How to Use gameSense

gS Video-Occlusion Method: Watch pitches that are cut off during ball flight; identify pitch TYPE and BALL/STRIKE.

DRILLS

Players select a pitcher and choose RHB or LHB view. Each pitcher has multiple Difficulty levels:

• Full-Pitch (into catcher’s mitt)

• Basic (one-third of ball flight)

• Advanced (6-8 feet of ball flight)

• Wicked (cut off at release)

Drills are 10 pitches long and take about 90 seconds. Pitches are in random order so drills can be repeated frequently.

SESSIONS

• Off season or pre-season= once a day

• In season= 3 or 4 times per week

• Session= 6-8 video drills (10-12 minutes)

Players do gS sessions at the clubhouse or on players’ own laptop, iPhone, or iPad.

Drills

Pitch Recognition Hitting Drills

2 Tee Hitting Drill

gameSense Hit Station

Output gameSense app from computer or iPad/iPhone to a TV or a video projector. Use the same gS pitcher, but choose

-Choose HitStation mode on Drill List.

-You get 10 pitches, straight through with Occluded pitch followed by Replay.

-No computer input.

-Choose a pitcher, then a goal: “Ahead in the count. Looking for your pitch, extra base hit.” Hitters see Occluded pitch and do ghost swing (or take), then see the replay.

-Hitters decide for themselves if they made good swing decision. DON’T call pitch type — trying to get away from that into Batters box think.

-Hitters can hit off of a tee if set up allows.

Net Occlusion Drill

Eyes Closed Tee Drill

Two Tee Drills

You need an overhang tee, like a Backspin tee. And a normal tee, even a Tanner low tee. You can set up any pitch combination. FB on the corner, SL off the corner. Hitter working on his own can visualize one of the gS pitchers (maybe even do a gS before going into cage). Or he can visualize a Big 10 pitcher he has seen before. Think about the combo pitches that pitcher uses to get chases (you said to reduce swing-and-miss — I’ll take that as reduce chase. Swing and miss in the zone is another issue).

This can be great with a coach or teammate teeing up the balls and making some sort of Verbal sound (or get a buzzer or something to hold in hand). The hitter triggers and starts swing, going for the FB. But if “slide” or “beep” sound, then needs to adjust mid-swing and get the other tee’d ball. This isn’t Pitch Recognition, it’s the swing adjustability back end. PR isn’t just for swing decision, but also for swing adjustment. Your hitters will really like that because you’re hitting a guy’s put-away pitch!

Tech Makes Baseball a Simple Game: You See the Ball, You Hit the Ball, You Got It?

This is the third story in a five-part series that examines how swing biomechanics and the proliferation of technological tools are helping hitters.

Modern technology is able to illuminate the kinematic sequence of a hitter’s swing, but those assessments top out at the athlete’s torso. What happens above the neck is just as critical, and it’s hard not to lean into baseball’s most famous truism of all: Yogi Berra famously said the game is “90% mental,” which makes perfect sense if you ignore that fact that he said the other 50% is physical.

How To Hit a Pitcher With a Dominant Two Seamer or Cutter

You look at the scouting report and the pitcher you’re facing has a dominant fastball.

You don’t panic because you’re a good fastball hitter. You eat 90+mph for lunch, every day.

Then underneath that, it says…..with good movement. Uh oh.

Anyone can hit a flat fastball, but the two-seam/cutter…different story.

If you get jammed on the cutter or two-seam, the reason is that the pitcher is doing a better job of locating his pitch than you are at fighting to get to the inner-half of the ball.

Stand In On A Bullpen

Sometimes we struggle to face a pitcher with good movement because we don’t see it enough. Being able to dominate the plate with decent velocity & movement is rare which is why it’s held at a premium.

If you have a teammate who pitches with some movement, ask to stand in on his next pull pen.

Track the ball. Repetitions at game speed if how you practice this.

Another way to stand in on a pitcher with some movement is to face the pitchers inside the gS app.

Tee Work & Fighting The Pitch

There’s nothing worse than getting jammed, having the ball roll to the pitcher and then you having to pick up your thumbs on the ground.

If you got jammed, two things happened. Either you were late on the pitch, or you didn’t fight to get to the inner half on the ball well enough.

How do you train to nip both these in the bud? Simple. With Tee work.

Focus on getting your front foot down early while placing the Tee on the inner half of the plate, and practice driving the ball back up the middle.

Choke Up

Lastly, if you’re struggling to make consistent solid contact with the two-seam or cutter, choke up.

I get it. Every one of you hitters with an ounce of ego wants to be able to control the bat without having to choke-up, but let me just shut down that thinking with two simple sentences…

  1. Barry Bonds choked up.

  2. Tony Gywnn swung a 32.

Pitch Recognition Recap

Pitchers that can sling it with movement are held at a premium.

Hitters who can hit pitchers with movement are too.

That’s the sign of an elite hitter. An athlete who can make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat and from pitch to pitch.

P.S. Get 40% off with an annual membership inside the gameSense pitch recognition & baseball vision training platform. Over 40% off with you start an annual membership!


Pro & College Level Pitch Recogntion & Vision Training Sequences.


Speciality Pitch Recogntion & Vision Training Sequences.

Starters Sports Training and gameSense Sports Team Up to Help Hitters Read Pitches

Starters Sports Training will team up with gameSense Sports to bring pitch recognition software solutions to Starters’ baseball and softball players.

“We are extremely excited about this opportunity,” said Ryan Schwartzman general manager of Starters.  “Pitch recognition can be difficult to teach.  During a game a player might get 2 to 4 plate appearances of which they might see a handful of pitches.  With gameSense players will be able to see and get feedback on over 50 plate appearances in 15 to 30 minutes of time.”

Founded by internationally renowned sports performance neuroscientists, gameSense cutting-edge technology is based on decades of proven brain research.  gameSense programs are designed to enhance an athlete’s ability to make faster and better in-game decisions. Developing this edge can be the difference between making the travel team, winning a state championship or earning a college scholarship.  Additional detail can be found on the company’s website: gameSense Sports.

Starters will now incorporate gameSense into some of its training programs as part of Starters’ commitment to develop top talent in the Upper Midwest.  Starters strives to provide advanced technological training resources and support to its softball and baseball Club, Academy and Advanced Training members.  Starters coaches will not only evaluate a hitter’s pitch recognition skills, they will train and improve pitch recognition.

“gameSense will be an important tool for Starters’ trainers and athletes. We can boost our player development, talent identification, player monitoring with this high-quality video training platform and the feedback it provides,” said Jeff Thuringer, Co-Founder of Starter Sports Training.

In addition, all coaches at Starters will become gameSense Certified with access to exclusive training content, reporting and analysis through gameSense’s learning management tools. This content will feature exclusive videos of pitchers from every level of play, as well as tips and tricks for using gameSense’s tools to their fullest potential.

“Starters Sports Training’s progressive approach to performance improvement and talent identification, distinguishes it among other academies. In bringing all of the development academies and teams into the gameSense platform, coaches and scouts are able to utilize detailed pitch recognition metrics and skill enhancement to supplement talent identification across an entire season more easily and effectively. gameSense is extremely proud to play its part in what should serve as a model for other academies,” said Tom Pardikes, Ph.D, CEO at gameSense Sports. 

“Starters Sports Training believes in a holistic approach to elite player development and cutting-edge technology for educational and skill development purposes is a key component in that process,” Jeff Thuringer.  “Because at its core it is brain-training, being able to leverage the convenience of a mobile device (can be used on or off the field) to develop and improve such a critical skill is a game changer!  The gameSense platform provides players, coaches, and scouts opportunities to continually assess and improve a player’s performance.” 

Learn more about gameSense Sports  and Starters Sports Training.

Published: Aug 28, 2019