“Watch the great hitters…They will tell you everything you need to know.” – Ted Williams, MLB Hall of Fame player

What do I teach? I teach students to hit like an MLB player. Because of high speed video, we know almost all the best MLB batters use the same basic hitting mechanics once their front toe touches the ground through contact with the ball. These are the mechanics I teach, the same hitting mechanics used by MLB players.

My batting lesson involves using video to identify hitting flaws and then teaching players drills to help correct their swings. The players will be assigned “homework” to do after the lesson to help develop the “muscle memory” needed to improve their swing mechanics. I believe this process is the most efficient and effective way to improve your hitting.

High speed video is the key to this method. I use the Hudl-Techniques app, which records at 120 fps on an iPad and 240 fps on an iPhone. Slow-motion video allows me to see flaws in the swing that are impossible to see with the unaided eye. Moreover, players are able to understand much better what they are doing wrong if they see it for themselves as opposed to simply being told or shown by someone else. If instructors are not using slow-motion video, then they will be limited in their ability to diagnose problems and explain proper mechanics.

Once the problems are identified, drills are selected to isolate and correct the flaws. I have access to the entire Epstein drill library and as well as drills from many other hitting programs. These drills are used to create homework assignments designed to correct flaws in the swing.

Hitting flaws become ingrained in the player’s swing because they have been repeated over and over again, often for years. To correct them, we need to retrain the brain and body; new neural pathways have to be created in our brain through repetition (this is “muscle memory”). This takes a lot of time and hard work. A flaw is not going to be corrected in one lesson. That’s why homework, repeating the drills over and over again, is so essential for improving your swing.

For information about setting up a hitting lesson, please click here.