2 Reasons You Should Watch Game Film

Thank you to all of those that tuned in to watch the AUX season in San Diego! What a fun 3 weeks it was getting to compete against some of the best competition in the world! I wanted to share something that I thought was extremely critical to mine and some of my teammates success while we were competing and that is re-watching our at bats after every game. In fact, my roommate Sam Fischer (who had an INCREDIBLE AUX season), would often stay awake later in the night and discuss each other's approaches and what we saw from the game film.

I recognize that everyone isn't going to have immediate access to this at all times, but in the age of technology, watching your at bats from the outfield angle so you can see the strike zone and et a sense of how much of the plate you are covering can be a huge tool for finding success. Parents, I think you all know that this generation is a visual learning generation. I can't tell you how many times I have given a hitting lesson or worked a camp where I filmed an athlete doing something incorrectly, showed them on video, and immediately the next rep it was fixed. Our brain-eye-body connection is so critical, especially in hitting, and watching your at bats can provide you two really big benefits.

1. Validation: I can remember one specific at bat where I struck out on three pitches against Alyssa Denham. I remember walking back to the dugout SO irritated that I had such a "horrible at bat." I take the game seriously so it ate at me for some time after the game (I recognize I probably should have let it go earlier don't judge me I'm competitive). I stuck to my guns about watching my at bats even though I knew I was about to hate what I was going to see. But, what I actually saw surprised me. When I saw the pitch Denham struck me out on, I realized that pitch moved probably the most out of any pitch I had seen at AUX. It fell off the table AND was running away from me. As hitters, bad at bats are going to happen, but pitchers also make really incredible pitches sometimes and we have to tip our hats. Re-watching this failure actually made me feel more validated and confident in my hitting. NO ONE was going to touch that pitch. Watching your at bats is also a great way to check in and see how your pitch selection is. Are you swinging at strikes? Was there a call the umpire made you didn't agree with? Watch objectively, with a coach or parent, not crazy intently but gently getting a feel for your approaches at the plate.

2. Visualization: Pitchers are more similar than we think. Going back and re-watching my at bats gave me an opportunity to take mental reps and actually see which pitches I want to hit, which pitches I want to foul off, and which pitches I want to leave alone. I love watching my successful at bats as well because it gives me essentially a live stream of success in my brain that I can pull from in my next game. I did it once, I can do it again. I hit this pitch, I can do it again. I fought that pitch off, I can do it again. We know visualization is a key component in the mental game. So much so that I have an entire lesson on it in RISR. That visualization becomes so much easier to get if you are consistently watching your at bats.

Check out my TikTok page where I am highlighting some of my approaches from my AUX at bats if you want to get a better sense on what this looks like.

Have an iPad or camera on a tripod out in centerfield. Get that film. Watch and learn.

Have a great week.

--Halo