IM Exercise Adaptations for Training Baseball/Softball Players

Timing of the swing in baseball and softball is vital. The bat needs to meet the ball at the proper impact point, at just the right moment. Not a moment too soon, not a moment too late. Hall of Famer, Warren Spahn, while speaking of pitching, gave great insight into the art of hitting when he made the statement, “Hitting is timing, pitching is upsetting timing.” Hitting is timing! That seems too simple, or is it? Timing is just one of the training areas that the Interactive Metronome can address for softball and baseball players.

During this webinar, we will explore the importance of other sporting skills such as focus, concentration, rhythm, coordination, balance, motor planning and sequencing, and decision making; skills that are vital in any sporting performance, particularly in ball players. IM training has the potential to fill the gap that currently exists between unique sporting skills such as these, identified as necessary for peak performance, but not yet filled in regular sports training programs.

An important aspect of combining IM training with regular sports programs is identifying the unique requirements of the individual athlete’s performance through observation and analysis, then applying this knowledge to formulate a program specifically tailored to the individual’s needs. Previous research and documentation using the IM in sports have focused primarily on a “one size fits all” type of program. Standard 12 exercise programs for any sport. During this presentation, I will take IM training a step further by changing and expanding existing IM exercises into sport-specific, challenging exercises that meet the individual demands of softball and baseball players, identified through the observation and analysis process.

To personalize IM programs for athletes it is important to identify and analyze the physical, mental, and environmental factors sporting athletes encounter, and then the applications involved to plan a creative sport-specific IM program, that both simulate and challenges various athlete components discovered during the observation period.

You will be taken through a step-by-step example of how observation and analysis of specific skills and movements, and mental and environmental demands that softball and baseball players face, combined with creative brainstorming and adaption of IM exercises can produce a personalized, challenging sport-specific IM program that can address the multiple performance demands present for elite ball players.