By Kevin Wilson

In today’s society everyone wants things to happen immediately.  We have become very impatient when things don’t upload, download, develop, turn on, turn off,  quickly or efficiently. 

So with that being said, the biggest thing I see with young hitters today is the rush to get better, swing the bat and see the results.

When first evaluating a young hitter, nine times out of 10 I have to slow them down.  Most young hitters are in a rush to swing.  I have a hunch why they tend to be this way because of the coaching they are receiving. 

A lot of coaches across country teach players to “swing hard,” “drive the baseball,” “power through the zone,” “attack the ball at 100 percent,” etc.  These are only a few examples of what I’ve heard being around other coaches and their players.  All of these examples without any explanation, and can breed anxiety within the player.  The player’s translation is they have to be aggressive in a physical way and go get the ball as fast as they can.  This can cause the player to lunge, swing wildly without having purpose and be prone to not being able to do anything with off speed pitches.

So when I start working with a young hitter in the cage, there is one common trait amongst them all - they are in such a rush to swing the bat ...