Would you trade aggressiveness for control?
There is an underlying belief that a softball player can be either, aggressive or in control. That somehow the two characteristics are mutually exclusive. That you have to give up one to get the other.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you can have your cake and eat it too.
There is no doubt in my mind that a hitter can be very aggressive and still be in total control. You just have to work at it,
I mean really work at it!
To accomplish this seemingly impossible task a hitter must understand two concepts that at face value are very simple, yet, very difficult for some hitters to learn.
How can something be simple and still difficult to learn? We have to change the way we think and the way we work.
And we all know how much we like change.
#1. Approach every pitch with a true attack mentality. Expect to swing at every pitch. Feel your body tensing up like a stick of dynamite that has the fuse lit and is ready to explode. Use a YES, YES, YES mindset to prepare yourself to crush every pitch you see.
#2. Practice keeping that fuse lit until you recognize the pitch, it’s location. speed and spin. If you like what you see, you remain a YES, YES, YES hitter. If you don’t like what you see you just because a YES, YES, NO! Hitter!!
Why is that difficult for most hitters? It requires them to really work hard preparing for every pitch.
Human nature tells us that most people will not work that hard without knowing that they are going to put that effort to use. Most hitters “kind of” get ready because it’s much easier.
Easy doesn’t not equal right! If it was meant to be easy everyone would be a great hitter!
As Jimmy Dugan says in “A League of Their Own”:
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it was easy everyone could do it. It’s the hard that makes it great!”
About the Author: Tory Acheson brings a wealth of knowledge to the Fastpitch Prep staff. He has coached at all levels of the game, including the last 25 years at the college level at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside, Tennessee Tech and Kennesaw State. He began his coaching career at the high school level spending 9 years Whitnall High School in Greenfield, Wis. and is now working as a professional softball instructor.
