Too much cage hitting

I would like to see others respond to this....my son has always complained that too much cage work messes him up.

I make my team do everything you just said (except the one arm stuff) but really concentrate on it in the preseason. We probably do 70% drill and 30% cage / field hitting until about a week before we open. Then we try to keep it 50 / 50 for both but by halfway through the season we are probably 90% or more cage / field and 10% or less on drills. If we have time I will let them take cuts in the cage in small groups and then move to the field to hit.

If a player is in a slump or struggling with something then we take them off to the side to work drills to reinforce the good habits we are trying to teach.

But as for what you said earlier I don't believe you can do that all the time. At some point you just got to hit.

Our philosophy is attack fastballs and don't swing at junk until have to or if it hangs. We constantly say "know the zone" or "stay in the zone" - be disciplined and attack the stuff that is easiest to hit.

My son,played Division I ball, hated cage work-- he said it screwed up his timing---he wanted live BP

JMO but I don't think you can hurt yourself by doing cage work. The reps you can get in with soft toss and tee work can only help. The key is to be as focused during these drills as you are during live BP. That's not always easy, but like everything else, you get out of it what you put in.

Tim

Adam C.,
Your school sounds exactly like mine. JV nevers hits on the field and all that cage work. The worst thing about my school is that coaches judge hitters based on how they hit in the cage. JMO you can't tell where the ball actually goes in the cage.

We do a lot of soft toss and such at the beginning of the season and whenever we are inside. Outside, we do a lot of whiffle ball drills and dry swings.

Also, when we hit in the cage, do a lot of situational hitting. Infield in, infield back, hit and run, sac bunt, bunt for a hit, etc

We have one of those portable backstops, but we only use it 4 or 5 times a year. It is a big pain to set up so we don't mess with it very often.

We hit either on the field or in the cage most home games. Mainly in the cage, but on days where we don't have school we'll hit live.

I'm the type of hitter that I have to hit a lot. My dad and I hit 4-5 days a week now. I went to a hitting camp last week and we've hit all but 2 days since returning. We do soft toss and then hit about 40 or so. I use a wooden bat for a lot of it, but I use an aluminum in the cage some too.

IMHO, there is no such thing as too much cage or tee work. Now, it should be said that you must incorporate live bp with that in order to see the ball coming out of a live arm. Different perception for sure.
It also must be said that if 1 individual believes he's had too much, then he has. There is a lot of mental side there. The player must want more and appreciate working on different aspects of the swing mechanics. If he doesn't, then he may get board and complacent.
So I do believe that its individual.

Adam,
My school was the same way. About 80% of our hitting was just drills and then we had a little bit of hitting on the field but even then it was situational hitting where we had to execute a hit and run, move a guy over over from second, etc. I dont think there's anything wrong with that, but you do lose interest when you just roll over to second base ten times and then you're done. The worst part of it though is when you try to hit in the games and all anybody is able to do is ground out to the right side.

Situational hitting is a great part of the team game and has no place of interest for hitting coaches who are trying to improve a hitters chance of success at the plate.
It must be practiced in order for a hitter to be able to contribute to the team game.
We always spent a minimal amount of time on it before bp, but then enfasized hitting at all cost.
Situational hitting is also a part of strategy, but also teaches a player to hit behind or inside the ball and can enhance the batters batcontrol. It will always be more important to coaches than to hitters.

Bluedog speaks!!!!! does anyone listen

Situational hitting is key to victories--moving guys up--eliminating double play situations

BGD--do you understanding the game!!!!

Adam,
My HS JV team sounds like yours.The only time we every stepped on the field for BP was to shag balls for Varsity.Luckily,my head coach let me practice with varsity about 2 weeks into the season.

As far as cgae work goes I find it to be a bit planned.By this I mean its somewhat unrealistic.You go in there,do everything perfectly,but you know it will NEVER go like that in games.In a game a picther isnt softossing to you,or giving you a 65 MPH c*ckshot down the middle.It gives an unrealistic expectation in my eyes

Its kind of like when you are timing a catchers pop time and you do it when on the last pitch the pitcher throws,its going to be quicker because he is elevated and expecting it.

It helps alot,make no mistake about it,but to a certain extent it can be bad.

The idea of this thread and some of the responses leave me shaking my head. To say that we spend time in the cage is an understatement. However, I don't have players complaining. They are working at their game and wanting to get better. I don't know the structure of your cage time and that does have a lot to do with it. The easy way out is to condemn the time you spend in the cage as worthless and therefore, you don't have to bust your *** to get better. Naturally, the rub in all of this is that you should also do a lot of BP on the field. I read the one comment on 10 swings and out. WHAT? Now if I were a player and we did this, I'd be truly disappointed. The BP on the field has to accomplish many important goals not the least of which is pitch recognition. How can you do that in 10 swings? One last remark before I hack everyone off at me. If I were a marginal or lower level player, I'd look at that time in the cage as my prep to take someone else's position. I'd certainly go in there hungry and determined to win a varsity spot. Whatever the coach's rational for each drill is I'd make sure that I achieved it. JMHO!

I am with you there, CoachB!

Gon2rE22, I hope your parents are doing well. My Dad has had another "spot" discovered in his lungs. He suffers from being exposed to abestoes and so... Again, I hope both parents are progresing and on the track back to health.

Blue, thanks for the laugh. I was having a really bad day until i read your posts. With all sincerity, Thank you! You have made my day brighter, amist all this rain we're getting down here.

BD

Then call me a winning loser---we use situational hitting whenever the game situation calls for it---

Sometimes I wonder about your thinking especially since we dont even know if you coach and win--you are one scary individual where baseball is concerned

Glove Man, any aversion would help you about now.......Looking for sunshine?

Bluedog,

The kid asked a question.

Instead of attempting to provide perspective to the young man - you have added yet another post that starts with:

I,I,I and ends with Me,Me,Me.

Just a troll - throwing out meaningless one-liners.

Pathetic IMO. Will it ever end? LOL

I think he was kidding