Ryder Miconi

Ryder started his career at the College of William and Mary as a walk-on his freshman year with a swing that produced singles the other way. After three years of hard work and many swing adjustments, Ryder earned second team All-CAA and just completed his best season yet (.319, 9 HR, 45 RBIs, .435 OBP).

There are five things that make Ryder successful:

1) Legs

-It's lost on most players that their legs are the most important part of their swing. Ryder completely bought into landing 50-50, which is a term I use for landing with your weight in the middle of your body. This concept is explained further in a separate post about legs.

2) Rhythm

-If you look at the video of Ryder's swing, you'll see that he has a lot of rhythm. The reason that he is so successful is he has mastered HIS rhythm and owned HIS swing. Ryder always has the same hand path, always has the same leg kick, and he always keeps those two things connected and in sync.

3) Finishes Swing

-So many young players do not understand the importance of finishing their swing. Players are worried about running to first and beating the ball out. Well unless you run a 6.5 or better you probably aren't beating too many balls out. Ryder finishes his swing every single time with the same one handed finish and he gets the same extension every single time. This consistency is crucial to Ryder's success.

4) Takes the same swing in BP to the Game

-Whether Ryder is hitting front toss, BP off a coach, BP off a machine, or is swinging live in games his swing remains the same. He realizes that to be successful you need to be able to replicate your practice swing in the game. This is a very difficult thing to do and requires great discipline which Ryder has begun to master.

5) Competes

-Probably the most important part of Ryder is that he always competes. Regardless if he is 4 for 4 or 0 for 4 Ryder is at the plate looking confident and trusting his abilities. He loves facing high end pitchers and does very well off them. For example, Ryder went 2 for 4 off 2016 first round pick Anthony Kay and was named to the Charlottesville All-Regional team in the 2016 NCAA tournament when he faced top pitchers from the University of Virginia, East Carolina, and Bryant. Ryder competes and performs no matter what the situation.

#Legs #Rhythm #FinishSwing #BPswingtoGame #Compete