You\u2019ve spent the entire offseason working on your swing\u2014hundreds, maybe thousands of reps. You\u2019ve trained in the cage, practiced in the garage, and hit off the tee until your hands were sore. Everything feels solid in practice. But then game time comes, and suddenly, things don\u2019t click.<\/p>\n
Maybe your timing feels off. Maybe you\u2019re just a fraction late on most pitches or barely missing the sweet spot. Or maybe that power you expected just isn\u2019t showing up.<\/p>\n
If that sounds familiar, don\u2019t panic\u2014and whatever you do, don\u2019t start overhauling your mechanics midseason. You can\u2019t fix your swing in a day, and honestly, you probably don\u2019t need to. What\u2019s missing isn\u2019t your form\u2014it\u2019s your game-readiness.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one of the most common frustrations for hitters: the swing that feels great in practice doesn\u2019t quite hold up under live pitching. The reason is simple\u2014batting practice is controlled and predictable. You\u2019re relaxed, your timing is consistent, and you know what\u2019s coming. But real game situations are fast, unpredictable, and full of adrenaline.<\/p>\n
The difference between a \u201ctraining swing\u201d and a \u201cgame swing\u201d comes down to efficiency. Just like a boxer can\u2019t take a big windup before throwing a punch in the ring, a hitter can\u2019t afford wasted movement when facing live velocity. You have to be quick, compact, and explosive.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly what the Net Drill<\/strong> helps develop.<\/p>\n Back in 2009, during spring training with the Yankees, I was facing this exact problem. I\u2019d spent months working on my swing, but when I stepped into the cage against live arms, it felt long\u2014just a bit too slow to the ball.<\/p>\n One morning, around 6:30 a.m., I was in one of the cages getting early work in. Our hitting coach at the time, Kevin Long, had a few players running through a simple but powerful exercise\u2014the Net Drill. I noticed some of the team\u2019s biggest names using it, including Robinson Cano. Curious, I decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n The concept was simple, but the effect was immediate. Within a few reps, my swing felt tighter and quicker. The excess movement I\u2019d built up from months of hitting off slow tosses disappeared. My barrel stayed in the zone longer, and I felt more connected from load to contact.<\/p>\n The Net Drill forces you to eliminate unnecessary movement. By positioning a net or screen just a few feet in front of you and hitting off a tee, you have to stay short to the ball\u2014there\u2019s no room for a long, looping swing. The setup teaches you to get to contact faster while maintaining barrel control through the zone.<\/p>\n This drill acts as a bridge between offseason practice and live game at-bats. It helps you find that game-ready feel faster\u2014without needing weeks of adjustment once real pitching starts.<\/p>\n When I first used it, I didn\u2019t have the luxury of \u201cwarming up\u201d over a dozen spring training games. I had to be ready to hit right away. This drill made that possible.<\/p>\n Few things are more discouraging than spending months refining your swing, only to feel lost in your first game at-bat. The Net Drill can change that. It helps you transition from controlled practice swings to competitive, explosive game swings\u2014where your timing, rhythm, and mechanics come together under pressure.<\/p>\n If your swing feels just a little off, or you\u2019re struggling to square up live pitching, try this drill. It won\u2019t just tighten your mechanics\u2014it\u2019ll help you step into the box confident and game-ready, ready to do real damage when it counts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019ve spent the entire offseason working on your swing\u2014hundreds, maybe thousands of reps. You\u2019ve trained in the cage, practiced in the garage, and hit off the tee until your hands were sore. Everything feels solid in practice. But then game time comes, and suddenly, things don\u2019t click. Maybe your timing feels off. Maybe you\u2019re just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":null,"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baseball"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":497,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions\/497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysstayactive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Drill That Changed My Spring Training<\/h3>\n
Why the Net Drill Works<\/h3>\n
Turning Frustration into Confidence<\/h3>\n