Hitting is directed by A.B. Athletic Development cofounder Bobby Tewksbary who is a former Division I and professional baseball player. Bobby’s experience on the field and continuous research provides hitters with a unique learning opportunity only found at A.B. Athletic Development. Each day, Bobby spends hours studying video of hitters to pick up on the smallest of details to help AB hitters get better. Bobby writes a daily blog about swing mechanics called High Level Hitting as well as a weekly hitting blog for the Showcase League.
- Swing Mechanics – Swing mechanics taught at AB are a result of thousands of hours of research by Bobby that includes video study, swinging the bat himself and working with hundreds of hitters. Bobby understands the swing inside out, can identify swing flaws and provide swing corrections to the finest detail. Emulation of the best hitters in Major League Baseball is critical component of the swing mechanics at AB. We have a reason behind everything we teach and will explain to hitters (and parents) why we teach what we teach. We do not teach “rotational” or “linear” or “PCR” or “positional” hitting. We teach what we have learned and believe in through our research and it is different than any existing hitting system.
- Mental Approach – We like hitters to be aggressive in the strike zone. Hitters need to be ready to swing each pitch and be prepared to swing the bat. We discuss pitch recognition with our hitters helping them to hit off-speed pitches and teach players how to anticipate pitches. Good swing mechanics mean nothing without a good mental approach.
- Learning from Swings – Each swing is an opportunity for the player to learn. The better hitters we work with are very critical about the swings they take and this is a learned skill. Hitters must quickly analyze the feel of each swing they take and make adjustments based on their feel. Without knowledge of mechanics and without proper feel, hitters can’t make good adjustments. The process of the swing needs to be understood. Most players just go for the result – the big hit, the line drive, the right sound – and we teach players to focus on the process.
- Video Analysis – Video is a very important component of our hitting program. Hitters are consistently filmed to provide feedback throughout their sessions. Side-by-side videos are used to help illustrate teaching points and hitters participate at AB’s forum to continue learning while away from AB.