Private INSTRUCTION              "Look in the mirror"

                                      

Private Lessons are available 7 days a week. All Big Easy Instructors are certified through a training program and college playing / coaching back ground.  Each Instructor specializes in specific fields of baseball.  Pitching, Hitting, Infield Defense, Outfield Defense, and Catching are each unique and deserve to be taught by specialists in these fields. We even have a specialist for the Under 7 players learning motor development.

 

Typically, we encourage a one-time Baseline Assessment before determining the best route on Private Lessons.  The Baseline lasts about an hour, uses specific ideo Analysis to define Mechanical EndPoints, and teaches the Foundation Drills for the chosen skill set.  We also identify Biomechanical Deficiencies and refer to Total Package Performance (located upstairs) for Functional Strength Training.  Basically, this means that your mechanics are bad because your body is not strong enough to attain these mechanics. Some times it is the strength training that is required befor a Private Lesson can even have anyimpact.

 

Sounds expensive!  Well, it's not, and it's our mission to provide the highest level services in sports traning (what the pros pay for) to the younger athlete and at a price that is fair for the everyday family.

 

Baseline Assessments are just $75!

Private Lessons range from $35 to $75 depending on the Instructor, duration of the lesson (hour or half hour), and Big Easy Membership (Members receive discounts on Private Instruction as well as discounts on equipment, birthday parties, camps, and clinics)

Call (504) 733-0046 or email us baseballinstruction@bigeasysportsplex.com to reserve a time, discuss the best path, and get started.

 

 

Joey Cabeceiras               Hitting, Pitching, Baseline Assessment

Brandon Rousseve            Hitting, Pitching, Baseline Assessment, Infield Defense

Richard Frank                   Hitting, Pitching, Outfield Defense

Sean Schmidt                   Catching, Youth Hitting

Devin Duke                      Youth Pitching, Hitting, Infield Defense (1st Base)

Dan Hunoway                   Pitching, Hitting

Derek Delatte                   7U Motor Development

Matty Ott                         Pitching (currently with Boston Red Sox)

Tommy Manzella              Hitting, Infield Defense (currently with Colorado Rockies)

Mike Liberto                     Hitting, Defense (currently with Kansas City Royals)

 

Read below for more insight...

 

Instruction Philosophies.  “Do Instruction” asks the player to give the instructor what the instructor is asking.  This is typically slower to adopt for a player and does not have residual effects.  “Do this, Don’t do that” tend to be common tutorial phrases.  Do Instruction has an appropriate setting, but is often over used in the instructional process and should rarely be used during a game at-bat.  "Feel Instruction” asks a player to feel an action or movement.  This feeling is usually associated somewhere in the hands, as we literally have millions more receptors in our hands than elsewhere.  Feel Instruction also allows a player to have multiple opportunities to trial and error the instruction, as well as format the instruction to himself/herself. 

It is also important to understand that players respond differently to verbiage.  Feel Instruction removes the literal aspects of verbiage and focuses on the player’s ability to adapt to his/her nervous system.  We look for feedback from players, and using the terms “effortless, easy, natural” are clear indicators of being on the right path.

 

Pitching / Throwing Overview

It’s important to recognize that every player is different and unique, and should be assessed and trained to this uniqueness.  There are portions of the throwing / pitching sequence that are strictly personal and, regardless of how eccentric looking, should not be cookie-cut or mechanically mandated.  Throwing is the result of a coordinated kinematic sequence originating from the ground.  Alignment, Rhythm, Timing, Functional Strength, Flexibility, and overall athleticism attribute to this neuromuscular process.  We train and evaluate specific the player’s nervous system through objective endpoints based on current evidence and over 40 years of combined local clinical and functional (playing/coaching) experience.  It’s exactly our hybrid background that incorporates more than just science and more than just function.

Efficiency for Throwers is based on the ability to transfer energy (velocity), time to release and arrival of thrown ball, and the ability to deliver accuracy / command on the throw.  Every defensive position requires arm strength and efficiency.  Improving these aspects improves the player. 

Efficiency and Efficacy for Pitchers can be somewhat subjective in nature.  Velocity, Accuracy / Command, Deception, Pitch Selection, Pitch Versatility, Game Management, and the ability to cause disconnections in hitters quantify the efficiency and overall value of a pitcher.  Pitchers come in all shapes and sizes.  Our intention is to optimize your innate gifts, not change or alter these gifts unless completely warranted.

Regardless of Pitching or Throwing, Arm Health is vital for the progression of any player.  Injury is the most common obstacle to player development in all athletics, but remains even more focal and more detrimental to throwers / pitchers.  Understanding mechanical flaws and identifying the precise customized regimen specific to the individual is the first step to enhancing not only the player but also the playing experience. 

Arm Injuries.  Currently, there is an epidemic of arm injuries as they are occurring to a younger and younger demographic.  Year round baseball, unsupervised and unvetted strength, velocity, and performance programs, higher performance demands on ever younger players, poor instruction, and baseball organizations with outdated or unregulated pitching guidelines exacerbate throwing injuries when combined with Mechanical Insufficiency and poor Player/Parent education.  An alarming statistic just released by ????, “80% of Major Arm Injuries never return to prior form.”

 

The Cab’s Labs Pitching / Throwing Assessment

• Players are objectively measured against the latest ranges of Mechanical Endpoints as created and updated from The American Sports Medicine Institute (Dr. James Andrews).
• Mechanical Endpoints were established by ASMI using a database of over 1,500 Elite Pitchers (throw 85 mph or above with no history of major arm injury).
• Six (6) specific Mechanical Endpoints are captured during the players throwing motion from multiple angles.
• Geometric Alignment, Kinematic Sequence, EPB (Earliest Point of Breakdown), Deceleration Flow, and Functional Strength / Flexibility established.
• A brief description and explanation of these endpoints and their relevance to a thrower’s kinematic sequence.  
• Photo Printout and/or Jump Stck available upon request

 

Hitting Overview

Customize.  Hitters also come in all shapes and sizes.  Cookie-Cutting with hitters is ill-advised.  An individual’s body and neuromuscular pathway determines the focus and workload.  A coach’s or organization’s demands should also be factored in to any assessment or training of a hitter.  The goal should be to create symmetry between the player’s coach/organization and the instruction/work load to better optimize the hitter.

React.  Hitting a pitched baseball is purely a Reactive Process, as the batter doesn’t know exactly what’s coming and at what speed.  In contrast, Pitching is a Proactive Process and within the control of the player.  The mechanical/kinetic process is the same in nature, but it’s these functional aspects that cause extreme differences.

Team’s Needs.  As hitting is intertwined within a team’s lineup and situational circumstance plays a tremendous role, a Hitter’s Efficiency can also be subjective in nature.  Running Speed, Anticipation, Bat Speed, Bat Control, Situational Awareness, Strategic Approaches, and Swing Mechanics tend to encompass the gross makeup of a hitter.  Data Recognition and Retrieval requiring Visual Acuity, Timing, Rhythm, Balance, Functional Strength and Flexibility, and the ability to Kinetically Exchange (remain Connected throughout the swing) also contribute to a hitter’s success.  There is also the underlying Mental Awareness / Approach that dictates timing and mechanics.

Carry Over.  When hitters practice (batting practice, tee work, etc.), they can typically not carry over that “feel” to a live at-bat.  This creates a situation where practice and instruction struggles to correlate to the game (Hollow Reps).  Understand and be honest about your Carry Over and you can rapidly become a better hitter without instruction.

Youth Hitters.  Younger players typically to need to overcome the fear of getting hit by the pitched ball.  Until this aspect is mastered, Hitting Mechanics will be inconsistent.  We have a proven regimen that addresses this aspect in a safe and educational manner.  Also, Youth Hitters have not experienced the speed or dynamics of that the older levels of baseball present.  It’s through this adversity that all players evolve, hence the Minor Leagues as a training ground for all hitters regardless of talent.

Mechanics.  Mechanical Endpoints for hitters are similar for those of the Thrower/Pitcher.  Many movements prior to a specific point are individual to the player and may not need any adjustment.  Identifying productive and counterproductive movements is the immediate goal.

Hitter-Speak.  Hitters speak “Hitter,” not “Instructor.”  We want Hitters to operate in an Autonomous State, not be consumed with thought.  Establishing this regimen is individual to the player, his/her needs, and his/her team’s needs.  This also allows the player to make adjustments at the speed of the game.

Instruction Methods (Hitting).  There are (3) methods of teaching hitting.  Mechanical is very literal, visual in nature, and often encourages a slower neuromuscular action to produce.  Functional is often utilized by a coach during a game or the actual process, and tends to be the fastest method to achieve situation specific success.  Directional is the process of staying purely reactive to the pitched ball, and encourages the most efficient energy transfer per pitched ball.  Players develop when there is utilization of all three methods.

Repetition.  As with any athletic movement, it will take practice and reps to become better.  Listening and digesting perfect instruction matters little if you don’t get the reps.  Ever took a ski lesson and immediately be capable of skiing Black Diamonds?  Get out there, put your mind in the right setting (no Hollow Reps), mold the instruction to your body and nervous system, embrace your failures, and get better a little more every day.  Embrace the journey.

 

The Cab’s Labs Hitting Assessment

 

• All participants are objectively measured against the latest ranges of Mechanical Endpoints as measured by national thought leaders Mike Epstein (Rotational Hitting), Don Slaught (RightViewPro), and Bob Tueksbury (New Hampshire) .
• Six (6) specific Mechanical Endpoints are captured during the player’s entire swing from multiple angles.
• Geometric Alignment, Kinematic Sequence, EPB (Earliest Point of Breakdown), Deceleration Flow, and Functional Strength / Flexibility established.
• A brief description and explanation of these endpoints and their relevance to a thrower’s kinematic sequence.  
• Photo Printout and/or Jump Stick available upon request

    
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Pitching & Hitting Shadowing Program for Coaches / Parents