay. You have time, but only if you use it.
Maybe you’re not strong enough yet. That’s fixable, and it’s one of the fastest ways to get better.
Maybe you don’t care enough yet to do what you have to do. Only you can answer that one.
Or maybe you’re participating, not playing.
4. Participating vs. playing
A participant shows up, puts on the uniform, takes his swings and goes home.
A player shows up with a reason. He knows what he’s working on. He competes in BP. He has a plan in the box. He gets mad at the right things and lets go of the rest. He’s keeping score on himself, even when nobody else is.
Both wear the same jersey. Only one of them is getting better.
You can participate for ten years and never become a hitter. Or you can start playing today.
BOTH WEAR THE SAME JERSEY
STARTPLAYING.
- A participant just shows up.
- A player shows up with a reason.
- He competes in BP.
- He keeps score on himself.
ONLY ONE OF THEM IS GETTING BETTER.
5. Why it can happen in a hurry
Here’s the good news, and it’s why I’m fired up about this: most amateur hitters are nowhere near their ceiling. The gap between meh and good is usually not ten small things. It’s a few big ones, and they’re trainable.
The Swing
Get athletic. Start athletic, stay athletic, finish athletic. Fix the one movement that’s robbing you, not twenty things at once.
Strength & Explosiveness
A lot of hitters aren’t swing-limited. They’re body-limited. Get stronger and faster, and the same swing does more damage.
The Hitting Processor
Walk up with a plan. Know your pitch, know your zone, know the count. See It → Recognize It → Time It → Decide → Attack It.
The Mental Approach
Dead-straight focus is a skill. Build a routine, compete every pitch and own the next one, no matter what happened on the last.
Train all four, with intent, every day, and the change doesn’t take years. You can see it in weeks.
6. The challenge
- Get honest. Film your swing. Watch it like a scout, not like a fan.
- Find your #1 problem. Not five. One.
- Make a change and stick with it long enough to know if it works.
- Train with intent. Every swing has a purpose. Every round keeps score.
- Get stronger. Every week.
- Play. Don’t participate.
We can be so much better. Let’s go be better.
Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter.
Start with SwingChecker™ to find your #1 priority for free. Then see how the AHD Complete Hitter Masterclass trains all four pillars every day, or contact Coach about online remote baseball and softball training built for your hitter.
THELESSON.
- Get honest. Film it.
- Find your #1 problem.
- Stick with the change.
- Train with intent.
- Get stronger every week.
- Play. Don't participate.
Complete Hitters Are Built…Earned.
Quick answers
How can my kid get better at hitting fast?
Get honest. Film the swing and watch it like a scout, not a fan. Find the number one problem, not five. Make a change and stick with it long enough to know if it works. Train with intent, get stronger every week and train all four pillars every day. You can see change in weeks.
Why do so many youth hitters stop improving?
Most of the time it is a development problem, not a talent problem. Hitters repeat the same lesson, tee routine and 50 swings and expect a different result. They have no plan in the box and no intent in the cage. Ask honestly: is what you are doing working?
What is the difference between participating and playing?
A participant shows up, puts on the uniform, takes his swings and goes home. A player shows up with a reason. He knows what he is working on, competes in BP, has a plan in the box and keeps score on himself. Both wear the same jersey. Only one is getting better.
How do I know if my hitting practice is working?
Ask honestly: are you a better hitter than you were three months ago, and can you prove it? Busy isn’t the same as better. Film your swing, keep score on every round and make a change long enough to know if it works.
From the 2015 archive: The Spark: Rethinking What We Teach Hitters.
This article is part of the AHD guide Youth Hitting Development. Start there for the full picture and every related article.
