Tired of Baseball Training Aids Wasting YOUR Time & Money?

(Republished from SwingSmarter.com)

Did you know...virtually ALL baseball training aids are pulling the wool over our eyes, AND we get duped while smiling? Also, do you think endorsers like Derek Jeter, Fred McGriff, or David Wright actually use their championed hitting products? Nope! Swing Smarter challenges any endorser to prove they use their approved product for the majority of season/off season training.

There are only a select few baseball training aids used by top collegiate and professional programs nationwide, thanks to the versatility of powerful tools like the hitting tee, which have been around as long as the dinosaurs, and have seen as much as the planet as the British Empire.

Unfortunately,

Every other "new" product or manufacturer is just fighting for their share of the pie in a very watered down market. Although, there are a few marginal tools that will help the baseball swing tremendously if used the right way, and with the right know-how.

This article will reveal:

• Common misused language on most hitting aid packaging,
• What characteristics swing aids should be focusing on, and
• How to take the beer goggles off when you're shopping for batting tools!

Common Misused Package Language to Watch Out For
Now, we're NOT saying these manufacturers are lying, but you need to take what they say with a grain of salt; a lot of times they hire writers to word their marketing verb-age, and most times than not, the writer doesn't have experience in hitting a baseball.

Misinformed baseball training aids ad content to red flag are: increase your power, quicken your swing, increases bat speed, build proper muscle memory, reinforce a level swing, improve hitting skills, and improves technique just to name a few.

Power is increased through resistance training and conditioning, economy of motion, and allowing the body to line up correctly throughout the swing. Most tools shouting this from the roof tops do NOT do this.

Quickening bat speed and/or the hands originates from the hips, and swing tempo, NOT the hands. Bat speed gets faster when the hips and rotational cadence allow the three power points to line up: belly button, back knee, and back toe. Quick hands are a myth, power and speed of the hands is energy transferred from the coiling and uncoiling of the hips and spine (steel)...the arms and legs are just along for the ride (cotton).

We don't hit home runs with big arms, we do so with a strong core.

Building proper muscle memory is developed through slow and deliberate properly executed movement, then gradually increased until the optimal 70% hitting speed is reached. Most hitting aids that preach this benefit fall short because they assume you already have a picture perfect swing.

Reinforcing a level swing is just wrong because the swing isn't that way...the barrel actually drops below the hands over the plate in an elliptical shape around the body.

And, "improves hitting skills" & "improves technique," are blanket statements that can mean a plethora of things. Like I said, ad writers who know nothing about the sport are hired to create these baseball training aids ads, and aren't given a second thought.

We don't fault the manufacturers or the innovators, just the people they hire. Would it be smart to hire a pool cleaning person to develop marketing materials for a just-in-business roofing business?

What's more...

What Baseball Swing Copy & Aids Should be Focusing On

• Stressing patience - letting the ball get deep,
• Swing tempo - Steel & Cotton, NOT swinging too hard, a less is more approach,
• Being short to the ball & long through it, and
• Swing balance - proper lower half mechanics.

The concepts above are what take care of 80% of swing faults, period.

Look,

Don't get Swing Smarter wrong, we can see the idea behind the products out there, and what they're attempting to accomplish, but not enough thought and preparation goes into designing or developing them.

Think about this,

Most of the safety features and performance improvements we see in the cars we drive today, from fuel efficiency to the rubber on our tires, come from elite race car driving teams such as in NASCAR.

We need to look to what top athletes are doing and develop baseball training aids around that. If it works for them, most likely it will work for the "little person."

I noticed this when I ran my first marathon, after running 5 miles I didn't have to make any adjustments to clothing, bio-mechanics, etc., but once I started running 10-20 miles during training, my knees starting hurting, I was getting chaffing from clothing I was running in, and needed to carry water and nutrient gels with me to keep from passing out.

I found out from top long distance ultra marathoners you need to run with the right bio-mechanics (which meant pain free running), getting Aquaphore (like Vasoline but 10 times better) to combat chaffing, using a Camelpak or water bottle for long runs, and to carry carbohydrate rich gel packs because your body only has enough fuel to run non-stop for 90 minutes, after that it begins horribly breaking down.

So, find what the best do, and mimic them... ultimately, don't get fooled when they endorse one of the many watered down baseball training aids out there, because more times than NOT they aren't using them in their original everyday training. That's the reality.

3 Baseball Hitting Training Aids to Think Twice About

(Republished from SwingSmarter.com)

Baseball hitting training aids can be a waste of time and money if you're NOT careful. We'll discuss 3 of the most sought after hitting tools, and talk over why NOT to buy them.

In analyzing these hitting contraptions we'll stick to 8 rating principals, and give grades (A through F) for each:

1. Durability,
2. Weight,
3. Economical,
4. User Friendly,
5. Convenient/Compact (for storage),
6. Easy Assembly,
7. Partner Needed? (Y/N)
8. Does the device teach you something? (Y/N)

Ideally, baseball hitting training aids need to be built to last, reasonable in price, user friendly, easily broken down, stored, and assembled, shouldn't need a partner to operate, and above all, it should NOT be difficult to get something good out of it.

Most of the research Swing Smarter has done reveals companiesmisleading the consumer into false benefits, like increased batspeed, quickens the hands, etc. Most of them are NOT true.

First, let's start off with the...

• Durable - C
• Weight - A
• Economical - B+
• User Friendly - F
• Convenient/Compact (for storage) - A
• Easy Assembly - A
• Partner Needed? (Y/N) - Y
• Does the device teach you something? (Y/N) - N

Depending on if these baseball hitting training aids are made anywhere else but the USA, then forget about durability. With heavy team use, they go bad real fast.

Although, it's light weight, offers convenience and a compact nature, no assembly is required, and being priced economically are pluses for this hitting tool.

Unfortunately, the Bat Stick doesn't measure up when it comes to being user friendly, partner is needed, and its lazy nature keeps a hitter from developing the right muscle memory.

Let's address why it's NOT user friendly...

The poor parent holding it has to use the wrist strap to keep the tool from flying out of their hand, this puts a lotof torque on the wrist and hand, especially when the hitter ages and gets stronger. From a fitness specialist stand point, this is bad on the body.

Also, there's NO way of using this hitting device by yourself unless you're an octopus, so pass or fail, and this fails!

And, last but NOT least, this is my own personal opinion, so take it for what it's worth, but the Bat Stick doesn't teach the hitter anything, and most importantly, does NOT make them better.

Invest your $29-40 on a decent hitting tee instead.

Next,

• Durable - A
• Weight - A
• Economical - C-
• User Friendly - D
• Convenient/Compact (for storage) - C
• Easy Assembly - A
• Partner Needed? (Y/N) - N
• Does the device teach you something? (Y/N) - Y

Baseball hitting training aids should make a hitter better, it looks good on paper, but it still missed the mark.

Although it seams durable, is light in weight (a few strings, a bulgy bar, and a ball stand), easy to assemble, and no partner necessary, there are a few drawbacks...

This contraption is priced at about $98 and, to me, seems OVER-priced. Try $39 for what you get. I've also heard from parents who unfortunately invested in the Hands Back Trainer found the string you have to step on to release the ball, is too high, and the hitter's step had to be very firm to trigger the ball to pop up.

This gets the hitter focusing on the WRONG things.

Here's why these baseball hitting training aids aren't good for a budding hitter...

A stride must be short (3 inches max), low, and with minimal effort, so this device does the opposite of what is intended. Sure it keeps your hands back, but at the expense of ruining the most important parts of the swing, timing and swing tempo.

It's NOT user friendly, and with the bulgy stationary bar, is NOT convenient/compact for storage, and lastly, does NOT teach the right execution of a healthy swing.

Which brings us to our last baseball hitting aid...

Instructo Tee Swing Trainer
Of all baseball hitting training aids this is the abominable snowman in the room. I remember when Ken Griffey Jr. endorsed this one almost a decade ago, and he had good right to pull his name from the contraption.

I want to apologize in advance for getting on my soapbox with this one, please make sure to get ear muffs for the little kiddies.

How did it stack up?

• Durable - A
• Weight - F
• Economical - F
• User Friendly - F
• Convenient/Compact (for storage) - F
• Easy Assembly - C-
• Partner Needed? (Y/N) - N
• Does the device teach you something? (Y/N) - N

Yes, this hitting tool is durable (steel bars), and you definitely do NOT need a partner, unless to cry with you to the bank because you wasted $179!

I remember my first experience with this baseball hitting aid fondly...

It loomed in front of me cold and stiff, me holding my $250 aluminum bat ($500 nowadays), I had to put a ball between the two bars on the little tee, and hit it without striking the menacing unfeeling painful steel bars. Ouch!

As I grew up and learned other more effective ways to re-create this drill with other more simple AND less intimidating baseball hitting training aids, I began to realize what a waste of time and money my relationship with the Instructo Tee Swing Trainer was.

The weight of the steel bars makes this "thing" inefficiently difficult to move, breakdown, re-assemble, and switch over for righties and lefties. Also, I wouldn't accept one of these as a gift, so no matter what the price, it's too expensive.

As far as I'm concerned, this hitting contraption doesn't teach anything, only to intimidate kids into pulling their hands in (wincing), swinging with crocodile arms, because they're afraid they're going to hurt their hands, again...

Not to mention, the parents wince in pain from the pocket book, seeing another new $500 aluminum bat purchase looming on the horizon, thanks to those clanging fascist steel poles.

You can get fantastic results with two cheap Franklin Tees equaling less stress and MORE success (video above)! Make sure the back tee ball is slightly higher than the front.

The Instructor Swing Tee Trainer is just empty calories when it comes to baseball hitting training aids. So, please save yourself the agony and do NOT buy any of these three aids.