For some people, it takes only a single word for their enthusiasm to kick in. For Tim Nolan of Antioch, that word is “hitting.” Nolan is an enthusiastic guy to begin with, but when the subject is hitting a baseball, he kicks into overdrive.
“There are two ways to improve your power swing,” Nolan said, bat in hand. “You can improve your swing dynamics, and you can improve your swing velocity. Pro Cut helps you do both. To develop your power swing, you have to groove your muscles, developing muscle memory that makes the process automatic. By placing a Pro Cut on your bat handle, the balance point shifts toward the pivot point, encouraging a good power swing. Pro Cut makes your swing feel sweeter.”
What, you might be wondering, is Pro Cut? It’s Nolan’s patented invention and labor of love rolled into one. The Pro Cut is a brass weight that comes in 8-, 12- or 16-ounce sizes and attaches to the knob of a baseball bat. And what does the Pro Cut do?
“Pro Cut actually increases the velocity of your swing,” Nolan said. “The power in a power swing doesn’t come from strong wrists or strong arm muscles. It comes from physics. There are over 200 muscles in the body: slow-twitch strength muscles and fast-twitch speed and quickness muscles. Ballplayers have been warming up with a weighted “doughnut” on the end of their bats since the 1950s. That’s bad.
“Doughnuts stimulate the slow-twitch muscles and slow down reaction time. Like I said, that’s a bad thing, since the baseball swing uses 90 percent fast-twitch muscle fibers. And those are the muscles Pro Cut develops. Sport-specific acceleration training allows the `snap’ of the bat to feel more natural. It’s easy to learn, easy to practice and easy to groove your swing. And the faster the swing, the harder the hit.”
Pro Cut’s headquarters are adjacent to a furniture store in Lake Villa. One room has a long workbench filled with Pro Cuts to be assembled and packaged (the units are manufactured at a machine shop in Franklin Park). Pro Cuts range in price from $29.95 to $34.95 and come with an eight-page instruction booklet.
The other room at Pro Cut’s headquarters could only be called the hitting room. There is a batting cage and several tees from which to hit baseballs. And the walls are plastered with instructions about hitting, stories about hitting, and baseball cards of players–yes– hitting. “This is a great place to be if you love hitting a baseball,” Nolan said proudly.
Nolan has a number of devotees of what he calls his “hitting system.” Major leaguers who have used Pro Cut to increase their bat speed include 66-homer-hitter Sammy Sosa, Tony Gwynn, Mark Grace, Matt Williams, Greg Vaughn, Marquis Grissom and Chuck Knoblauch. A number of college teams also use Pro Cut, including Tennessee, Wichita State, Louisiana State, Georgia Tech and Florida State, which has been to the College World Series nine of the last 12 seasons.
“I was skeptical when I first heard about Pro Cut. Then Tim came down and gave a demonstration, and I was sold,” said Chip Baker, Florida State’s assistant baseball coach. “He gives an outstanding presentation. Tim’s energy is a big reason Pro Cut has been successful. Pro Cut teaches you to use your hands and get them through the strike zone, which is the key to being a good hitter at any level.”
Nolan’s entrepreneurial success story actually begins when he was a kid growing up in Rolling Meadows, where he played lots and lots of baseball. “Baseball is a game of fun and failure,” he said. “I loved the game growing up, and I love it now.”
In high school Nolan played outfield for the Rolling Meadows Mustangs. “I was a pretty good hitter in high school, I guess, but knowing what I know now, I realize I wasn’t a smart hitter,” he said.
After high school Nolan played at Elgin Community College, then transferred to Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn., where he played against Bo Jackson and Auburn University. After college he played a season with the New Haven Browns, an independent team in the Connecticut State League.
“My dream goal was to make the major leagues, which didn’t work out,” said Nolan, 34. “So I teach kids to set a realistic goal, which is to get to college, play baseball and get a degree. That’s what’s important.”
After a year in the minors, Nolan returned to the Chicago area, where he got involved with coaching at Palatine High School, Fenton High School, Lake Park High School and the Palatine Travelers Baseball Association. “When I got into coaching, I really started studying the game,” he said. “I love coaching, watching the kids get better, seeing how they learn to hit to the opposite field, how to adjust at the plate, things like that.”
On a recent weeknight, the Lake Villa Travelers, a baseball team of 12-year-olds managed by Jeff Pietka, were at the Pro Cut headquarters for an off-season instructional workout. “My whole team used the Pro Cut last year, and we’re using it this off-season,” Pietka said. “We’ve seen a measurable difference in the kids’ bat speed, anywhere from 5 to 15 m.p.h. It’s a huge advantage to come in here and turn Tim loose. The kids love him. He has the pulse of what’s going on with baseball at all levels, including the major leagues.”
Pro Cut was born in 1994 when Nolan, who is an associate scout for the Philadelphia Phillies, went to an Illinois Baseball Coaches clinic at Grand Slam USA in Palatine. The guest speaker was former Cubs manager Jim Lefebvre. He talked to the group about teaching hitting to superstars such as Mark McGwire, Sosa, Jose Canseco, Ryne Sandberg and Ken Griffey Jr.
“Jim had three bats with him, and one of them had a weight taped to the knob,” he said. “After Jim’s talk, I grabbed the bat and swung it. I knew at that moment that that was how you should swing a bat. I told myself that I’d make something that could go on any bat. I knew I was on to something. I knew a little bit about physics from taking classes in college. Then I started reading everything I could get my hands on, books like `The Science of Baseball’ and `The Physics of Baseball.’ “
Within three months, Nolan had designed a prototype at his kitchen table using a couple of wires, a weight and a big screw. “I took my contraption to Grand Slam and started testing it with the kids, and coaches started saying to me, `Tim, get me one,’ ” he said. “By August of 1995, I had a patent for Pro Cut, and by January 1996 my product was on the market.”
Lefebvre, the hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, is proud of his pupil. “Every time you work with a hitter, you look for ways they can improve, and Pro Cut can help hitters of all ages,” he said. “And Tim believes so strongly in his product. He believes in the concept, and he teaches with a lot of enthusiasm. He works very well with people.”
When Nolan isn’t teaching hitting, talking about hitting, thinking about hitting or pushing Pro Cut, he spends time with his wife, Renee, and their children, 4-year-old son T.J. and 3-year-old daughter Nicole. “And they’re both switch-hitters!” said the proud papa.
“Even my kids like to talk about hitting, which is good,” Nolan said with a laugh. “I love hitting a baseball, and I could talk about it forever. I’m so lucky to have found a career that I just love.”
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For more information on Pro Cut, call 847-356-0085 or check out the Website at www.procut.com.
