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My guy is fast on the bases and in the outfield.  Has really good range in the outfield.  Last season, he legged out a triple in 11.5 seconds,and during games on close  plays,  can get down to first from the right side in 4.0 seconds.  But for some reason his official 60 times are sort of blah.  HIs first officially timed 60 was  7.5  -- though that was a year ago.  His fastest more recently is a 7.0.  He worked with a sprint coach after the 7.5 to help him improve his running technique.  Sprint coach says he is  natural sprinter, and was pleased with how quickly he picked up technic.  He actually invited the kid to to train and run with his club track team this summer.  Kid was just too busy, though.   Wish he could have. I think running in competitive track meets would have really helped him.  

 

He'll be  doing another showcase soon in which he will be timed in the 60.  I'm hoping he finally breaks the 7 barrier -- since CF is his best  position and if he hopes to play at the next level, seems like a 60 in the mid 6's is a must.    I've asked him why he thinks his game speed differs from his official 60 times. His answer is the adrenaline rush.    When he sees that ball out there in the gap, something just ignites in him, he says, and he just goes all out to go get it.    Same thing, he says, if he sees the shortstop bobble a ball or an outfielder  misplay a ball when he's running the bases.    Don't know what it would take to get the same adrenaline flowing during an official 60 time. That's one reason I  was sort of hoping he had time to run with the club track team.  Figure running in actual races might give him that same rush and teach him how to turn it on.   Unfortunately,   no time for track with all the baseball activities this summer. 

 

Got any thoughts? Is this something we  should worry about?  Do coaches ever take note of the fact that a player's game speed might differ from his official  60 speed?  

 

Last edited by SluggerDad
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Coaches may take note if they happen to have a stop watch and are honed in on a particular player.  It sounds like your son has more gas in the tank however.  Going from a 7.5 to 7.0 is impressive.  Encourage him to keep working on speed and strength and work to post an even better time.  If he has a nice bat and arm, 7.0 will not keep him out of college baseball.  Some D1 coaches consider 7.0 a minimum qualifier outside of positions such as catcher and 1B.  If he can hit, he can play at 7.0.  It may not be in centerfield, but he can play somewhere (e.g., RF, LF, etc.).  The idea for hitters is to be in the lineup somewhere.  I wouldn't worry about the position so much.  PG posted a great article here about improving 60 time.  Use the search engine feature here to find it.

I know assumptions are bad but I have to make one here. I haven't trained any baseball players in the 60 but I have trained a lot of football players in the 40. 99% of the time I have a player with better game speed than his 40 time shows, it's because of his start. Either because of bad technique or because of what you mentioned lack of intensity causing a less explosive start. With a track coach saying his sprinting was fine it further strengthens my assuption that it's his starts causing the problem.

I can't give you much advise on working on 60 starts since they are so much different from 40 starts but search the site for the artical from PG about improving 60 times. It covers the starts. Good luck as an ex wide receiver I know how important that stupid stop watch can be to some coaches.
Originally Posted by J H:

I don't mean this to sound disrespectful at all, but I do not believe a RHH that is able to run a 4.00 H-1 would not be capable of running a well-below 7.00 60 yard dash. 4.00 from the right side is elite level speed.

 

oops... you are right.  mistyped that one.  I was sitting next to our "coach"  (well, he wasn't coaching at the moment, but he is the head of organization) who timed him during a game  at 4.2 (and change)  but  with stop watch.  Maybe not  the most accurate -- since the start comes out of the blue and he was sitting behind the plate rather than near the bag.  

 

 But the kid is fast in games --  but  does run mediocre  60's -- for reasons I can't completely fathom.   Most people who just seem him run in games think of him as really fast.  60's times don't seem to match what he shows in games.  But I  suspect that  it's the 60 times that carry more weight than the in game speed. 

Last edited by SluggerDad

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