![]() ![]() That openness allowed methods from another continent to improve his swing. Lambros was willing to be dissected in a way he hadn’t been before. It took a desire to be coached for Swope’s array of knowledge to have an impact. Swope and his wealth of hitting expertise provided it, just as he’s done for dozens of hitters before. He’s a massive asset to our program.”įor the first time in his baseball career, Lambros faced adversity and was desperate for a solution. “There’s a lot of coaches that are smart but don’t communicate well and he’s turned into an elite level communicator. “He’s been my right-hand guy for 11 years,” Terps head coach Rob Vaughn said. Martinez, of the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively, seek out Swope for coaching they can’t get anywhere else. Even major leaguers like LaMonte Wade Jr. Graduate transfer Matt Woods joined the Terps for the same reasons as Lambros. The coach’s capabilities have brought players to Maryland. “It’s allowed me to open up and really coach the individual.” Swope separates hitters into various classifications: Are their feet pronated, which is when a person’s weight is mostly on the inside of their foot, or supinated, when it rests on the outside? Does their power come from their hips or shoulders? Which eye do they see better through? From there, he personalizes his training and coaching plans accordingly. The coach learned about the concept at a lab in Switzerland and he has since applied it to Maryland hitters. Swope helped Lambros realize his talents through motor preferences, a philosophy that fits players with techniques based on what their body is naturally comfortable with. He became the program’s director of operations in 2013, the hitting coach in 2018 and is now the Terps’ associate head coach. Swope, who starred for the Terps in the early 2000s, has helped players in similar ways for more than a decade at Maryland. I’m seeing the ball even better, squaring balls even better.” Even when I feel good, Swope’s like ‘try this’ and then I just feel even better. ![]() ![]() “I’ve learned so much, failed so much and grown so much. “This whole year has really been a developmental year for me,” Lambros said. The change allowed him to maintain a strong center of gravity and keep his eyes on a steady plane.Įlijah Lambros bats during Maryland baseball’s 20-5 win over Nebraska on May 7, 2023. Bending his knees, rather than standing upright, helped him achieve that. Swope and Lambros discovered he performs better when his weight is on his heels. “I see that thing and I just wanna smash it,” Lambros said. Sometimes, he nearly threw his head at the ball to get his eyes level with the pitch – a bad habit that kept him from watching the ball to the plate. Lambros’ body naturally wants to jump toward the baseball as it flies toward him, he said. Lambros remembers hitting multiple weak pop ups to the shallow outfield and went 2-for-11 in the series. The issue was prevalent when Maryland took on Ole Miss in February. He could mask that misstep in high school – when pitchers were far slower – but it was quickly revealed against college arms. He has “front extension legs,” Swope said, meaning his front leg would get too far in front of his body during his swing. For Lambros, that meant getting lower in his stance.
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