It is Just a Blast!

Okay, yes.  I think it is more than "just" a blast.  The Blast is a technology tool that goes on the individuals bat to test the bat speed and bat velocity.  Just these two metrics would be amazing but the Blast goes even further in that it will test on the attack angle of the bat and they have created a power rating that judges overall power.  Really cool huh?  I think this can be a game changer.  Well, sorry for the pun.

Here is why this is a big deal for me.

I have been coaching for a long time and one of the foundations of my teaching of hitters is to teach a combination of bat speed and bat velocity.  (I have a third area that goes with this that I will soon reveal.  I am so excited!)  Let's get back to the speed and velocity.

Bat Speed is how quickly the bat head gets to the ball.  A Hitter can take a very short path to the ball to accomplish bat speed.  Bat Speed can be tested with time or a stop watch but bat speed also has a technique/mechanical component.

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Bat Velocity is how fast the bat is moving upon contact with the ball.  A hitter can have a very long swing that will generate a lot of velocity but the bat speed will be slowed.  

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A hitter with a lot of bat velocity may have a long swing and therefore would hit slower pitching pretty well but would not be able to hit pitchers that threw hard and would have difficulty with pitchers that mixed the speed of the pitches really well.

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A hitter with a lot of bat speed may not have a lot of power however due to the shortened aspect of her swing but will be able to make contact with a lot of different pitchers and often hit the ball with a lot of authority as these hitters will often rely upon the power of the pitch, the ball and the bat and not so much on the swing.

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Ideally, the best hitters have a balance of velocity and speed.

Okay, this is the overview of the two but as you take more and more lessons with me you will learn more and more about how important these two components of hitting are.  It is very rare that a hitter is successful without a high level of BOTH of these components.

So, how does the Blast help with this?

Okay.  So, I have been working with a ton of hitters and have seen thousands of games and I think I can be a pretty good judge of a hitter and how much bat speed and/or velocity the hitter has.  However, the Blast will give me an exact number in terms of second and miles per hour for the hitter and I can get this in a matter of minutes.  Let me break this down a little more:

1. Hitter takes a "Blast" Lesson.
2. Immediately we see the bat speed and bat velocity metrics/numbers results.
3. Immediately I will know where that person is EXACTLY with these two components of the swing.
4. We discuss the results.
5. We work on improving the bat speed and velocity.
6. The results are posted (with an alias) on my website where the hitter can compare to other hitters based on age, location, etc.
7. The hitter continues to take lessons and practices.
8. Four lessons later we take the blast test again to see the improvements.
9. We continue to work on improving bat speed and bat velocity in lessons.
10. The new results are posted on the website to see where you rank with other hitters your age and location.

This is super cool I think.  Now, do I think the Blast is the only thing that matters?  Not at all.  There are so many other factors of being a great hitter but it is a large part of it.  

Here is how I am using the Blast

It will be incorporated in the initial lesson and then every fourth lesson, free of charge.  In any other lesson that the client wants to take the Blast Test it will be an additional $10.00.  I will post the data on the website for various reasons.  One, for you to compare with others your same age but also another cool aspect of this is it can help coaches find players.  More on that later.  

Team Evaluations.  I am looking to add as much data as I can so if you know any team that wants me to go through the hitters and get their data just let me know.  I am also going to put together a "Blast Camp" soon.  More details coming as well.

My website is at www.lessonswithholly.com