What does the “right” batting stance look like? These are some of the most productive hitters in baseball this season. Different stance widths. Different depths in the box. Different distances from the plate. Different angles. Something we recently talked about with one of our coaches is that athletes may get to similar positions during a swing, but how they get there can look very different. That’s where preference becomes important. The goal isn’t to make every hitter move the same way. It’s understanding why one hitter may want to do something differently than another.

Athletes are really good at finding ways to complete the task. When a hitter or pitcher is out of balance, they'll usually find a way to make the movement work anyway. Sometimes what we see as a mechanical flaw is actually a compensation for something happening earlier. And imbalance itself isn't always the problem. It's whether that athlete is finding balance in a way that works for them. Take an Aerial athlete who keeps getting stuck back on their heel. You can spend a lot of time trying to fix what happens with the hands, the upper body or later in the movement. But sometimes getting them back into a better balance position changes a lot of those things without having to coach them individually. That's when you can start to ask: Was that actually a mechanical problem? Or was the athlete just finding a way to compensate? We've had a lot of conversations around this with hitters and pitchers this fall.

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Two really different starting positions here. Two really different starting positions here. One starts with the hands much higher. The other is lower and closer to the body. But what’s interesting is they still get to a lot of similar positions throughout the swing. How they get there is different. That’s something we think about a lot. If we only focus on the position we want an athlete to get to, it can be easy to start coaching everyone toward the same setup. What happens if we move the hands higher or lower? Does the athlete still organize the same way? What feels comfortable? What feels forced? Athletes can complete the same task in different ways. The bigger question is how do we know which way may make more sense for the athlete in front of us? That’s where Motor Preferences can give us more information. One starts with the hands much higher. The other is lower and closer to the body. But what’s interesting is they still get to a lot of similar positions throughout the swing. How they get there is different. That’s something we think about a lot. If we only focus on the position we want an athlete to get to, it can be easy to start coaching everyone toward the same setup. What happens if we move the hands higher or lower? Does the athlete still organize the same way? What feels comfortable? What feels forced? Athletes can complete the same task in different ways. The bigger question is how do we know which way may make more sense for the athlete in front of us? That’s where Motor Preferences can give us more information.

Looking at Pete Crow-Armstrong’s setup from 2025 to what we’ve seen during the 2026 season makes this quote pretty interesting. The way an athlete starts a movement can influence everything that follows. And we’re pretty sure there will be a bunch of young hitters who see PCA having success and go from a lower, wider stance to something a little taller and narrower. For some, it might work. For others, it won’t. That’s the important part. Understanding what your athletes prefer gives you more information to decide what might make sense for them. See Athletes Differently. Develop Them Individually.

So what does MPE actually do? We help coaches better understand the individual athlete in front of them. Why does one athlete respond really well to a cue while another doesn’t? Why can two great athletes accomplish the same task while moving completely differently? Why might a position that feels natural for one athlete feel uncomfortable for another? Motor Preferences gives us more information to help answer some of those questions. It’s not about giving coaches a new way everyone should move. It’s about giving coaches more information so they can make better decisions for the individual. See Athletes Differently. Develop Them Individually.