Tech in Baseball

 Location Tee
(5/4/2020)
 
   

Location Tee


Tech in Baseball
Presented with Diamond Kinetics


Skill Set: Hitting
Difficulty Level: Easy
Number of Athletes and Coaches: 1-2 athletes and 1 coach, or 2 athletes as partners
Average Time to Complete: 5 minutes
Equipment Required: Tee, baseballs, net or screen to hit into

Goal: Hit the ball up the middle, pull side, and opposite field based on contact point

Description of the Drill: 
• Tee set up one ball-width inside the plate at the front hip
• Hitter sets up with their front hip even with the tee, while partner places a ball on the tee
• Hitter hits the ball back up the middle by getting their hands inside the ball
• Hitter should overemphasize the act of loading, getting behind the ball, and keeping their hands inside the ball
• If the hitter is pulling the ball to the pull side, they are casting their hands
• Focus should be on hitting the ball back up the middle by hitting the inside of the ball
• Partners switch after 10 swings

Add Difficulty:
• To add a degree of difficulty, the hitter can also move the tee to different contact point heights (low, middle, high)

Using Diamond Kinetics SwingTracker Sensor and mobile App - the following metrics and tools can help you measure your swing and see improvement when doing this drill:

Distance in the Zone
Overview: Using the Distance in the Zone metric, hitters can determine when their barrel is entering and leaving the hitting zone. The longer the barrel stays in the hitting zone, the better chance the player has to make consistent, solid contact. This is clearly depicted in the 3D viewer as the blue portion of the swing path.

Optimal Ranges by Age:
• U10-14 – Good is 29-32 inches
• U15-18 – Good is 31-34 inches
• College-Pro – Good is 33-37 inches

Coaching Insights:
• Having a swing that maintains a good Distance in The Zone gives the batter a better chance of making contact with the pitch. It also means the swing is “more forgiving”
• Having a good Distance In The Zone can account for small errors in timing because there is more “space” for the batter to make contact and still put the ball in play.
• This metric can help coaches identify loopy swings based on how early the barrel enters the zone and if there is a ‘hard-turn’ coming out of the zone.
• Additionally, based on where contact is most often made, it can help identify if a hitter is having issues with timing up the pitch.

Impact Momentum
Overview: Impact Momentum is a combination of barrel speed and the size of the bat the hitter is swinging.  The higher the impact momentum, the better chance a hitter has to do damage with greater exit velocities.  Impact Momentum is a great measure of the power potential of a given hitter.

Top 10% of Age Groups: 
• U10 Players: 13 KG/M +
• U12 Players: 15 KG/M +
• U14 Players: 19 KG/M +
• U16 Players: 24 KG/M +
• U18 Players: 27 KG/M +
• D1 College:   28 KG/M +

Coaching Insights:
• Impact Momentum is a “smarter version” of barrel speed because it takes into account the size of the bat. If a kid swings a bigger bat at the same speed, when contact happens, the ball goes further.
• If you want to understand how improving Impact Momentum translates to the game – for every +1 a hitter adds to their Impact Momentum, it equates to roughly a 1.5 MPH increase in exit velocity. And every 1.5 MPH of exit velo translates to roughly 6-10 more feet of carry, depending on launch angle.  
• If you have a high-school kid playing on a full-size field, the magic Impact Momentum number to hit dingers is 27 + (with the right launch angle, of course). A well hit ball with an “IM” of 24 is caught well inside the warning track. Hit it with an IM of 27+ and it is out of the park.

Angle Approach
Overview: Using the Approach Angle metric, hitters clearly know the direction of their swing plane at the moment of impact. While the optimal Approach Angle is dependent on the type of pitch, it typically needs to be between +5° degrees and +15° degrees in order to hit a line drive and between +20° and +35° degrees in order to hit a home run

Optimal Ranges by Type of Batter:
• U10 Players: 25 G’s +
• U12 Players: 32 G’s +
• U14 Players: 35 G’s +

Coaching Insights:
• Consider that a pitch is coming “downhill” from the mound at a -6° degree to -8° degree angle. To counter that, a batter should be making contact at an upward angle to “match the plane of the pitch” at a minimum.
• If you have a kid who is hitting a lot of ground balls – look at the approach angle and work drills to get the point of contact happening at a positive angle.
• When you marry Approach Angle with Distance in the Zone, you might see why a kid is popping up too much or fouling off.
• When hitting off a tee or even soft toss, you’d hope to see fairly consistent Approach Angles swingby-swing, but when doing BP or facing live pitching, you will see a bigger range because the hitter has to “go get” the pitch (and that’s OK).

For more Tech in Baseball videos, click here.


Diamond Kinetics is the market leader in mobile motion technology and information that enables player development, superior equipment fitting, objective scouting and recruiting, and engagement-driven entertainment.


 Belly Button Tee
(1/1/2020)
 
   

Belly Button Tee


Tech in Baseball
Presented with Diamond Kinetics


Skill Set: Hitting
Difficulty Level: Easy
Number of Athletes and Coaches: 1-2 athletes and 1 coach, or 2 athletes as partners
Average Time to Complete: 5 minutes
Equipment Required: Bat, tee, baseballs, net or screen to hit into

Goal: Hit the ball of of the tee with the focus of turning the belly button to the ball

Description of the Drill: 
• Tee set up in front of the middle of the plate
• Hitter sets up even with the plate, while partner places a ball on the tee
• Hitter hits the ball off the tee with the focus of turning the belly button to the ball as they swing, this helps to activate their lower half into the swing properly
• Hitters should be hitting the ball back up the middle
• Partners switch after 10 swings

Add Difficulty:
• To add a degree of difficulty, the hitter can move the tee to different contact points (inside, middle, outside)

Using Diamond Kinetics SwingTracker Sensor and mobile App - the following metrics and tools can help you measure your swing and see improvement when doing this drill:

Max Barrel Speed
Overview: Using Barrel speed, hitters can know the maximum speed of the bat’s barrel during their swing. It’s measured in miles per hour, so it’s easy to understand and measure improvement over time. Higher barrel speed is the main factor in producing high exit velocity after contact so the ball goes further… faster.

Top 10% of Age Groups:
• U10 Players: 49mph+
• U12 Players: 54mph+
• U14 Players: 58mph+
• U16 Players: 63mph+
• U18 Players: 69mph+
• D1 College: 72mph+

Coaching Insights:
• This is the maximum speed of the bat’s barrel during a swing, at a point 20% from the tip of the bat (i.e. the sweet spot). It is the main factor in producing high exit velocity when the ball is hit. It greatly affects both the distance and speed at which the ball travels after impact.
• Keep in mind that hitters need to “square the ball up” to maximize ball exit velocity.
• Increasing barrel speed is an important goal. Improvement should be measured over time to see if there is real physical and/or swing-mechanic growth.
• Mechanics are important, but so is size & strength. So when thinking about a kid’s projectability, keep in mind if a player is not done growing yet.

Trigger to Impact
Overview: Using the Trigger to Impact time, measured in milliseconds, is the amount of time from the start of a batter’s forward acceleration of the bat to the precise moment of contact. It is a key measure of the hitter’s quickness and is directly related to timing. A shorter Impact time means the hitter is quicker to the ball – so lower numbers are better.

Ages U10-14: 
• Good: 225
• Better: 200
• Elite: 175

Ages U15-18: 
• Good: 210
• Better: 190
• Elite: 160

Coaching Insights:
• Simply put, Trigger to Impact tells coaches if a player has a “long” swing or a “short” swing.
• Improving Trigger to Impact time will:
1. Help the batter wait longer to identify the pitch
2. Help the batter determine the location of the pitch
3. Help the batter catch up, and make contact with faster pitches or make adjustments mid-swing
• If a coach helps a player make adjustments in the swing, it can be quantified to determine if the work helped the player get "shorter" to the ball.
• One watch-out: if a kid is showing extremely low numbers, it might be a "hack" swing going directly to the ball with little power.

Ways to Use 3D
Using the DK sensor in batting practice will give the coach and player a 3D representation of the barrel path from multiple views. The 3D views can be manipulated to see front-view, rear-view, and top-view. Each angle has its advantages.

Also, by filming the swing through the app, users can see live video of their swing in a real-time environment. This allows hitters to compare the feeling of their swing to what’s really happening with their swing. Swings can be put side by side for comparison

Questions You Can Answer:
• How early does the bat enter the zone?
• Does the hitter start their swing from a good position?
• Is the contact point (red line) occurring in the middle-to-front of the zone as it should?
• Does the hitter cast their hands too much?
• Does the hitter continue their path through contact?


For more Tech in Baseball videos, click here.


Diamond Kinetics is the market leader in mobile motion technology and information that enables player development, superior equipment fitting, objective scouting and recruiting, and engagement-driven entertainment.


 Top Drop Drill
(4/20/2020)
 
   

Top Drop Drill


Tech in Baseball
Presented with Diamond Kinetics


Skill Set: Hitting
Difficulty Level: Medium
Number of Athletes and Coaches: 1-2 athletes and 1 coach, or 2 athletes as partners
Average Time to Complete: 5 minutes
Equipment Required: Bucket of baseballs, bat, chair

Goal: Hit the ball up the middle working on hand-eye coordination and reaction time

Description of the Drill: 
• Hitter sets up even with the plate, while partner or coach stands on a bucket on the other side of the plate
• Partner holds a ball at their shoulder height, above the front of the plate
• Partner then drops the ball straight down
• Hitter should be watching the dropped ball and try to hit it back up the middle
• Partners switch after 10 swings

Add Difficulty:
• To add a degree of difficulty, the partner can drop the ball from a lower distance

Using Diamond Kinetics SwingTracker Sensor and mobile App - the following metrics and tools can help you measure your swing and see improvement when doing this drill:

Max Barrel Speed
Overview: Using Barrel speed, hitters can know the maximum speed of the bat’s barrel during their swing. It’s measured in miles per hour, so it’s easy to understand and measure improvement over time. Higher barrel speed is the main factor in producing high exit velocity after contact so the ball goes further… faster

Top 10% of Age Groups:
• U10 Players: 49mph +
• U12 Players: 54mph +
• U14 Players: 58mph +
• U16 Players: 63mph +
• U18 Players: 69mph +
• D1 College:   72mph +

Coaching Insights:
• This is the maximum speed of the bat’s barrel during a swing, at a point 20% from the tip of the bat (i.e. the sweet spot). It is the main factor in producing high exit velocity when the ball is hit. It greatly affects both the distance and speed at which the ball travels after impact.
• Keep in mind that hitters need to “square the ball up” to maximize ball exit velocity.
• Increasing barrel speed is an important goal. Improvement should be measured over time to see if there is real physical and/or swing-mechanic growth.
• Mechanics are important, but so is size & strength. So when thinking about a kid’s projectability, keep in mind if a player is not done growing yet.

Approach Angle
Overview: Using the Approach Angle metric, hitters clearly know the direction of their swing plane at the moment of impact. While the optimal Approach Angle is dependent on the type of pitch, it typically needs to be between +5° degrees and +15° degrees in order to hit a line drive and between +20° and +35° degrees in order to hit a home run.

Optimal Ranges by Type pf Batter: 
• For U10-14 players learning to hit line-drives: +6 to +10
• For U15-18 players who want to hit line-drives: +11 to +19
• For U15-18 power hitters who have strength & ability to hit deep: +20 to +35

Coaching Insights:
• Consider that a pitch is coming “downhill” from the mound at a -6° degree to -8° degree angle. To counter that, a batter should be making contact at an upward angle to “match the plane of the pitch” at a minimum.
• If you have a kid who is hitting a lot of ground balls – look at the approach angle and work drills to get the point of contact happening at a positive angle.
• When you marry Approach Angle with Distance in the Zone, you might see why a kid is popping up too much or fouling off.
• When hitting off a tee or even soft toss, you’d hope to see fairly consistent Approach Angles swingby-swing, but when doing BP or facing live pitching, you will see a bigger range because the hitter has to “go get” the pitch (and that’s OK).

Distance in the Zone
Overview: Using the Distance in the Zone metric, hitters can determine when their barrel is entering and leaving the hitting zone. The longer the barrel stays in the hitting zone, the better chance the player has to make consistent, solid contact. This is clearly depicted in the 3D viewer as the blue portion of the swing path.

Optimal Ranges by Age:
• U10-14: Good is 29-32 inches
• U15-18: Good is 31-34 inches
• College-Pro: Good is 33-37 inches

Coaching Insights:
• Having a swing that maintains a good Distance in The Zone gives the batter a better chance of making contact with the pitch. It also means the swing is “more forgiving”
• Having a good Distance In The Zone can account for small errors in timing because there is more “space” for the batter to make contact and still put the ball in play.
• This metric can help coaches identify loopy swings based on how early the barrel enters the zone and if there is a ‘hard-turn’ coming out of the zone.
• Additionally, based on where contact is most often made, it can help identify if a hitter is having issues with timing up the pitch.

For more Tech in Baseball videos, click here.


Diamond Kinetics is the market leader in mobile motion technology and information that enables player development, superior equipment fitting, objective scouting and recruiting, and engagement-driven entertainment.


 Backside Angle Toss
(3/30/2020)
 
   

Backside Angle Toss


Tech in Baseball
Presented with Diamond Kinetics


Skill Set: Hitting
Difficulty Level: Hard
Number of Athletes and Coaches: 1-2 athletes and 1 coach, or 2 athletes as partners
Average Time to Complete: 10 minutes
Equipment Required: Screen for coach to throw behind, home plate, and a bucket of balls

Goal: Focus on driving the ball up the middle by hitting the inside of the ball

Description of the Drill: 
• Screen set up 20 feet from the plate
• Hitter sets up even with the plate
• Coach sets up screen to the left side of the cage, slightly angled
• Coach underhand tosses from the left side of the screen across the middle of the plate
• Hitter tries to hit the ball back up the middle, working on timing with the coach's pitches
• Focus should be on hitting the ball back up the middle, staying inside the ball
• Partners switch after 10 swings

Add Difficulty:
• To add a degree of difficulty, coaches can throw pitches inside and outside
• Hitters should try to hit outside pitches to the opposite field (or opposite side in a cage)

Hitters should try to hit inside pitches back up the middle or a little to the pull of the middle

Using Diamond Kinetics SwingTracker Sensor and mobile App - the following metrics and tools can help you measure your swing and see improvement when doing this drill:

Distance in the Zone
Overview: Using the Distance in the Zone metric, hitters can determine when their barrel is entering and leaving the hitting zone. The longer the barrel stays in the hitting zone, the better chance the player has to make consistent, solid contact. This is clearly depicted in the 3D viewer as the blue portion of the swing path.

Optimal Ranges by Age:
• U10-14: Good is 29-32 inches
• U15-18: Good is 31-34 inches
• College-Pro: Good is 33-37 inches

Coaching Insights:
• Having a swing that maintains a good Distance in The Zone gives the batter a better chance of making contact with the pitch. It also means the swing is “more forgiving”.
• Having a good Distance In The Zone can account for small errors in timing because there is more “space” for the batter to make contact and still put the ball in play.
• This metric can help coaches identify loopy swings based on how early the barrel enters the zone and if there is a ‘hard-turn’ coming out of the zone.
• Additionally, based on where contact is most often made, it can help identify if a hitter is having issues with timing up the pitch.

Hand Cast Distance
Overview: Hand Cast Distance measure starts when the hitter gets to the load position. From that point when the bat starts forward acceleration, it measures how far the knob of the bat travels away from that point…measured in inches. This control metric is important because it shows a hitter’s ability to stay inside the ball instead of swinging around the ball.

Optimal Ranges by Age: 
• U10-14: expect double digit numbers in the teens.
• U15-18: the batter should try to be a 10 or lower.

Coaching Insights:
• Hand Cast Distance allows coaches to quantify if a player is staying inside the ball, swinging with his ‘hands back’ and keeping the bat in the best possible position – over the back shoulder – before uncoiling the hands and bat toward the pitched ball.
• Having a large Hand Cast Distance makes it difficult for a batter to hit the fastball, and/or adjust to hitting balls that occupy the middle or inside part of the plate.
• In an ideal swing that results in a minimal amount of hand cast, the hands stay close to the shoulder, with the hands and barrel staying inside the baseball before the barrel gets on plane with the path of the pitch.

Ways to Use 3D
Using the DK sensor in batting practice will give the coach and player a 3D representation of the barrel path from multiple views. The 3D views can be manipulated to see front-view, rear-view, and top-view. Each angle has its advantages.

Also, by filming the swing through the app, users can see live video of their swing in a real-time environment. This allows hitters to compare the feeling of their swing to what’s really happening with their swing. Swings can be put side by side for comparison.

Questions You Can Answer:
• How early does the bat enter the zone?
• Does the hitter start their swing from a good position?
• Is the contact point (red line) occurring in the middle-to-front of the zone as it should?
• Does the hitter cast their hands too much?
• Does the hitter continue their path through contact?


For more Tech in Baseball videos, click here.


Diamond Kinetics is the market leader in mobile motion technology and information that enables player development, superior equipment fitting, objective scouting and recruiting, and engagement-driven entertainment.


 Inside/Outside Tee
(5/25/2020)
 
   

Inside/Outside Tee


Tech in Baseball
Presented with Diamond Kinetics


Skill Set: Hitting
Difficulty Level: Easy
Number of Athletes and Coaches: 1-2 athletes and 1 coach, or 2 athletes as partners
Average Time to Complete: 5 minutes
Equipment Required: Bat, tee, baseballs, net or screen to hit into

Goal: Focus on hitting the ball to the pull side and opposite field based on contact point

Description of the Drill: 
• Tee set up in front of the inside of the plate
• Hitter sets up even with the plate, while partner places a ball on the tee
• Hitter hits the ball at the inside contact point for 5 swings, then moves the tee to the outside contact point
• Hitter hits the ball at the outside contact point for 5 swings, then the partners switch
• Focus should be on hitting the inside ball to the pull side and the outside pitch to the opposite field
• Partners switch after 10 swings

Add Difficulty:
• To add a degree of difficulty, the hitter can also move the tee to different contact point heights (low, middle, high)
• To add a degree of difficulty, the partner can place a ball on both the inside and the outside tee and as the hitter loads, tell the hitter which ball to hit

Using Diamond Kinetics SwingTracker Sensor and mobile App - the following metrics and tools can help you measure your swing and see improvement when doing this drill:

Distance in the Zone
Overview: Using the Distance in the Zone metric, hitters can determine when their barrel is entering and leaving the hitting zone. The longer the barrel stays in the hitting zone, the better chance the player has to make consistent, solid contact. This is clearly depicted in the 3D viewer as the blue portion of the swing path.

Optimal Ranges by Age:
• U10-14: Good is 29-32 inches
• U15-18: Good is 31-34 inches
• College-Pro: Good is 33-37 inches

Coaching Insights:
• Having a swing that maintains a good Distance in The Zone gives the batter a better chance of making contact with the pitch. It also means the swing is “more forgiving”
• Having a good Distance In The Zone can account for small errors in timing because there is more “space” for the batter to make contact and still put the ball in play.
• This metric can help coaches identify loopy swings based on how early the barrel enters the zone and if there is a ‘hard-turn’ coming out of the zone.
• Additionally, based on where contact is most often made, it can help identify if a hitter is having issues with timing up the pitch.

Impact Momentum
Overview: Impact Momentum is a combination of barrel speed and the size of the bat the hitter is swinging.  The higher the impact momentum, the better chance a hitter has to do damage with greater exit velocities.  Impact Momentum is a great measure of the power potential of a given hitter.

Top 10% of Age Groups: 
• U10 Players: 13 KG/M +
• U12 Players: 15 KG/M +
• U14 Players: 19 KG/M +
• U16 Players: 24 KG/M +
• U18 Players: 27 KG/M +
• D1 College:   28 KG/M +

Coaching Insights:
• Impact Momentum is a “smarter version” of barrel speed because it takes into account the size of the bat. If a kid swings a bigger bat at the same speed, when contact happens, the ball goes further.
• If you want to understand how improving Impact Momentum translates to the game – for every +1 a hitter adds to their Impact Momentum, it equates to roughly a 1.5 MPH increase in exit velocity. And every 1.5 MPH of exit velo translates to roughly 6-10 more feet of carry, depending on launch angle.  
• If you have a high-school kid playing on a full-size field, the magic Impact Momentum number to hit dingers is 27 + (with the right launch angle, of course). A well hit ball with an “IM” of 24 is caught well inside the warning track. Hit it with an IM of 27+ and it is out of the park.

Approach Angle
Overview: Using the Approach Angle metric, hitters clearly know the direction of their swing plane at the moment of impact. While the optimal Approach Angle is dependent on the type of pitch, it typically needs to be between +5° degrees and +15° degrees in order to hit a line drive and between +20° and +35° degrees in order to hit a home run.

Optimal Ranges by Type of Batter:
• For U10-14 players learning to hit line-drives: +6 to +10
• For U15-18 players who want to hit line-drives: +11 to +19
• For U15-18 power hitters who have strength & ability to hit deep: +20 to +35

Coaching Insights:
• Consider that a pitch is coming “downhill” from the mound at a -6° degree to -8° degree angle. To counter that, a batter should be making contact at an upward angle to “match the plane of the pitch” at a minimum.
• If you have a kid who is hitting a lot of ground balls – look at the approach angle and work drills to get the point of contact happening at a positive angle.
• When you marry Approach Angle with Distance in the Zone, you might see why a kid is popping up too much or fouling off.
• When hitting off a tee or even soft toss, you’d hope to see fairly consistent Approach Angles swing-by-swing, but when doing BP or facing live pitching, you will see a bigger range because the hitter has to “go get” the pitch (and that’s OK).

For more Tech in Baseball videos, click here.


Diamond Kinetics is the market leader in mobile motion technology and information that enables player development, superior equipment fitting, objective scouting and recruiting, and engagement-driven entertainment.