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"If you were thinking, you wouldn't have thought that!" One of the best lines in one of the best baseball movies ever could certainly help many youngsters I have seen in my lessons. I often express it to the hitter as the ability to "Turn your brain off and hit" when you are at the dish in a game situation.

This may seem like a small detail or even bad advice, but the truth is that great hitters have a loose, fluid, and tension-free swing. These qualities are greatly compromised when the hitter is thinking of executing every little move he has been taught. Game hitting requires fast reactions and instinct. The best thing you can do is put our body in position to use these instincts when it's time to hit in the game.

I am certainly not down playing the benefit of spending hours practicing (and thinking about) the correct fundamentals during practice time. In fact, often there are a couple of good queues to think of during the set up and early part of the loading mechanism.

But, too often I see kids who are athletic and loose in every other sport they play, including throwing and defense during the baseball game--swing the bat slow and robotically when up to bat. They have been taught to stand still and not move to get ready to hit. All athletes are constantly moving with controlled movements in order to create energy and fluidity. This maximizes the explosiveness in the quick moves. Hitters should be no different...