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lanaj.21

@lanaj.21

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for God’s glory
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Alcorn State University 2026 Homecoming.

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Sept. ‘26

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“Pitcher, throw your pitch. Execute. The hitter has no chance.”

How often have you heard that?

That might be one of the biggest lies ever told in hitting.

Not because pitch selection and execution don’t matter.

But because you’re assuming the hitter is going to respond the same way every time.

What happens when you face a hitter who can vary their path and vary their timing?

Now your pitcher isn’t the problem.

Your certainty about what the hitter can do becomes the problem.

And that’s what makes this reel so intriguing.

I know for certain both players baited the pitcher to go right where they were looking.

They didn’t just wait for something good to happen.

They created an opportunity to do damage.

They tilted the scales in their favor before the pitch was even delivered.

🎯 The ability to apply these strategies starts with the simplicity of game planning.

Someone will watch this reel and think:

“That’s too much. How am I supposed to simplify all of that?”

But here’s the thing…

You’re trying to figure out how to play checkers when you could really learn how to play chess.

The goal isn’t to make hitting complicated.

The goal is to understand the game well enough to simplify your decisions.

● What is the pitcher trying to do?
● What are you hunting?
● Where can you do damage?
● What happens when the pitcher gives you something different?
● How does your swing allow you to respond?

That’s the difference between having a swing and being a hitter.

The pitcher has a plan.

The hitter has a plan.

The question is…

Who is making the other player uncomfortable?

And are you developing a swing that only works when the pitcher cooperates?

Or are you developing a hitter who can recognize, decide, adjust, and do damage?

This is why I emphasize game planning.

Not to give players more to think about.

But to give them a simpler way to think.

Because when you understand the game, you don’t have to guess.

You can hunt.

You can bait.

You can adjust.

And you can make the pitcher pay when they give you the opportunity.

Hitting Is Neck Up.

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love been overflowing lately…❤️ #grateful

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IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT LEVEL YOU PLAY.

10U. High school. Travel ball. College. The pros.

The task is still the same:

Get around the bat.

Square up the ball.

Optimize your timing.

And when your best opportunity doesn’t present itself…

WHAT ARE YOUR ANSWERS?

Because good pitching doesn’t care how good your swing looked in the cage.

It doesn’t care how many hard balls you hit last week.

And it certainly doesn’t care how comfortable you were when the pitcher gave you YOUR pitch.

The question is…

What can you still do when you get to two strikes?

Can your mechanics and path give you enough adjustability to stay productive?

Can you recognize when your best swing isn’t available and still find a way to compete?

Or does your approach depend on everything being perfect?

This is where the conversation gets interesting.

📖 Chapter 5 of Hitting Is Neck Up explores the link between mechanics and the path — and why understanding what an individual player needs to remain productive with two strikes is a conversation worth having.

Not every hitter needs the same solution.

Not every swing needs the same adjustment.

And not every player has been given the information necessary to understand the difference.

Here’s the part that should make you curious:

How much of your two-strike problem is actually a hitting problem… and how much of it is a problem with what you understand about your own mechanics, path, and ability to adjust?

A lot of this information isn’t openly discussed.

And even when it is discussed, it isn’t always clearly understood or individualized for the player who needs it.

That’s the difference between giving a hitter information…

And giving a hitter the information SHE needs.

The goal isn’t just to have a swing.

The goal is to understand how to use it when the game stops giving you what you want.

Because the best pitch is not always coming.

And when it doesn’t…

🔗 Available through the link in my bio.

@roberson.jones - UCA commit
@lifeof.brycee - I#Vandy - Ole Miss - Hail State football
@taylargrace17 - ICC @taylorlcaton - Memphis @hannahjo.sullivan sullivan - Hail State
@laury Lee - William

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🤷🏾‍♂️Why can’t everyone just be the same?!

Seriously… it would make my life SO much easier.

We could do the same drills with everyone.

Use the same cues.

Say the same thing to every player.

I wouldn’t have to take notes on each student.

I wouldn’t have to figure out how each player learns.

I wouldn’t have to assess what this player needs versus what that player needs.

I wouldn’t have to adjust my communication.

I could just grab the latest cue, the newest gadget and the hottest drill…

…and whoever gets it, gets it. 😂

Sounds like a pretty easy way to coach.

Unfortunately, players aren’t manufactured on an assembly line.

They’re individuals.

Different bodies.
Different experiences.
Different learning languages.
Different strengths.
Different weaknesses.
Different needs.

So yeah…

I guess I’ll keep taking notes, assessing players, learning how they learn and figuring out what THEY need.

Because the goal isn’t to make coaching easier.

The goal is to make the player better.

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72 hrs in Vegas 🥂

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There's just something bout YOUR name🙌🏾🌡! Worship is a MUST! Today was a good day! #COTR

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Several years ago, when Lana walked into the cage, only one pitch was thrown.

I knew she was going to play at the next level.

But I also knew talent alone wouldn’t be enough.

Three years before she ever stepped on a college campus, I wanted her to understand something simple:

All strikes are not created equal.

I didn’t want her to be just talented.

I wanted her to be tactical.

I wanted her to understand what to hunt, what to take, what to attack, and why.

Who knew that one conversation in a cage years ago would become an idea I’d eventually elaborate on in a book?

That’s what made it special.

I wasn’t trying to mess up something that was already good.

I was trying to help make something good… great.

Sometimes development isn’t about changing what a player does.

Sometimes it’s about helping them understand why.

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Do you think you’ll always be perfect?

Do you think you’ll never chase?
Never get fooled?
Always swing from a balanced position?
Always identify exactly where the pitch will end up?
Always have perfect timing?
Always have your best swing show up?

Do you always practice perfection?

Or do you explore the unexpected?

Do you ever search for answers outside the norm?

Because maybe development isn’t about learning to be perfect.

Maybe it’s learning how to respond when perfection disappears.

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We train hitters for perfection… then throw them into a game designed to destroy it.

Perfect timing.
Perfect position.
Perfect path.
Perfect contact.

But pitchers don’t give you perfect.

They use deception.
Change speeds.
Change locations.
Change shapes.
And pull hitters out of their ideal position.

And here’s another problem:

If we don’t understand what the pitcher is doing to the hitter, how can we accurately evaluate what the hitter is doing?

We may be criticizing a movement in the cage because it doesn’t look “ideal”…

then celebrating that exact movement in the game because it produced.

That’s the unconscious hypocrisy we have to be careful of.

The same adjustment we call a “bad swing” in practice may be the adjustment that produced a base hit, moved a runner, or won the game.

So here’s the question:

How much of the game actually happens outside of perfection?

And shouldn’t our development environment reflect that?

But here’s the HUGE caution:

Adjustability without discipline is dangerous.

This isn’t about teaching hitters to chase.

It’s about giving them an answer when the chase occurs.

The objective isn’t to encourage the chase.

It’s to prepare the hitter for the consequences of the pitcher’s deception.

Because hitting isn’t about being perfect.

It’s about being disciplined enough to hunt, and adaptable enough to produce when perfection disappears.

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Another one in the books! 🔑🏡

Congratulations @easyliving_ceo21 on another real estate investment! Proud of you, bro! 💪🏽

And y’all already know it was a NO BRAINER to pull up to the closing rocking this collab between EZLYVN and my softball superstar “niece" at Texas Tech! @lanaj.21 😎♥️🖤🥎

Supporting family. Supporting dreams. Celebrating another win. That’s what it’s all about. ♥️

Congratulations again! On to the next one! 🙌🏽

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