A Thanksgiving of Hitting

I thought it would be fun to list what I am thankful for as a baseball and softball hitting instructor. I’m thankful for…

• the supportive parents who entrust the hitting fortunes of their sons and daughters to me.
• the work ethic and great attitudes of my hitters.
• high school and travel coaches who don’t try to change my hitters, even though the mechanics I teach don’t always fit their mold of what a hitter should look like.
• Tim Gallwey for developing a unique and effective mental approach to sports instruction and performance.
• my wife for understanding that the time I invest in my hitters results in a happier husband.
• those who don’t negatively judge what I teach to softball hitters, just because that’s not how softball players have hit in the past.
• the owners of The Ballpark in Mt. Prospect (Illinois) for providing a cutting edge baseball and softball instructional facility that is geared toward developing well-rounded players, in a positive environment.
• the hitters who send a text or an email after ripping the cover off the ball in a game.
• the lively debate and constructive feedback from parents, coaches, and other hitting instructors, which makes everyone better.
• Albert E. Dilz, Jr, the retired defense engineer, who invented the Swing Speed Radar for measuring bat speed.
• my children (Elaine, Sam, and Rick) who served as guinea pigs for the hitting mechanics I teach today (including The Torque).
• the software developers at Ubersense who wrote the great app for analyzing the swings of hitters in slow-motion.
• baseball and softball….the greatest sports on the planet!

Happy Thanksgiving!