Strikes 2

KennySmalls....

Who recommended Stikes, and Steve to you? Why did you feel you needed some additional training? Did you have any training before?

I don't mean to quiz you, just curious.

"You observe a lot by watching."

Boomer,

Talent4thegame recomended strikes to me cuz he said Steve was a good guy and worked with some other ss's like antesberger(sp).. i didnt feel that i needed some additional training but i just went there and steve saw a flaw and fixed it..

Dont know that much about baseball,but i see your name on here all the time and you seem to know what your talking about,what makes strikes that good? And are you now hitting better ?really?one time lesson?

kennysmalls-what was your flaw?

baseball mom,

yea i have only gone there once so far but by the one thing he changed it is making me feel so much more comfortable up at the plate and i am hitting everything hard now

shaun, steve told me that i was spinning too much on my back foot and he told me to concentrate landing on the inside toe of my front foot.. i feel a lot more balanced now

it also feels like i am hitting the ball harder

kenny-if you remember i told you you were overpivoting which will make you fall though have not seen you in long while.landing the first two toes will help you keep your weight back for those of you that cant learn to hit agaist your leg but be careful because i find kids now then leaving their weight on their backside(it is a fine line,too much of 1 thing or not enough of 1 thing can be bad).if leaving wght. on backside then can lead to dropping shoulder,etc.,etc.also,can leads to making it difficult to pivot thus not allowing you to open your hips thus slowing your hands down(making hard to clear your hands).kids should hit against their leg unless you run like a deer.also by landing 1st two toes,can lead to a kid not utilizing his full weight shift to max his hitting abilities.eventually,you will learn to hit against your leg and the back foot(pivot)will actually come off the groung to max hitting.if teach that to kids the next thing you may see is kids lunging or hitting over their leg.if you want i can go on and on in more depth.also,could have saved you $!

thanks shaun

I just wanted to stick up for steve,when that one coach(lol)said it wasnt worth the money,to work out with him,i would never be playing if it wernt for him ,and i have worked out with,Gerald Clark tulane,Bo flowers tigers,Joe landi,StFrancis,Kevin Morris Cod,Matt Martino Mesa,Bob Dilerberta Lsu,Jeff Maitland Iowa,Sun times PLayer of the year,Kyle Obrien,Todd Schultz,Paul Pedi,Ryan Anetsberger,Ask them if it was worth the money!

dear mr. college player-who ever said it was not worth the money? if you read the post correctly and were aware that kenny smalls plays for top tier then you would know i do not charge my ball players therefore that results in kenny saving dollars but kenny lives so far away it is hard to get together.scott and steve are good guys and do a good job.please do not read in between the lines because anybody that knows me know i am not afraid to say what is on my mind.if i thought they sucked i would tell them i thought they sucked.i also, like many other instructors have long ,long list of players that we also have helped put in college and pros.about 10 years ago when you were anywhere between 8,9,10,11,12 years old i , like many other instructors,were giving lessons to many kids that have now moved on.good luck to you in baseball. p.s. youy should give yourself more credit for making your dream come true,it up to the instructor to give you the knowledge and help motivate the players but it is the player that ultimately puts in all the hard work.again good luck to you!

shaun is a great guy and he has told me various times that he doesnt care bout his players going to see other instructors, he believes in steeve and that his players should learn as much as possible.. dont take his post the wrong way

playhard, Strikes3100, talentforthegame, Malee

Take your pick!!!! All are talented instructors. Anyone of them might focus on a particular area of the swing, or might approach the 'swing' concept in a different manner.

Anyway you look at it, they all can, and have, contributed to some players success. There is nothing wrong with going to another instructor to get another viewpoint of this most controversial aspect of the game, the baseball swing.

It's your decision who you feel most comfortable with. Just don't go to the instructors who approach training like drill sargents, and make you do push-ups when you don't grasp a concept quickly enough for their likeing.

It's your future, you make the decision!!!

"You observe a lot by watching."

boomer-it is funny you say that.i tell some kids if they do not finish eyes contact,after a million attempts to do so,i say they will do10 push ups each time they look.when you put something on the table the results are great.actually though i never made a kid do a push up.i keep doubling ujp til they get it right.i continue to back peddle out of my bet.it works!

Shaun
You have a PM

playhard....

I was really referring to someone who literally makes them workout on the floor. This instructor is brutal!!!

"You observe a lot by watching."

boomer-your kidding!right?

playhard.....

Not kidding!! This happened 2 years ago. Now maybe this was just an isolated incidence with my son, I don't know. But I have talked to other parents who said this instructor does things a little bit differently.

My son took a combination hitting/fielding lesson for 1 hour. During the fielding part, my son wasn't doing the drill either correctly or fast enough. He made him do 10 push-ups "to get his attention", and 10 more evey time he didn't do it the way he wanted. He got my attention!!.

It'll be interesting to see how his travel team does this summer.

"You observe a lot by watching."

Dear Mr Boomer,Please tell me that this person is no longer giving lessons to our kids?

pony mom....

Don't worry, he's not in our area.

"You observe a lot by watching."

last year, I couldnt hit anything, I batted .167 in the 13 varsity games I started. In the Off-season I worked on a stance. Right now I am batting .750 in the first 2 games we have played.

What I do is, stride before the pitcher throws it and then pivot and swing at the same time. THe only problem I think I will face is that, if a pitcher is smart he will throw me outside pitches, and since I stride really early I am not sure if I can reach the outside without hit a lazy pop fly, or groundball.

Do you think I should try something else? Or should I stick with this as long as it is working right now?

"Every pitch should be like your last"

lynxpitcher22,you sure you play baseball?It sounds like you play soft pitch softball.

good one pete hof lol

>>>>>>>>>>>>MR jca pops. would you be mr bill sing ? your son was drafted by the cubs,from the joliet area.And i know he used to drive all the way to strikes for lesson.How is he doing?I know he went 2for 3 with the big club CUbs in spring training,saw him hit a doulbe with the Cubs in arizona,where is he now?

......Thanks Kenny!
If it wasnt for you ,we would have never gone to strikes1

.....Kenny,How did your summer go?

ive been playing baseball for a very long time and steve is definately one of those most inspirational people i have ever worked with, he has made my confidence boost up a lot and i feel much more comfortable in the box after only a couple changes, and im sure my LT teammates will say the same thing, "BANNER" -steve hayward

LTBaseball2....

It's funny that you mentioned this, since yesterday I was at Strikes talking with Steve. Scott Nelson walks in with this young man, who was wearing this cool looking baseball cap. This young mans name is Justin Olson.

It turns out that this man, along with Blake Whaley, was an instructor at Strikes during the summer of '98, and was working with my 10 year old, at that time - 15 year old now, on hitting and fielding. Justin and Blake both went to OPRF, and Steve Hayward was there 14 year old baseball coach.

Well, to make a long story short, Justin Olson went to Univ. of Illinois for 4 years under Itch, and was just promoted to high 'A' ball for the Minnesota Twins. Pitches 96-97. Justin then tells us that Jason Shelly, also an off-season instructor at Strikes, just got promoted to AA for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Also, I forgot to mention that Bo Flowers was promoted to high 'A' ball for the Detroit Tigers.

LT......you hit the nail-on-the-head when you said, "inspirational", "confidence boost", "comfortable". That's why my son goes to Strikes!

"You observe a lot by watching."

Steve is the man! Every kid you hear about making the all-state team or the suntimes player of the year award works out with steve. At first i was very uncertain about what he was telling me but after the first game i knew he was right.
BANNER

Ponymom my summer went pretty well , i got a lot of recognition from top tier and shaun.. back to steve tho i hope i can start takin lessons with him again soon! after fort meyers

joknows.....

You will become a better hitter than you already are! Just keep going there.

By the way......when are you going to give-up football????

"You observe a lot by watching."

KennySmalls....

Next time you go there, send me a PM. I'd like to stop by and say, hello.

"You observe a lot by watching."

Boomer i will be attending the Lombard vs Norwood game tomorrow at 12 to meet up with steve and stuff, id really like to meet you to. if possible i wanna set u p with steve for this sunday and every following sunday, maybe ill see you at the game tomorrow!

We only have 7 games left!!! Baseball season starts the day after

steve, it was great talking to you.i will call you soon.thank you

Hi,
Are there two strikes baseball school's?

No, mom. Only the one on 25th Avenue in Broadview.

can anyone tell me where strikes is located,maybe a phone number also?

Strikes is located in Broadview, IL on 25th Ave. 1 block south of 22nd St.
Phone # 708-345-3200

Thanks Beenthere and Rawlings, you two are so knowledgeable,i went to strikes to see the place and my son was blown away with all the pictures on the wall,and the baseball music playing,and he liked how the instructors worked with the kids,i think we found a new home !Mr beenthere we also saw your son's baseball card there on the wall,nice looking kid,how long did he play for the mets?