Duke Anderson O.D.
Assistant Coach
North Medford High School

We as hitting coaches continually instruct our hitters to "watch the ball' and I am now telling you that is wrong. For those of you who did not just turn to the next article, I'll bet I have your attention.

When hunting game animals we do not shoot at the deer. We shoot at the vitals, a small area on the deer. We narrow our shot to this small area because it insures the success of our hunt.

Why then should we ask our hitters to watch the whole ball when, as we know, it's the "center of the ball" that we want them to hit? The ball arrives at our strike zone in less than four tenths of a second, following pitcher's release, and is three and three quarters inches tall. That line drive we strive for is at the center of the ball. Hitting much above or below center will result in a foul tip, a weak ground ball or a pop-up. I sense few of you disagree with me so far, but I do hear you asking in chorus, "How in the world can I ask my batter to find that center when the ball is coming at 55+ miles per hour and changing course as it approaches?". No wonder that really good pitchers are, in fact, really successful.

Take a moment to look across the room and find a small picture, calendar, or anything approaching the size of that three and three quarters inch softball. First, just look at the picture. You will feel your eyes roam from place to place throughout its boarders. Second, look at just the face of the person in the picture. You will feel less eye movement but concentration still wanders to the ears, nose, mouth, etc. Thirdly, look at one eye. You will now feel your eyes stop and concentration is very intense on that small spot. This same visual drill can be done on anything and you will get my point. Look at the house across the street, then limit to the front door, then to the door knob. Feel your eyes stop wandering when you narrow the area of concentration to a single point.

Our eyes are nothing more than cameras which send a picture to the brain. The brain then processes this information and sends a command to the skeletal muscles that must then guide the bat to intercept the ball at a predetermined point in space. Studies have been done on major league hitters that determined it takes two tenths of a second, for the best hitters, to get the bat to the point of impact after the brain initiates the swing. Hitting the ball at all sounds impossible doesn't it? This also points out why changing speeds is so effective in pitching. The batter must start the swinging process before she is even aware of how fast the ball is approaching. The swing must be started before the ball has traveled half way to the plate. It is easy to get in rhythm with a pitching machine and pound one ball after another into the next county because the batter is able to anticipate the time and location of the ball at the point of intended impact after seeing just a few pitches.

While we don't have the luxury of having a spot printed on the C.O.B., (center of the ball), with practice, it is relatively easy to visualize one and thus sharpen our concentration for a more effective time at the plate.