You HAVE to do this!

by | Feb 14, 2020 | Uncategorized

Are you SURE?

When suggesting or training for a change you should be as sure as you can be that it’s going to help a player.  Like I said in “A deeper look…what players deserve” you have to take everything into account (game results, tech, video, etc) before even thinking about suggesting a change.  Sometimes we don’t have access to all of the information listed in that post, but we still have to do as much due diligence as possible.  We need to be as sure as we can be that what we’re suggesting and working towards will lead to an improvement.

During this process, we also have to be aware or our bias, especially what I refer to as the modeling bias.  The modeling bias is when coaches use a specific player as an example of what a player needs to do.  Take a look at this quote from Stuart McMillan.

As we’re learning with a lot of the new technology, what it looks like can vary even in very effective players.  However, when we take a deeper look under the hood, we find that many of the principles are the same.  We also find that players can get it done in a lot of different ways.  I always tell people that if you tell me something that a player HAS to do (mechanically), I’ll find a player that doesn’t do it and is very successful.  I’m sure sooner or later someone will come up with something that will stump me but so far it’s held to be true.  Let’s go through a couple examples.

You HAVE to lock your leg – Max Muncy

You HAVE to extend your arms – Mike Trout

You HAVE to have a bent front arm – Ken Griffey Jr.

You HAVE to stride straight – Jose Altuve and Cody Bellinger

You HAVE to have your hands high – Justin Turner

You HAVE to keep your head down – Justin Turner again

Conclusion

All this is not to say that we can’t use the world’s best hitters as a guide.  Before technology, modeling and learning the principles of the world’s best hitters along with the experience of those that played was really all we had.  We just have to be careful not to fall victim to the modeling bias or think that there is a single way in which everyone will be successful. .