The Cumulative Effect

Matt Schilling: From the Batting Cage

This is a topic that I could go on and on about for days. It is so overlooked by coaches, players, parents...you name it. So what exactly is it? The "Cumulative Effect" is the result of doing something over and over again. It can be a good thing if you are performing a habit or skill correctly, or a bad thing if you are doing it incorrectly. In fact I am experiencing it right now while typing. The "Cumulative Effect" or CE (as I will refer to it moving forward) of typing every day for the past 15 years, along with a class I took on it in high school, has enabled me to become a fast and effective typist. I can't help it, just doing it over and over again has allowed me to become better at it.

The same thing happens in baseball. The problem in baseball, and especially hitting, is that it very often works in a negative manner. That being said, all players, especially the young ones have the opportunity to get the "CE" working in their favor. (more on this next blog)

A big pet peeve of mine is the amount of games that youth baseball players are playing these days. Yes, game play is extremely important, but quality practice, especially at a young age, is also very important. I hear about 12U teams playing 75 to 100 games in a summer. When I speak with those coaches about it and ask them how often they practice they usually proudly tell me, "We play every day, we don't have time to practice." When I hear this, one thought goes through my mind: So what you are saying is, little Billy who drops his hands and doesn't rotate his hips correctly when he swings, is doing this incorrectly every day over the course of a 90 game season! Little Billy is reinforcing the wrong swing habits over and over and over and over (I think you get my point). This is the negative impact of the "CE."

The positive impact of the "CE" is when a player is able to practice the correct swing fundamentals in the batting cage over and over and over...and then he can go into the game and implement the swing that he has been honing in the cage. Then and only then can a player begin to develop a consistent, repeatable swing that will produce for him and not break down in the clutch or under the pressure of the game situation.

Baseball is a game completely dependent on the "CE." It is the day in and day out grind of being successful over the long haul. As young players you must develop proper swing fundamentals and drive them home EVERY day in order to be successful. Tune in next blog as we will continue to discuss this topic and how it can impact your game. Check out this week's quote, have truer words ever been spoken?

Quote of the Week:
"Practice does not make perfect, PERFECT practice makes perfect."


Matt Schilling is the Senior Director of On-Field Instruction at Baseball Factory. Schilling graduated from Coastal Carolina University, where he was an All-Conference and All-State player while being voted the fourth best second baseman in the country by the Smith Award Group. Schilling went on to coach at Coastal for five years, helping them reach the top 25. He is also a former Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves.