I hear coaches cue hitters to “keep their bat flat” at contact all the time… but that’s usually what causes the barrel to cut across the ball instead of working through it. Good hitters keep tilt and posture. Your vertical bat angle should generally work parallel with your shoulder angle and perpendicular to your spine angle. Your body is rotating on a tilted axis, so the barrel should organize around that — not fight against it. Higher pitches usually need a flatter bat angle, while lower pitches need more vertical bat angle. The best hitters adjust naturally without losing posture or connection. When you maintain tilt, a few really important things happen: • the barrel stays in the zone longer • the bat can deliver a more direct blow to the back of the ball instead of a glancing strike (aka staying 'inside' the ball) • and your hands stay connected to the back shoulder instead of pushing away and disconnecting Flat shoulders and a flat barrel usually LOOK powerful, but they often kill adjustability and make the swing work around the ball too early. The swing isn’t supposed to be flat. It’s supposed to be connected, efficient, and on plane.

Batting average doesn’t tell the full story of a hitter. It shows outcomes, not how the at-bat was actually won. If you want a real picture of development, you have to track what actually translates. Here are the 3 statistics that aren't found in GameChanger that you should be keeping track of: Hard Hit Ball Percentage: This shows how often a player is producing quality contact. Consistently hitting the ball hard is one of the best indicators of long-term success, regardless of whether it falls for a hit. - Goal: 60% or higher - Formula: Hard Hit Balls ÷ Balls in Play - Why it matters: Measures true quality of contact, not luck - What it tells you: If your swing is producing real impact Two-Strike Percentage: This reflects how often a hitter is getting to two strikes in the first place. The best hitters control counts and avoid putting themselves in tough positions. - Goal: 30% or lower - Formula: Plate Appearances that reach two strikes ÷ Total Plate Appearances - Why it matters: Shows approach, pitch selection, and control of the at-bat - What it tells you: How often you’re putting yourself behind Hard Hit Ball Percent with Two Strikes: This is where competitiveness and swing quality meet. It shows who can still do damage when the count is toughest. - Goal: 50% or higher - Formula: Hard Hit Balls with Two Strikes ÷ Balls in Play with Two Strikes - Why it matters: Separates hitters who survive from hitters who produce - What it tells you: If your swing holds up under pressure Quick clarification (this is important): - Two-strike percentage is based on plate appearances - Hard hit metrics should be based on balls in play, not total at-bats Batting average can be influenced by luck, defense, and where the ball lands. These stats are different. They are repeatable, they reflect real skill, and they help us focus on the parts of the game we can control.

We have been so thrilled with the response to launching this training academy. We want to offer one of our premium courses for FREEEEEEE! Advanced Hitting - Load School is now available under the classroom tab. This is one of our favorite courses as it works on one of the most misunderstood parts of the swing. Don't forget to post your progress on the Players at Work Community page! Let's work.

Program your hitting sessions for MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT. Reps in the cage don’t have to and shouldn’t be boring. Creating muscle memory can be accomplished in a ton of different ways. This format will help you learn how to structure your training for max benefit. The feels and moves and drills you pick should be specific to you and your needs as a hitter. 10 Warmup Feels: this doesn’t include a bat and is really designed to get your hitting muscles warmed up, most of these can be done with your hands across your chest 10 Reps of Warmup Drill X2 : we usually use water bags or PVC for these 10 Reps of a Drill X2 : this is where we finally get the bat in our hands and start swinging off a tee TOTAL: 50 REPS The beautiful thing about getting better is that it doesn’t require a cage rental and a bucket of balls. It can be done in your room before bed, in the living room on a rainy day, or in the garage before school. How far you want to go is always limited to your daily decisions. Upgrade to the Premium Plan for all of our courses and training videos and the VIP Plan to get all of that PLUS one-on-one online coaching. LET’S WORK!

We love the over/under loading approach to bat speed training! Bat speed doesn't come from your hands (hate to break it to you if this is your first time hearing it), but from how fast your body can rotate. Rotation speed has two components: 1) Explosive Strength: how much force your muscles can produce --> overload training 2) Neuromuscular speed: how fast your body can fire --> underload training To do over/underload training you'll need two different bats, you can hit with them or just do dry swings, both will accomplish the same goal. Try and take 30 swings with each bat in each training session at max effort. (make sure to get warmed up before) Overload: we love a wood bat that is 5-7 oz heavier than your game bat (https://amzn.to/4taUQTm or https://amzn.to/3Q332X7) Underload: either a wiffle ball bat OR a PVC pipe cut to size with a grip taped on, make sure to hit either wiffle balls or squishy balls (grip: https://amzn.to/4cisDnH) Train with this protocol 3-4x per week for 2 months and watch your bat speed skyrocket!