Stepping up to the plate… As a team we work really hard on our hitting, most teams do. We have seven parts to our hitting, Stance, Load, Trigger, Contact, Extension, Point, Finish. Each part builds upon the previous part to create a finished product which is designed to hit the baseball with power. If step one is off, then step 2 will falter and a domino effect occurs which leads to failure and not success. We work hard on success. This past weekend the point was driven home to me when we step up to the plate in life I need to have put as much work into my swing as our team does with hitting. Stance. How we stand in the box, the position of our feet, our hips, how we hold the bat. If we are not squared up on the plate we are either too open or too closed. If we aren’t balanced properly we will take an un-athletic swing & it will definitely show in where we finish. In life we need to make sure our stance is solid, a firm foundation. That we are “squared up to the plate,” we know what we are about to undertake and be confident in the position we are about to take. Our stance is neutral, in the way we are neither too closed off as to be unable to listen and learn, or too open as to be lead easily astray. If we take a bad swing, before the next pitch we need to check our feet (our position). Load. Just as the pitcher begins to break his hands we begin to shift our weight towards our back leg creating motion and final preparation to begin hitting the ball. In life we need to make sure we are loading properly. Be well informed on what you are about to address. Check your sources. We tell our players all the time not to load too early. Beginning the process before the right time can actually work against you and not for you. Too often I find myself “loading up” for a situation that actually never occurs, or preparing for one type of “pitch” and a completely different one is delivered. When that happens I totally “strike out.” I find I often have a closed stance and an early load. Trigger. The first two parts are preparation, this is where execution begins. A firm, athletic stance, a good load and then, trigger. The race between the knob of the bat and the barrel of the bat begins. We have a drill where our players take the knob of the bat and after stance, load and then trigger they knock a baseball off a tee. That’s it. The smallest part of the bat goes to the ball first. It is about accuracy, making sure we keep our hands inside the ball. We begin unleashing all this power towards a point in time where the bat & ball will come together and an explosion will occur, or not. Sometimes it isn’t a pitch we want to hit. We can decide to swing, not swing, or check swing (beginning to swing, but stopping before going too far). In life we have a trigger as well. I know I need to spend as much time working on my trigger as Zach does on his in hitting. Pulling the trigger too early, too often leads to many strike outs. Pulling the trigger before I read the pitch means I can think it’s one thing only to find out that isn’t at all what they were throwing at me. I have to keep my eye on the ball. If I am in the box and preparing to swing & my mind is elsewhere or I am loading up with junk & not watching the pitch (listening) then chances are I will pull the trigger on a pitch I wasn’t prepared for properly. I can realize I am starting to swing at a “change-up” and try to check swing, but typically I will hear the ump say “yes he did!” It is also evident I did by the mess I create as well. Contact I will often ask our players to “hold at contact” so I can check to see if everything is lined up. Hands in the proper position ready to power through and “punch” the ball. Back leg driving the hips towards the ball to create as much power as possible. Needing to be square at contact. In life when we swing, we do need to swing hard, at a good pitch and be ready for contact. It needs to be 100%. Contact is where we know if stance, load, and trigger were properly executed by our players. Isn’t that the truth in life as well? Extension, point and finish At contact our back elbow is close at our side ready to drive the bat & ball through the “Zone” aka extension. Point, where the bat should be coming to out of extension & finish is the proper place the bat should be after a great swing. Our stance & load really dictate our contact & extension, it can also show up in our point & finish as well. If our contact position is “long” our hands and arms are away from our body and it is a much weaker swing, our extension shortens up, we roll our wrists over and the opportunity we have for making contact is diminished greatly. When that happens instead of pointing up and away towards the outfield our bat is pointing down and out, our finish isn’t over our shoulder it’s a weak, down by the waist finish. It isn’t just how you start the swing the final steps are just as important. Without extension, no power. With a bad stance it is hard to get good extension. If you can’t drive your back leg because of a closed stance, you are losing the ability to capitalize on all the power your legs provide. If our position in life’s “at bats” are weak & closed off, we aren’t strong enough to get through extension. It will be evident our point and finish. There are many who worry too much about having a pretty swing at the finish (looking good). They don’t often have much substance or discipline to it. If they watch a swing on tv and it looks good to them they try & copy it. Usually only working on the dramatic parts not breaking down the swing to see why it works for the MLB player. In life it is easy to get caught up in trying to look good, we copy what we think looks good because it is easier to do that than putting the work in to creating a good swing. Yesterday at church the sermon was from James 1:2-17. He was speaking on perseverance. Sharing how the testing of our faith makes us stronger. It is by learning how to lean on God that we are able to grow closer to him. We need to ask for and be prepared for His aid and use it to grow closer. A good stance, with a foundation in His Word. Loading up on His guidance through His Word and time in prayer, not falling into the trap of loading up on gossip, self doubt and insecurities. Trigger, making sure when we pull it the swing which follows will be on target full of power at extension. That contact is made in a positive way for our extension to be full of grace & glory not hate & hurtfulness. Point, when & where we point should be to bring Glory to our Lord. We should be pointing to him and not at others. Finish, finish in a way that lifts your team mates in life up working towards a common goal, not dividing. We need to remember that life & baseball have a lot in common. You have multiple opportunities to swing the bat. You have plenty of time to practice your swing. And I can promise you, you are never too old to straighten that swing out. So, put the work in, step into the box & swing for the fences. With the right stance and a firm foundation you might still strike out occasionally but your batting average will definitely improve & I’m willing to bet more than a couple will be outta the park!
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 15:57:59 +0000
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