The 7 Laws of Training According to Dr. Fred Hatfield | Breaking Muscle

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The 7 Laws of Training According to Dr. Fred Hatfield

I recently sat down with Dr. Fred Hatfield, also known as Dr. Squat, to discuss his views on strength and conditioning and how they fit into modern training systems. For those of you unfamiliar, Dr. Hatfield was a great college gymnast and bodybuilder (he was Mr. Mid America, but he didn't compete in the Mr. America competition because of a powerlifting meet).

Dr. Hatfield is probably best known for his world record squat of 1,014lbs set in 1987 when he was the age of 45. He was also the founder of Men's Fitness magazine and the International Sports Sciences Association, and he has written over sixty books. He knows squat and a whole lot more.

The 7 Laws of Training

Dr. Hatfield combed through a great deal of research to best improve his training. Here is what he had to say about seven common laws he found in successful training programs:

If something is called a law then it's called a law for a reason. It means that you've just got to follow the law. If you break the law you go to jail or whatever; or you pay the consequences.
Many years ago, twenty-five or thirty years ago, people began to write about training a lot more than they had in the past, and I'm saying to myself how am I going to judge whether this training program is any good? I scoured the research literature and all of the popular literature for some kind of a yardstick to use to judge the efficacy of these training programs, because Lord knows I didn't have the time or the energy to go on all of those programs.

In reading the works of many sports scientists, Hatfield boiled down their thoughts to seven fundamental laws that apply to all training (although some sports might have additional laws). These are the seven principles that guided him to squat 1,000lbs without the supportive suit technology available now for powerlifters. He indicated that these laws apply to all types of training and not only powerlifting.

1. The Law of Individual Differences

Everyone has different strengths and weakness, which need to be taken into consideration for the training program. No program fits all individuals. This realization really hits when looking at hip structure. In the picture below, the balls of the two femurs extend very differently. You can imagine that these two people will have very different squat mechanisms. The law extends beyond form and technique as people will have different levels of strength, recovery ability, coordination, and mobility to name a few.

2. The Overcompensation Principle

Our body reacts to stress by overcompensating, so that it can handle stress again in the future. This principle is why beginners at any sport see great improvement when starting their programs.

3. The Overload Principle

In order for your body to overcompensate, you must load it with a greater amount than was already encountered. This principle is the reason that people plateau in their gains over time. It becomes more and more difficult to stress the body to a point where it has not been stressed before.

4. The Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID) Principle

The basic tenet of this principle is that you must tax your body in the same way that you want to improve. If you want to be explosive, then you must train explosively. If you want to be strong, then you must train for strength. A simple example is the oft criticized high-rep Olympic lifts in CrossFit. These high-rep lifts may help in building aerobic or glycolytic capacity, but they will not assist in building Olympic weightlifting strength.

5. The Use/Disuse Principle and Law of Reversibility

The first part of this principle is that we must continue train the skill or we will lose that capacity ("use it or lose it"). However, the second part of this principle is that once it has been trained and lost, the skill (or strength) will be much easier to recover than it was to originally train. The idea is that we have laid a neurological foundation that makes it easier to recover the function after we have lost it.
A simple example is the skill of riding a bicycle. We may not have done if for years, but we can pretty much get back on the bicycle and relearn it quickly. For strength training, it can take a little longer to recover to previous levels, but recovery is still at a faster rate than for people who are untrained.²

6. The Specificity Principle

Pavel Tsatsouline calls this principle "greasing the groove."⁴ If we want to get better at something, we must do that something. If we want to get better at pull ups, do pull ups. Although leg presses might generalize to the squat, the squat itself will build greater squat strength.
This rule doesn't indicate that we shouldn't do ancillary exercises. For example, we might want to work grip strength outside of the deadlift to better hang onto the bar. However, we don't want to do only ancillary lifts as the main exercise benefits our neurological system the best.

7. The General Adaption Syndrome

This principle might subsume the others as it contains three stages that overlap with other principles:

1. The first stage is called the alarm stage, which is when the body reacts to the application of training stress (similar to the overload principle).
2. The second stage is the resistance stage, which is when our muscles adapt to increasing amounts of stress (similar to the overcompensation principle).
3. The final stage is the exhaustion stage, where if we continue to train we will be forced to stop from too much stress.

This syndrome has been revised and renamed the fitness-fatigue model. Much of the revised model is due to individual differences in how novice and elite athletes respond.¹ Elite athletes fatigue differently and it takes a great deal more stressor to lead to the resistance stage (or overcompensation).
For novice athletes, exhaustion is easier to reach and thus, it might be best to have a wide range of activities to create fitness (to avoid exhaustion in one activity). It might be one reason for new athletes to gain greatly while beginning CrossFit. However, they need to change their training as they begin to respond differently.

Dr. Hatfield's Perspective on CrossFit

Dr. Hatfield was a multifaceted athlete during college and after (participating in national-level events as a college gymnast (pictured above) and being a strong Olympic and power lifter). If CrossFit were around, he probably would have excelled. However, he had some concerns with the current CrossFit training methods:

I like everything about Cross Fit, but it's not a system of training. By putting together all those different sports and activities … it doesn't make any sense because what you do in one sphere is going to take away in another sphere. For example, you cannot become a great marathon runner and an Olympic weightlifter of note all at the same time.
It's not going to work because the kind of training it takes to create great endurance removes from your ability to lift heavy weights, so you're competing against yourself really by getting into Cross Fit. … I took the time to go over CrossFit's methods with a backdrop of the Seven Granddaddy Laws to see what was going on. … they are breaking almost all the laws.

Take Home

In general these principles indicate that we can't blindly follow programs. We all have different technical backgrounds, skeletal structures, and strength levels, to name a few differences. Our programming needs to be tailored to our goals and to us as individuals following the seven laws described above.
One common idea for a solution is to scale the weight in programs. However, that is only one method of trying to create an optimal program. We also need to consider the other laws in making the best possible program to fit our goals.
References:
1. Chiu, Loren ZF, and Barnes, Jacque. 2003. "The Fitness-Fatigue Model Revisited: Implications for Planning Short-and Long-Term Training." Strength & Conditioning Journal 25 (6): 42–51.
2. Hortobágyi, T., L. Dempsey, D. Fraser, D. Zheng, G. Hamilton, J. Lambert, and L. Dohm. 2000. "Changes in Muscle Strength, Muscle Fibre Size and Myofibrillar Gene Expression after Immobilization and Retraining in Humans." The Journal of Physiology 524 (1): 293–304. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7793.2000.00293.x.
3. Selye, Hans. 1950. "Stress and the General Adaptation Syndrome." British Medical Journal 1 (4667): 1383.
4. Tsatsouline, Pavel. 2000. Power to the People!: Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American. Dragon Door Publications.

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Baseball Training Q&A – Part II

In the second part of this Baseball Training FAQ post, we want to look at some of the common questions and issues that arise as baseball players move from the 12-13 year age group into the high school and collegiate years.

It is in these years that a solid weight training program can begin and more specialized training methods like speed and agility training can be incorporated. Although the training methods become more specialized, the athlete can still compete in multiple sports and resist the temptation to become a victim of sports specialization.

A weight training program that aims to generally strengthen the major muscle groups and targets the posterior muscle chain can begin at this stage.

The four most important areas to develop are:
- the posterior muscle chain
- the shoulder scapulae retractors
- the external rotators of the humerus
- the hip and knee extensors

Exercises such as squats, lunges, rows, chin-ups, pull-ups, push-ups and glute-ham raises are effective for baseball players.

After the athlete acquires a foundation in the basic exercise movements, we have always favored the “Big Three Lifts” – The Bench Press, The Squat and the Deadlift and their derivatives and the “Quick Three Lifts” – The Clean – The Snatch and The Jerk as our fundamental strength and power exercises.

If you employ these lifts within an intelligent periodization plan and practice sound nutritional habits, the sky is the limit. You will reach your full potential as a ballplayer.

Medicine ball exercises that mimic the same movements employed in the gym and on the baseball field. Caber tosses, granny throws, forward overhead (soccer throw-in) passes, basketball chest passes and similar movements help transfer the general strength built via weight training into power. (Strength + Speed = Power)

Kettlebell exercises that are similar to the exercise performed in the weight training area are effective for building explosive strength (i.e. POWER)

Clubbell exercises can be developed to mimic both the bat swing and the throwing motion and develop strength, speed and power throughout the relevant range of motion.

Exercises that build grip strength can be added using old-school tools such as the sand bucket exercises to newer technologies like the weighted agility gloves.

Your training goals and focus should be built around building power rather than absolute strength. Generally speaking, you want to perform exercises that build bat speed and throwing velocity.

In these areas, relative strength is more important than absolute strength. The athlete that can perform more weighted chin-ups relative to body weight has more valuable relative strength than his peers.

The athlete with a higher relative strength in the bench press than absolute strength will correlate better to higher bat speed.

Higher grip strength measures correlate well to improved bat speed as well.

So the measures we are looking to improve are:

- Wtd Chin-Up Strength to BW
- Bench Press to BW
- Grip Strength

Exercises that strengthen the lats and subscapularis will improve speed of movement for the throwing motion.

Exercises that increase the strength of the lats, triceps, knee extensors and hip extensors lead to improved bat speed.

Core exercises that focus on rotational strength are not effective for building speed in the throwing motion or the bat swing.

Recent data suggests that the recent trend to focus on core strength building is actually leading to an increase in oblique muscle strains.

Core strength does not correlate well to bat speed increases because the trunk rotators are not well known to have high potential for increase in strength relative to other muscle groups.

It would be more effective to focus on rotational range of motion than rotational strength in your training. This transfers more effectively to improved bat and ball speed.

Strength + Speed to develop Power.
Relative Strength over Absolute Strength.
Rotational Range of Motion over Rotational Strength.

Some of the following tests can be used to evaluate strengths and weaknesses prior to beginning a training program and as the program continues to assess the overall effectiveness of the program.

Overhead Squat Test:

It is the best test to evaluate the muscular chains and assess for weaknesses.

To assess the length – tension discrepancies of the various muscle groups, the Overhead Squat with a snatch grip can be used.


Backward Overhead Medicine Ball Throw

To test for explosive power and overall athletic ability, this test is probably the best. It displays the ability to generate power and incorporates high neuro-muscular activation, coordination and proprioception, and general ability to move across multiple planes.

The test is an integrated, total body movement that displays key movement patterns that are relevant to the ability to generate power from the lower body, through the trunk and to the upper body.

There is not probably nothing more important to success in most sports that having this ability. It’s the essence of athleticism.

Caber Toss Test

To perform this test, you need three different weighted bats and baseballs. For hitters, we use their game bat and bats weighted +/- about 20% of the game bat weight. For baseballs, we use the game weight baseball of 5 ¼ oz. and weighted baseballs of +/- 20%.

We have adapted this test for throwing and bat speed using weighted balls and bats to assess the player’s ability. You measure ball velocity and bat speed achieved using the various weights.

If the athlete is like most, a 50/50 mix of fast / slow twitch muscle fibers, the difference between the values obtained when testing will be about the same as you move up and down the weight scale. On a graph, the slope is relative smooth.

If the values increase as the weight gets lighter, this indicates a higher level of fast-twitch muscle fiber.

If the values decrease as the weight gets lighter, this indicates a higher level of slow-twitch muscle fiber. They cannot generate speed over the same line of force regardless of the weight employed.

Superior athletes have higher levels of fast-twitch muscles and can generate higher force against lighter loads.

The higher the differential (greater slope on the graph) at the lighter end of the weight scale, the greater potential to generate speed.

In addition to motivation, these graphs can also be compared to other throwers. Some may have a steeper trend than others. A thrower with a steep line is relatively stronger in the lighter implements. This person is probably relatively weaker, but able to accelerate faster. The thrower with the flatter curve may have better countering positions, or may be stronger. Comparing curves may give throwers more insight as to their strengths and weaknesses.

This defines the athlete with the greater potential for success.

Baseball Training Q&A

With the Super Bowl in the rear view mirror and the countdown date to pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training dwindling, parents and athletes begin to consider how they can better prepare for the upcoming season.

This blog answers some of the FAQ's I hear from parents struggling to figure out how to get their kids to achieve a higher level of play.

Depending on the child's age, prior experience in sports and skill level, here are some general guidelines to follow:

For Boys age 7-12 and Girls age 6-11:

Initiation stage of development.

These are kids who are still in the prepubescent years of development. Their bodies are still growing and developing. During this stage, there is no training focus on building muscle mass.
Resistance training should be avoided a this stage, especially heavy weight training. Bodyweight exercises like push-ups, chin-ups and sit-ups are examples. Light medicine balls can also be used.

Exercise programs should be focused on a wide variety of athletic skills and exercises involving running, jumping, tumbling, climbing, balancing, catching and throwing. Some believe that up to 90% of a athletes agility is developed prior to age 12, so drills or games focusing on starting and stopping or changing directions and reacting to stimuli should be emphasized.

Children in this age group should participate in a wide variety of sports and games in order to encourage multi-lateral development. Sports that encourage neuro-muscular development such as martial arts or gymnastics are examples.

The intensity level should be kept low and activities should not produce a high level of struggling or frustration at this point. Keep it fun and try to build up interest levels and attention spans.

At this stage, it is a good time to start to develop proper nutritional habits and choices.

The guidelines should be simple and easy to incorporate and maintain.

- Limit snacks and junk foods.
- Avoid sodas and fruit drinks with high levels of sugar.
- Avoid fried or high fat foods.
- Let kids know the difference between protein, carbohydrates and fats and why you need them as part of a healthy diet.
- No dieting at this stage.
- You can "treat" yourself occasionally, generally as a "reward" for good dietary behavior over a period of time.
- A multi-vitamin and perhaps fish oil supplement would be good for overall health.

Kids develop at different rates. If your child is big or small relative to his peers now, that could change. Don't sweat it. You can't control it, so why worry about it.

Don't worry about genetics or things you can't change. Worry more about encouraging, developing and modeling healthy habits.

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For Boys age 13-15 and Girls age 11-13:

Secondary stage of development

This is the optimal time period to initiate a resistance or weight training program.

To minimize injuries or down time and not interfere with the athlete's growth progress, the following factors should be considered:

- The chronological age in years and months.
- The biological age or maturation level of the athlete.
- The training age or experience level in sports and with resistance training.
- The growth spurt or onset of peak height velocity.

During growth spurts bones can become weaker and muscle imbalances can occur. Bones are growing and muscle-tendons are tightening. Athletes experience difficulties in balance and coordination due to these changes. The nervous system is, in effect, being re-wired to accommodate these changes. Athletes adapt to these bio-mechanical changes at different rates.

During these periods, stress levels should be lowered, if possible. This can include reducing training time and/or playing time. The body does not know the difference between playing and training stress.

To maximize the benefits of a resistance training program it may help to seek a qualified strength and conditioning coach to help develop a plan according to the individual athletes needs. The coach will evaluate and assess the current level of training and develop a training program to address the child's current strengths and weaknesses.

Factors to be considered for developing a resistance training program

- Begin with bodyweight exercise.
- Use medicine balls or throwing implements, especially if in a sport that involves throwing and catching.
- Medicine balls are effective for transferring strength to power by developing speed of movement.
- Emphasize the development of the abdominal, spinal, scapular and thoracic muscles.
- Incorporate drills and exercises that stimulate the neuromuscular system and reaction to outside stimuli.
- Avoid heavy resistance and low repetitions. Use a weight that you can handle 8-10+ reps per set with comfortably.
- Train with a partner or coach for assistance and/or motivation.
- Avoid "sports-specific" training at this point. Your goal should be to develop your overall athleticism at this stage.

There will be plenty of time to narrow your training and sports focus after age 15. In the early stages, variety is the spice of life.

ONLY 105 DAYS UNTIL PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT

Missing baseball already, but now is the time for players to make plans for off-season training.

Up here, in the cold weather climates, players head off to other sports like football and basketball. There's a lot to be said for the cross-training, multi-sport athlete approach for younger athletes.

In the sunbelt states, you probably see more baseball players continue to play in organized leagues up until Thanksgiving week. They shut down maybe until the beginning of January. They follow the specialization model a little bit more.

Some pluses and minuses attached to both results and we'll take a look at it in future posts. Generally speaking, whatever you do that improves your Athletic Skills, Baseball Skills and Character (Mental, Emotional and Game Strategy) Skills, is going to make you a better ballplayer. If you play another sport, it is more of a challenge to maintain and develop you baseball skills and specific sport strategy skills. It makes it more difficult, but not impossible. That's part of the trade-off.

For now, I have to make the switch from baseball (umpiring) to basketball (refereeing). Which means I have to lose some weight to take the stress of running off my knees. Good Luck with that one ;).

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TRAINING DIFFERENCES OF BASEBALL PLAYERS

This is a reprint of an article that appeared in Coach Peter's Baseball Tips Web Site. The site contains quite a few informative articles from baseball coaches from around the country. The site is a good resource for players and coaches alike, especially the Instructional Articles section.

http://www.baseballtips.com/playertraining.html
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Training Differences of Baseball Players vs. Other Athletes

Charles Slavik, President of Eagle Baseball Club
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George Carlin did a classic bit of comedy on the differences between the sports of baseball vs. football, giving the impression that the two sports couldn’t be more opposite in terms of pace, terminology and other factors. We agree and would add that the training for each sport has to be different as well. Both sports are power oriented sports, but there are differences in how that power is expressed and trained.

Sport & Athlete Needs Assessment
The trainer has to assess the unique needs of the sport and allocate time to improving each quality within the athlete. Athletic abilities assessment should be made for each athlete to match the athlete’s needs to the sport based on the level of competition. Then the athlete has a clear roadmap of where they are and where they wish to go based on their motivation and goals.

All sports differ in terms of the relative importance various physical skills contribute to the game and to individual athlete’s performance. The movements in baseball are ballistic in nature and involve full-body activity. The ability to repeatedly perform near maximal level with limited rest bouts is necessary for baseball players.

Baseball players should not be trained to build excess bulk or muscle mass. They should focus on improving quick, reactive movements, increasing explosiveness and injury prevention, as well as improving speed and trunk rotation. This will lead to improved bat speed and ball velocity.

Energy Systems
Because of the anaerobic nature of the game, baseball players use the phosphagen system as the primary source of energy. About 80% of the body’s metabolic energy will come from the phosphagen system. Training programs involving sprinting and plyometric exercises under 10 seconds in duration that provide complete recovery are indicated. This type of training will improve speed and power development.

Rotational Movements
One of the key differences in baseball is that the main activities of hitting and throwing occur in a rotational plane of movement and are very ballistic or explosive in nature. Therefore, baseball players need to train rotationally with light weights and high speed. Exercise that emphasizes rotating the hips and torso using resistance from cables/pulleys, dumbbells and medicine balls are effective.

Players often lack abdominal or core strength. Abdominal crunches and various rotational twists with a medicine ball should be used to develop a strong muscular base in this area. This will focus on improving strength and power in the rotational muscles of the core area that are vital for swinging a bat or throwing a ball.

Shoulder Stability & Rotator Cuff Work
Another key difference is the unusually high stress placed on the shoulder joint generally and the rotator cuff muscles. The act of pitching occurs at an angular velocity at the shoulder joint approaching 7,000 degrees per second (almost 20 full circles) and is one of the fastest human movements. This places the shoulder joint and surrounding muscles at significant risk of injury from repetitive stress.

Exercises that strengthen the anterior and posterior shoulder muscles in a balanced manner are vital. The shoulder should be flexible to allow for adequate external rotation necessary to throw at high speeds. Deceleration is the phase of pitching most associated with injury. Specific exercises to develop the muscles responsible for deceleration (mainly the rotator cuff and scapula muscles) are crucial.

Plyometric exercises for the shoulder and upper body are useful due to the explosive nature of the pitching motion. Exercises for the rhomboids, lats, pectorals and shoulder area are necessary to throw at high speeds.

Bat Speed Training
Swinging the bat is a skill that is unique to baseball. Players need good lower body and core strength to develop power in the swing. These muscles need to be trained rotationally in a high-velocity, explosive manner.

Strong hip and leg muscles will initiate the swing, the core area then sequentially transfers the rotational speed to the torso and the arms to complete the swing. The efficient transfer of force from the lower body to the upper body, known as the kinetic chain principle, requires that there be muscular balance for optimal sequential transfer of forces.

Strong lats, triceps and forearms will help to continue bat acceleration through ball contact. Squats, bench presses, pull ups, forearm and triceps exercises will develop the potential for power. Bat Speed Training with heavy and light bats within a prescribed range will transfer that potential to the actual sports skill in a specific manner.

Ball Velocity Training
Throwing a baseball with high velocity is an explosive, full-body movement that requires total body development. Strong leg, hip and core muscles are crucial to transfer power from the ground, through the lower body to the torso and eventually to the arm and hand to provide a fast, whip-like release of the ball. The efficient transfer of force through the proper sequencing of body parts through the legs, hips, trunk, and upper limb to the ball is crucial.

In addition to strength training, a weighted ball program or medicine ball throwing progression can be utilized to improve velocity. This will improve the ability to generate power in the throwing muscles. The combination of a heavy load to build power and a light load to build arm speed, thrown in a prescribed manner, has been shown to improve throwing velocity safely.

The athlete should train for proper trunk rotation during arm cocking as well as strength and flexibility in order to generate angular velocity within the trunk for maximum ball velocity. Training should involve trunk rotational exercises to develop the obliques so that maximum arm speed can be generated.

Biomechanical Analysis
We use video analysis of the pitching and hitting mechanics of each player for technique analysis, fault correction and feedback, as well as for assessing progress at a later stage of the program

Visual Skills Training
We also incorporate visual skills training for batters since the ability to accurately track the baseball and predict where it’s going to be is crucial to a hitter. Without this unique skill, all your other training can be rendered useless. Many of the exercises are easy to perform and do not require expensive equipment.

Mental and Emotional Skills Training
We introduce mental and emotional skills training to help players deal with both success and failure, as well as to deal with game pressure. Baseball is unique in that being successful three times out of ten gets you to the Hall of Fame. Players have to deal with consistent failure and still remain confident.

The following are the basics for a Baseball / Softball Conditioning Workout:

Cardiovascular Training: Sprints and interval training, not long distance running
Stretching: Important for increased flexibility and injury prevention.
Strength Training: Important for increased maximum strength. Begin with bodyweight exercises and progress to weights.
Medicine Ball Exercises: Important for rapid powerful upper body movements to develop increased explosiveness and rotational forces.
Plyometrics: Used in conjunction with strength development in an integrated program to improve the link between the strength developed in the weight room and the ability to develop explosive power, speed and agility.
Speed, Agility and Quickness Training: When it comes to baseball, speed and agility are important on both sides of the field. Speed is important in the field where hit balls must be defended. On offense, speed puts pressure on the other team and distracts the pitcher and catcher; this help the hitter get better pitches to hit. The development of speed and agility is as vital as the development of batting power and throwing arm stability.

When you translate the strength developed in the weight room with the speed developed during the plyometric training and then add proper batting and pitching mechanics, you will have a stronger, more powerful, more productive player.

All training needs to be integrated with sports skill training. You cannot do either area in isolation without leaving the player's development lacking. Trainers need to work closely with the team coach and medical staff to ensure a balanced, effective training program. Nutrition and diet and various recovery methods should be discussed with appropriate professionals in those fields.
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Charles Slavik is the President of the Eagle Baseball Club in South Elgin, Illinois. Coach Slavik has helped his players' maximize their athletic performance and avoid injuries by combining his 16 years of experience as a youth baseball & softball coach with his advanced and practical knowledge of the strength and conditioning field. Charles is a Certified Personal Trainer by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association.

SHAPING BASEBALL SKILLS IN CHILDREN

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/coachsci/csa/vol31/simek.htm


SHAPING BASEBALL SKILLS IN CHILDREN

Simek, T. C., & O'Brien, R. M. (1982, May). A chaining-mastery, discrimination training program to teach Little Leaguers to hit a baseball: An unintentional between groups, multiple baseline study. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In their book Total golf, Simek and O'Brien (9181) reported that a chaining-mastery approach to teaching beginning golfers produced significant improvement in golf scores over traditional methods of instruction. In this study, that approach was extended to teaching Little Leaguers how to hit a baseball.

Following two baseline games and a baseline measure in practice of the number of fair balls hit before six strikes, 10 of 12 boys (ages 8-11) were trained to hit a baseball beginning with a bigger bat and ball pitched slowly from only a few feet. The pitcher then moved back with a smaller ball as a mastery criterion for number of hits was attained at each of 11 steps. Both game performance and a repeat of the baseline practice measure after game six showed large increases in the number of hits.

At this time a program of discrimination training for hitable balls (strikes) was instituted using a mastery approach to teach earlier and earlier discrimination of strikes from balls. Number of bases on balls had remained low through the first six games but gradually increased to high levels for games 7 through 10, during the discrimination training program. A repeat of the baseline practice measure, after game 10, showed continued improvement over the post-game-six measurement.

Game measures also improved from a baseline team batting average of .250, to .342 for games 3 through 6 and .369 for games 7 through 10. Two boys whose parents rejected the chaining-discrimination training approach were given training in "guided visual fantasy" for batting skills throughout the study by the father of one of the boys. They showed no improvement on any dependent measure. The results suggest that a program of chaining-mastery instruction, for hitting and discrimination training, for pitch selection can be effective in teaching Little Leaguers to hit. After winning one of two baseline games, the team won 9 of their next 10 games and finished first in their league.

Implication. Shaping/chaining produces a disciplined, reasoned, progression of experiences that lead to gradual progressive improvements in learners, important features for successful instruction. Why this approach to learning is not universally embraced remains a mystery to this day.

Simek and O'Brien introduce the important parameter of requiring a particular performance criterion to be exhibited at each step before progression is undertaken. One successful trial does not substantiate learning where as a small number of repetitions does establish a reliable effect. This is a feature that is not stressed in the Rushall and Siedentop forward progression models of shaping.

BASEBALL HITTING CHAIN AND MASTERY CRITERIA
Step Task Criteria
1. Oversize wiffle ball and bast is held over home plate. Player adjusts bat up and down to hit pitches from 8 feet away. Contact of 5 consecutive pitches (pitches must be in strike zone).
2. Oversize wiffle ball and bat held halfway from plate (mini-swing) pitches from 10 feet. Contact on 5 of 8 swings.
3. Oversize softball and regulation Little League bat. Mini swing t pitches from 10 feet. Contact on 5 of 8 swings.
4. Same ball and bat at 15 feet. Contact on 5 of 12 swings.
5. Same ball and bat at 22 feet Contact on 5 of 12 swings.
6. Same ball and bat at 30 feet Contact on 5 of 12 swings.
7. Same ball and bat at regulation Little League pitching distance (40 feet 6 inches) Contact of 5 of 12 swings.
8. Regular Little League baseball and bat at 15 feet. Contact on 5 of 12 swings.
9. Same ball and bat as in Step 8 at 22 feet. Contact on 5 of 12 swings.
10. Sam ball and bast as in Step 8 at 30 feet. Contact on 5 of 12 swings.
11. Same ball and bat as in Step 8 at regulation distance. Contact on 5 of 12 swings.

DISCRIMINATION TRAINING PROGRAM AND MASTER CRITERIA
Step Task Criteria
1. Player at plate, without bat, calls pitch (strike or ball) after pitch is in catcher's mitt and before umpire calls pitch. 7 out of 10 pitches called correctly.
2. Player at plate with bat, but no swing. Calls pitch (strike or ball) as or just before the pitch impacts the catcher's mitt. 7 out of 10 pitches called correctly.
3. Player at plate with bat (no swing). Pitch must be called (strike or ball) as the ball passes over the plate. 7 out of 10 pitches called correctly.
4. Player at plate with bat (no swing). Pitch must be called (strike or ball) as the ball passes over white markers set 9 feet in front of the plate. 7 out of 10 pitches called correctly.
In all cases, the umpire had the final decision as to whether a pitch was a strike or a ball.

Reference

Simek, T. C., & O'Brien, r. M. (1981). Total golf: A behavioral approach to lowering your score and getting more out of your game. New York, NY: Doubleday.