Today I wanted to give baseball players and coaches an inside look at our hitting performance assessment. This is the starting point for every new client/player we work with. While each evaluation process is individualized to your unique needs, this post will give you some insight into what to expect while going through this process. These assessments are comprehensive and look at all the ways your body can affect your swing and your performance at the plate. The videos below will highlight the different elements we offer in our baseball/softball hitting assessments.
Step 1:
Every hitting performance assessment begins with a subjective history. During this portion of the evaluation we gain an understanding of what your specific goals are, what you are looking for in a program and we also get some background information on your game and any relevant medical or injury history. This is an important first step in the process and allows us to tailor the rest of the evaluation process to your unique goals and needs.
Step 2: Physical Testing and swing analysis
1. OnBaseU Hitting Screen: Developed the by OnBase University. This information allows us to see if and how a player's body is altering their swing mechanics. Many times players are trying to get their bodies into positions that they are not physically capable to achieving. This can limit exit velocity, power, consistency and overall performance.
This screen will quickly identify if poor technique could be due to poor movement quality. This screen looks at several key movement patterns the body performs during the baseball/softball swing such as your ability to rotate, your core control, your ability to maintain posture and your ability to maintain live and independent hands during the swing. The physical limitations identified in this screen are strongly correlated to swing characteristics such as sway, loss of posture, casting the hands, loss of space, dead hands, hanging back and more that can limit your efficiency, power and consistency at the plate. We also perform additional local testing of the limitations identified by the OnBaseU screen to give you the most appropriate plan to address it.
2. Video Analysis: video analysis can reveal your swing style and also show if there are any swing characteristics which might be effecting your performance at the plate. Many of these swing characteristics often times are due to underlying physical issues mentioned above. Combining the physical screen with the video analysis allows us to determine your "body-hitting" connection. *It's important to note that as a medical and fitness professional our evaluation will deal strictly with the physical aspects affecting your performance on the course. We do not give swing instruction. We work closely alongside all coaches and golf professionals who will work with you on the technical/mechanical aspects of your swing and identify the technical aspects to prioritize.
3. K Vest Swing Analysis: Traditionally the swing could only be analyzed through video. However, video analysis has some limitations and doesn't give the full picture of what is going on during the swing. K Vest 3-D technology allows us to examine your swing efficiency- how well you transfer energy through your body to bat and ball. Since each player's swing is different, 3D analysis determines how well your swing works for you. This technology also allows us to examine how your body is moving throughout the swing. To learn more about K Vest 3D motion capture click here.
Functional Movement Screen: While we value baseball specific testing, we believe that all baseball players should be an athlete first. The Functional Movement Screen examines basic movement patterns to see if you have a good foundation/base prior to adding sport specific work for baseball
Strength and Power Testing: Baseball specific strength testing of your core, upper body, lower body and grip. Power testing of the body's major power sources during the swing of the upper body, core, lower body and rotary power. These tests are a great way to see if you have physical capacity to achieve the bat speed you desire. It also assesses the balance between your dominant and non dominant side.
While this may seem like a lot of information, we prefer to get all this upfront which can help us be more specific in designing your program to make sure you are working on the things which will actually translate to your swing to help you maximize your potential.
Contact us for more information about our baseball performance assessments and training programs or to inquire about cost and availability
