Preparing for Impact This guide provides an outline of the information presented in our video for preparing for Super Contact, getting ready for your baseball season with information and drills that will help you to be the best hitter you can be. Joe Brockhoff
Getting Good Information Hitters are often confused by many hitting theories and old clichés. So first and foremost, when preparing for the season, he must begin with good information. We will address the idea of Linear Hitting, and demonstrate how the Super 8 Hitting System is a combination of Linear and Rotational hitting, which is the stroke used by the best of the pros. ReaderBoard The ReaderBoard is a tool which helps the hitter to see the Strike Zone in nine different windows, and helps him to identify how to approach the pitch in each of these windows. The ball placed in each of these windows has a red bullseye in the center, to help the hitter to focus and read the pitch, and cutlines, which indicate the cut of the bat head for maximum contact. The hitter learns to identify each pitch by number, and he drills with the SPEEDBAT to learn the strokeline and cutline for each pitch. BrockBuster Bat The BrockBuster Bat is an overloading tool, which is used with the ReaderBoard to drill the proper bat stream for each window of the strike zone. The Brockbuster is also a great tool to reinforce the techniques of the Super 8 Hitting System. In addition, it will magnify hitting errors and increase bat speed. The whistle of the ball on the end will increase as bat speed increases and the sound will indicate the direction of the stroke.
Learn to See the Ball Batter Coach, I m just not seeing the ball is a statement that coaches hear all of the time. Read Drills will help the hitter to learn to follow the ball all the way to contact, or to the catcher. These drills help with head discipline, so that it remains independent of body actions. Loose Body: Only the head moves as it follows the ball all the way to the catcher. Full Take: Player takes only his load and stride, and follows the ball to the catcher. Drive-Take: Player loads, strides, turns (drive position) and takes the pitch. Coach Assist Drills: Coach helps player with his hands on players head as the player takes these pitches, in order to assist with head discipline. Maintaining a Good Visual Triangle The hitter learns to keep a good visual triangle, that is, he learns to keep the points of the eyes, hands, and bat head closely associated for maximum hand/eye coordination. The Pop Drill reinforces this concept. It puts a stop (pop target) on the stroke at the Drive position. The batter learns to Shine the Light and works to get the feeling of a good Visual Triangle.
Practicing the Hitting Agenda The Hitting Agenda is a creative way to take batting practice. It reinforces each part of Super 8 Hitting system stroke in order to develop Super Contact. The Hitting Agenda is demonstrated in full detail in the #5 DVD of the Super 8 Hitting System package. It begins with the Read Drills described earlier for learning to see the ball better, that is: Loose Body, Full Take, and Drive- Take. It continues with contact drills for developing Super Contact, and specialty drills for helping the hitter to eliminate bad habits. Learning to Identify Why We Swing and Miss the Ball If we go to a doctor because we have a cold, he won t give us a prescription for a fungus. In the same way, we need to make adjustments for our contact based identifying the problem we have. Here are the 5 different ways we Swing and Miss: 1. Too Early 2. Too Late 3. Over the Ball 4. Under the Ball 5. Off the End of the Ball Here are the Different Types of Contacts; 1. Hook 5. Top 2. Shank 6. Bottom 3. Scrape 7. Jam 4. Roll Over 8. End of the Bat In addition, we show why the Level bat is a major contributor for poor contact, and pops and chops.
Skull Sessions Skull Sessions are set up with the hitter at home plate with a screen between him and the pitcher. The pitcher throws a variety of pitches from a distance of 3-4 ft. from the screen. The batter then learns to identify the types of pitches and learns to pick the pitch up at release, which allows for more time for the hitter to read the pitch in trajectory and prepare for contact. Linear Stroke Contact Super 8 Stroke Contact: Combination of Linear and Rotation Linear Hitting Vs Super 8 Hitting System In this segment we demonstrate the difference between the Linear Stroke and the Pro Stroke of the Super 8 Hitting System. Demonstrations of each stroke with the with the Brockbuster will help to show the tremendous power of the Super 8 Hitting System Pro Stroke over the Linear Stroke. The Super 8 Hitting System encourages a combination of Linear and Rotational principles, using the Step-Turn-Stroke technique for putting the hitter in the best position to make super contact with the pitch. It is our hope that the information we have provided for you will help you as you prepare for your best year ever hitting the baseball. Best wishes for a truly great season, Coach Brock