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?
