You finish 40 swings in the cage, and your coach gives you the same note as last week: “Hit it harder.” You nod. Then you walk out with no idea what to change on Tuesday.
Better hitting goals start with your swing data. Pick one metric and give it a target range with a deadline. Agree on it with your coach, then track the trend in the app until the number holds.
This playbook walks baseball and fastpitch softball hitters through each step. It ends with how to prove your goal in live at-bats.
1. Why “Hit It Harder” Isn’t a Goal
Your travel coach tells you to “drive the ball more” after an 0-for-3 day. That is an outcome. You can’t control it on any single pitch, so it gives you nothing to train.
Sport psychology sorts goals by what they target. Outcome goals target results, like batting average. Performance goals target your own numbers, and process goals target the actions that produce those numbers.
That difference shows up in the research. A 2022 meta-analysis by Williamson and colleagues appeared in the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology.
Process goals had the largest effect on performance, at d = 1.36. Performance goals came in at d = 0.44, and outcome goals at just d = 0.09.
For a hitter, a process goal sounds like “keep my On-Plane Efficiency at 70%+ every session.” You control it on every swing, and your sensor measures it.
Younger hitters need one guardrail. A review of goal setting in youth sport warns that goal setting is not one-size-fits-all, and rigid number targets can add pressure. Build goals with your coach and adjust them when they stop helping.
Next step: Rewrite your next “hit it harder” goal as one action your sensor can measure.
2. Pick One Metric From Your Blast iQ Focus Areas
A high school sophomore opens the app after a session and sees a wall of numbers. Bat speed is green. Two metrics are yellow, and one is red.
Which one becomes the goal? Start with Blast iQ, which scores each swing and color-codes your focus areas green, yellow, or red. Reading those colors tells you where to look first.
Then set a baseline before you set a target:
- Mount the sensor on the knob of your bat.
- Take 10–15 swings in one session.
- Record each metric’s session average instead of your best swing.
- Pick one red or yellow metric and leave the rest alone for now.
Compare that average to a target range:
- Aim for 70%+ On-Plane Efficiency.
- Keep Early Connection near 90°, inside an 80–105° range, measured at the Transition Event.
- Baseball hitters at the high school varsity level should target 60–70 mph bat speed. Softball hitters can check softball bat speed benchmarks by age.
- Track Rotational Acceleration, the “0-60 time” of your swing, as a trend against your own baseline.
Session averages matter because one great swing proves nothing. A 72% swing followed by four at 55% still averages about 58%. Trends show whether the change is real.
Next step: Circle one metric from your baseline and write its session average down.
3. Write the Goal: Metric, Range, Deadline, Drill
A softball hitter tells her coach she wants “better connection.” Two weeks later, neither of them can say whether it worked. A written goal with four parts fixes that.
Use this template:
In [deadline], I will move my [metric] session average into [range] using the [drill].
Say a varsity baseball hitter averages 58% On-Plane Efficiency because his barrel casts early. His goal: “In 2 weeks, I will raise my On-Plane Efficiency session average to 70%+ using the Stop at Contact Drill.” His cue is “Short to it, long through it.”
Now a fastpitch hitter. Her Early Connection reads 75° on one swing and 112° on the next. Her goal: “In 2 weeks, I will keep my Early Connection session average inside 80–105° using the Shoulder Slot Drill.”
Match the drill to the problem your data shows:
| What your data shows | Drill | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| Low On-Plane Efficiency, casting, or a leaking barrel | Stop at Contact Drill | “Short to it, long through it” |
| Low bat speed from too little hip-shoulder separation | Torque Drill plus Knob to Knee Drill | None |
| Weak forward move or sway | Walk Through Drill | “Land firm, turn behind your front hip” |
| Erratic Early Connection | Shoulder Slot Drill | None |
Keep connection and hip-shoulder separation separate in your goal. They are distinct metrics, and each one has its own fix. If your pelvis load drifts, add the cue “Back pocket down the line.”
Next step: Fill in the template and send it to your coach before your next session.
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4. Set the Timeline: Session, 2-Week Block, Season
A hitter posts 70% On-Plane Efficiency on Monday and celebrates. By Thursday, he is back at 61%. One good day is a start, and he still needs a plan for what comes next.
Stack your goals by timeframe so each one feeds the next:
- Each session, own one cue and log 10–15 tracked swings.
- Over a 2-week block, move your session average into the target range.
- Across the season, watch the long trend on bigger metrics like bat speed and attack angle.
Use Training Goals and trends in the app to keep the target in front of you between lessons. On days you can’t hit, Air Swings let you log dry swings at home.
Move to a new metric only after your goal metric stays green across multiple sessions. A single green day can be noise. A held green average means the swing changed.
Next step: Put your 2-week deadline on a calendar and plan your re-test for that day.
5. Bring Your Coach Into the Loop
You see your hitting instructor once a week. That leaves 6 days of swings she never sees.
Remote coaching closes that gap.
Your coach can analyze your metrics and video from anywhere. From there, they send feedback and create customized training plans. Send these four things after each block:
- Your written goal sentence.
- Your session average and 2-week trend for the goal metric.
- One auto-edited video clip with metric overlays, or a 3D swing tracer view.
- One line on what felt different.
Coaches running a full roster can use Coach Mode to manage multiple players at once. Swings upload to Blast Connect and get assigned to each player. Player and team reports help you monitor progress and rank players by swing profile, so each hitter gets a training plan that fits.
Blast Baseball is trusted by 300+ college and pro teams and 83% of pro organizations. Blast Softball is the official partner of USA Softball and the USA Softball Women’s National Team. Fastpitch coaches can see the team setup in this softball swing analysis guide for coaches.
Next step: Agree on one goal metric with your coach, then send your first report at the end of week 1.
6. Prove It Under Pressure
Your On-Plane Efficiency sits at 72% off the tee. Then a pitcher gets you to two strikes, and the swing you built falls apart.
That gap is why the goal has to travel. Hold your target range off the tee first, then in front toss, then against live pitching. Move up a level only when the session average holds.
Two-strike counts are where the work pays off. League average drops to .165 with two strikes. Cutting your swing-and-miss rate there adds 15–20 more hits per season.
Athletes who think about mechanics mid-swing usually break down, and belief and conviction matter as much as mechanics. Do the thinking in the cage, then trust the swing in the box. If you are late, use one cue only: “Slow and early.”
Next step: Track your goal metric during your next live session and compare it to your tee average.
Supporting Resources
- Shop Blast Baseball sensors and training tools
- Shop Blast Softball sensors and training tools
- Learn every metric in Baseball Swing Metrics Explained
Turn Swing Data Into Hitting Goals You and Your Coach Can Track
Write one goal from your swing data and give it 2 weeks. Then share the trend with your coach and adjust together. 400M+ captured swings back the benchmarks, so your numbers have context.
