Balance Bat

Is Bat Path & Direction more Important than Bat Speed?

Two doubles from today at the PBR Pennsylvania Open. @AscentTeams @CoachOlshenske @Coach_Howard13 @Balancehitting @Balance_Bat

You asked here you go.. These are the movement principles that shape everything I teach. Barry Bonds talked about perfecting the down. He never thought about swinging up he knew that happened naturally when the body moved correctly. Will Clark has spoken about walk-through drills because the rear hip is directional. It has to carry in the direction of the pitch, just like in a throw. He's also talked about the "barrel dump" and why forcing the barrel is a mistake. Mookie Betts explains that the shoulders establish the angle of the swing. They don't manufacture it with the hands. Mike Trout is a perfect example of allowing the top hand to release naturally. Study his one-handed "dab" finish. He isn't forcing that finish it happens because of how his body moved to deliver the barrel. Jeff Kent used directional walk-through work to train the body to move through the baseball. Shohei Ohtani is a tremendous example of force coupling around center mass. Alex Bregman is another great study. Even when he swings and misses, he stays balanced. He doesn't fall backward or spin off. His rear heel continues working toward the catcher because his body stays connected through the turn. Adrián Beltré is one of the best examples of how the rear leg controls the vertical plane of the swing. On a pitch below the belt, watch his rear knee work down toward the ground. That downward action allows the rear femur to continue rotating efficiently, creating the up-and-down movement that controls the height of the barrel. That's where real bat speed is created not by lifting with the hands, but by allowing the lower body to continue working naturally. Frank Thomas has shown that on a middle-to-upper-thigh pitch, a back-foot release often means the hitter was perfectly on time not late, not early. Look at Rory McIlroy, one of the greatest drivers of the golf ball. Study how he uses the ground and transitions from the lower half, then compare it to Justin Turner when he was with the Cubs. Different sports, same movement principles. Learn to shadowbox or hit a heavy bag for a while, then tell me violent athletic movement doesn't happen between the pressure shifts of the big toe and heel on both feet. That's basic human movement. The examples go on and on. The real question isn't whether these movement principles exist. It's how much of that free athletic movement you're interrupting with mechanical instruction and how you implement those natural movement patterns into your program. These are my movement principles. They simply change depending on what we're emphasizing that day. Everything starts with the ground. The finish is the last thing that happens that's why it's called the finish. Without the proper start, you'll never have a good finish. Nothing I teach is made up. These movement principles have been in front of us all along. The best throwers, hitters, golfers, and athletes continue to leave the same clues over and over again. The question isn't whether the clues are there it's whether we're willing to believe them, study them, and apply them every single day. I used to follow a lot of the same conventional instruction until I started educating myself on human movement. That completely changed how I see the swing, and it's the foundation of everything I teach today. Ground first. Body second. Barrel last.

There should NOT be a split in training; the emphasis during the season has to be HITTING. Having separate silos creates a tug of war on the CNS that will be counterproductive/regression. FUNCTIONAL 4 HITTERS is moving rapidly in multi-directions while changing planes of motion

Caught stealing from this weekend at St.Joseph’s University. @AscentTeams @CoachOlshenske @Balance_Bat @Balancehitting

3 💣 in Colorado!!! We went 7-2 throughout the whole tournament and eventually made it to the Elite 8. I batted .417 with 3 home runs, 5 doubles, and 2 singles. @vanquishfp18u @SBRRetweets @EastCoastFP @ExYank54 @alyssaagrupp @lauramess_ @bkalman23 @LoceyTodd @jay_davis77

Very excited to announce the projected rotation for next weeks PG 16u WWBA Nat’l Championship with our 2028 Scout Team! Five arms 88+ Two arms 90+ Plenty of top notch hitters to check out as well! @AscentTeams @tozalaw

Step 1:identify the movement pattern of the greatest hitters; what are the swing attractors.Step 2:feel the sequence. Step 3:have devices/equipment/tools that teach/train “feel” in the proper sequence &attracts the movement. Step 4:test it;power output &rate of force development

Swings from this weekend at the University of Delaware. @CoachOlshenske @AscentTeams @Balance_Bat @Balancehitting

2028: Had a great week at @bigshowsports. Thanks for a great event Tue. Vs Keystone St Bombers 15U: 3 IP 0 H 0 ER 2 BB 1 K Wed. Vs Keystone St Bombers 16U: 2 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K Excited for the WWBA coming up @AscentTeams @Balancehitting @Fords_Baseball @Coach__McCann

Pumped to announce the anticipated pitching rotation for the 2028 Scout Team this week! Boys will be playing the 16u Prep Baseball Nat’l Championship! @AscentTeams

2028: I will be pitching at Big Show Exposure against Keystone State Bombers Tuesday at 12:20 on field 1. FB: 77-79 T80.7 SI: 75-77 SW: 66-68 CT: 70-73 CH: 70-72 Trackman Reports available upon request @Fords_Baseball @AscentTeams @Balancehitting @Coach__McCann

Happy to be named first team All area by Daily Local @Balance_Bat @CoatesvilleB

#4 💣 on the season!! @vanquishfp18u @ExtraInningSB @TakeCharge_SB @SBRRetweets @EastCoastFP @nxt1sports @BeThatPlayer1 @PrepSoftball @PA_recruit @ExYank54 @alyssaagrupp @lauramess_ @bkalman23 @LoceyTodd @jay_davis77

⭐️D2 Baseball National Awards⭐️ Player of the Year: Charlie Bussey III - @fmupatsbaseball Pitcher of the Year: Colby Deaver - @ESUBaseball Coach of the Year: Joe Urso - @UTampaBaseball Two-Way Player of the Year: Chase Fleming - @WilmU_Baseball Reliever of the Year: Scott Borgmann - @WilmU_Baseball Freshman Player of the Year: Josh Bay - @SNUBaseball Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Nick Riedel - @NewberryBSB #D2Baseball

3 💣💣💣!!! AVG: .444 with 3 singles, 2 doubles, and 3 home runs, SLG: 1.056, and 11 RBI’s for the weekend. I’m so proud of my girls! Let’s keep it rolling. @vanquishfp18u @ExtraInningSB @SBRRetweets @BeThatPlayer1 @nxt1sports @PA_recruit @ExYank54 @alyssaagrupp

2028 2B Great Valley Kaitlyn Singer kept a simple approach throughout BP, lots of hard line drives to all fields. @KaitlynSinger28

If you need to get faster, STOP SCROLLING These are the 7 sprints you NEED to do to improve your acceleration speed Save this thread Add these sprints to your routine IMMEDIATELY 👇 Here are the 7 game changing sprints