Joe Brockhoff's Super 8 Hitting System

It's good for beginners and Little Leaguers (not always the same thing). The system is mostly a hybrid of linear and rotational (or weight-shift and rotational if you don't believe that linear existed).

It is not the high level pattern There is no coil, no "stretch and fire" and no other negative loading moves. IMO, Epstein is a much better source (I'm not a certified instructor, so don't think I'm pushing his material).

Brockhoff is better than some, but there are many better sources out there. I would recommend using them.

Thanks for the input. I'm going to get it, and incorporate it as one of my many resources. This season I felt my swing was a little long, and I feel that whenever I try to go rotational I get too long. Hopefully taking a little of this will shorten it up a bit. Plus I like the idea of the speedbat.

quote:

Originally posted by spartans2b:
Thanks for the input. I'm going to get it, and incorporate it as one of my many resources. This season I felt my swing was a little long, and I feel that whenever I try to go rotational I get too long. Hopefully taking a little of this will shorten it up a bit. Plus I like the idea of the speedbat.

What other resources do you use/have?

Good luck using it! I personally dislike it. But everybody has stuff that he likes and stuff that he dislikes. I like Mankin and Epstein. There are some here who like Yeager and Peavy. Others swear by Englishbey and PCR (PCRW). Everybody has to go down his/her own path.

Don Slaught's Right View Pro, as well as his instructional series. I understand what the MLB swing looks like - I think I run into problems when trying to copy it. In Slaught's case, he makes the point that all MLB hitters enter the bat lag stage, get on the plane of the pitch early and for a long time. He also talks about the importance of separation. I have always been praised as a "coachable" player, but in this case I think this works against me. I sort of exaggerate separation, to the point where my bottom hand/arm locks out during my load, making me long from the start and making it difficult to get to the inside pitch. For bat lag, I can exaggerate this is well, get way below the plane of the pitch, and come off the ball too soon. I think that following a shorter approach - such as super 8 - I will be better off. I'm sure that I will still get the separation, as that is really ingrained in my muscle memory, as well as the correct bat path. I think that training short without separation for a player who is too long as the beginning will hopefully be beneficial.

You can't go wrong with Slaught. This is Donny Buster's full presentation. Read through the slides.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&
chrome=true&srcid=0Bx0hZPsPWQZbNjVkNWIwODYtZjdhMS00N2E3LWI1MjQtODhlY2U5MWU4NmQz&hl=en_US&authkey=CLHFuq0F

I just want to report a little bit more on this system having bought it and reviewed it all, and used it.

Overall, I really like it. It may not teach the exact MLB mechanics, but it is an outstanding template for a high school hitter to become consistent. Far too many high schooler's have long swings and don't realize it. I did. It is an easy system to learn, and very beneficial. Also, the speedbat, reader-board, and brock-buster that he sells are also great products. I would recomend this to any hitter.

I'm happy about your liking it. It does have some good information, and, for the (relatively) low price of only 50 dollars (keep in mind that most hitting stuff is really expensive) you can't go wrong.

@lowfinish

It is actually $197. Maybe a few years ago it was $50, or maybe the $50 is only the book, and not the DVD's. Also, I got the brockbuster (another $39.00). The speedbat is included in the super 8 hitting package.

If anyone is interested, I thought I would update with some more results from just 2 weeks on the system. I now have a much shorter, quicker swing that is yielding excellent results. In 2 weeks of game play since starting the system, only 2 AB's come to mind where I did not hit the ball hard. I am in the top 3 in hitting on my summer team (early I know, but I'm locked in thanks to the super 8 system), and having a great, stress free time playing in what I thought would be my most stressful summer (Junior summer...scouts/college coaches at nearly every game). I know that Brockhoff may not teach the "perfect" Don Slaught esk swing, but it simply gets the job done. Something that Brockhoff mentions in great detail is how to cut the baseball on contact. I don't know if other instructors teach this, but I have never heard of it. It has made a huge difference, and much better than hearing "hit the top half of the ball" over and over again. Brockhoff really understands hitting, and the drills in the Super 8 system will make you a better hitter.

Brockhoff used to provide all the information over the Internet for the price of 50 dollars. Maybe he still does. I think he charges more for the DVDs.