HitTrax is a training tool, and an entertainment source. It has many aspects that are not only fun but beneficial.
Because of the entertainment factor it can create an environment for young players, that doesn’t make them feel like they are “working hard” but rather just having fun. While at the same time, giving them unannounced external cues to hit the ball as hard as they can by measuring their results as well as productive hits by showing them where the ball goes on the field. When combined in a competitive environment, players get better and work harder without even realizing it.
This is a great starting point for players but as they learn to swing max effort consistently, learning the part of the baseball they are targeting and what bat path will help them achieve these results simply by seeing instant feedback. We can help them further by continuing to put them in environments with the knowledge and feel they have acquired from HitTrax that will improve their movement patterns and make them even more efficient.
If HitTrax measures the data we need to have a process in place to improve the measurements we are taking that doesn’t always happen by saying “try again” (although we like that model too, sometimes no coaching is better than over coaching, although that is an article for another day)
Part of that process is plyo-ball work, backspin tee work, low tee work, short bats, underload bats, overload bats, sweet spot trainers, challenging environments on balance pods, wearing Meyend Senaptec Strobe Glasses, machine work simulating 140mph pitch speed reaction time and PVC patterns, along with any combination of those things.
Here is why it works put simply:
- PVC Patterns: PVC pipes can provide a variety of different feels using different weights, diameters, and lengths. The body has to learn to pattern itself naturally, or than can be used to constrain the body in slow moving patterns to help program the movements and feel the movements we want re-creating neural pathways.
- Plyo-Balls: Plyo-balls of different weights either in intentional or random order improve not only intent using external cues to hit it as far as you can, but also provide differential training and muscle confusing while also utilizing PAP concepts of overload and underload training. Because we use a plyo-wall (the biggest double sided moveable plyo-wall in the world, come find us Guiness) with an “x” in the middle of it we are able to create an external cue as well as a psychological stimulus trying to make the loudest ‘BANG’ as possible. Put players next to each other and it gets fun.
- Balance Pods: While trying to create ground force and just body awareness in general balance pods are a great way to disorient hitters and force them to focus on controlling their body while also targeting an external cue. This is essentially what needs to happen on every pitch. While they are called “balance pods” we only require balance through the load and hitting position and encourage players to fall off so they can complete their rotation. As they increase mobility we may incorporate ‘no stride velo swings’ as long as the intent doesn’t change. This is a very advanced adapation.
- Overload/Underload Bats: Chad Longworth is the expert on these, I’ve been blessed to have met him this year, he’s impacted hitters he’ll probably never meet through us and that’s cool to think about. This is just another environment in which the body has to organize itself with either a heavier or lighter bat to swing with intent and improve power output. However, going too heavy has it’s disadvantages when done too often as it trains the body to move more slowly over time. Chad has developed a weighted bat program you can find HERE.
- Sweet Spot Trainer: We love the sweet spot trainer because you literally can only hit the sweet spot. It has a normal handle, and then a sweet spot. The rest of the bat is a thin piece of metal not meant for hitting baseballs. Believe it or not, the brain and body naturally adjust and this is fairly easy for hitters to figure out. It’s a great point to make when talking about accuracy of impact, when you try to actually hit the sweet spot (as hard as you can) it’s much more likely to happen rather than just trying to ‘make contact.’
- Strobe Glasses: If you don’t see the ball the last 20 feet we need to learn to “guess better” for lack of a better term. Hitters subconsciously use the information they receive from release point to about 20 feet away from them. By that point they need to know how fast the pitch is going, the spin, the location, etc. Strobe glasses provide less information for hitters to decipher making it easier for them to hit when they have more information. Strobe glasses are also great for body awareness in general, raising anxiety levels with high velocity pitches (with a trusted machine and a helmet on) for hitters to have to teach themselves to stay calm in high pressure situations making live hitting seem as routine as flips… in theory.
- Reaction Time Training: Using Blast Motion, we’ve been able to discover that when pitch speeds go up, bat speeds go down. Players panic and try to be “quicker” and or “shorter” which costs them bat speed, quality bat path, and production. By putting them in these extreme environments and testing the bat speed with immediate feedback we can show them and help them feel what their normal swing should feel like and how to focus on timing and not their “swing” so to speak.
If we can expedite the process of creating harder hit baseballs and further distances recorded indoors on HitTrax by not always turning the HitTrax technology on, then that’s what we should be focusing on. HitTrax will tell us if our process is working, how to adapt for each individual player, and what facet of hitting to work on with each individual player.
We use EVERY report as well, such as launch angle report, and point of impact report that we can see and infer a lot of data from, especially when coupled with video of every single swing. The amount of information and understanding to fully decipher all of the tools HitTrax has to offer is much more than the simulation or entertainment factor. While on the surface it may seem simple, and we try to keep it as simple as possible for our athletes, the depth of information is endless and the complexity grows as deep as you want to dig. This is what allows to build specific programs for our Velo-Nation Hitting program, and our one-on-one lesson packages.
If you have a HitTrax System, and have questions about the reports and how we use them in our facility please feel free to reach out, we’d be happy to help. Just fill out a contact form on our website or give us a call!