- Oct 20, 2009
- 32
- 0
As a coach for a travel team, I have 3 pitchers that have 3 different pitching instructors. This is a young U10 team and it is very difficult to hold a pitching practice when the instruction they are receiving is different from what I am trying to assist them with. First, I want to clarify that it is great that they are all dedicated and they work hard to improve. Our pitching practice is more about trying to get in quality pitches as opposed to quantity of pitches. This is where the problem resides. I try to encourage the Hillhouse methods from his Building the House DVD as this is the same instruction that my DD gets from her pitching coach. However, some of the other pitchers do things entirely different then what I believe is correct in terms of mechanics. I understand that every pitcher has a different style and what works for one may not be the best solution for another. But when it comes to their mechanics, they have to be sound. I am not a qualified pitching instructor, but I don't think it takes an expert to repeat and demonstrate some of Bill's instructions that he has provided via his DVD and other Web videos. For example... load and drive off the pitching plate, shoe laces facing home, Letter K position, ball towards third, glove hand pointing to the target, No broomstick arms, touch in two places (bicep by the ear, forearm by the belly), power comes from across your body. What also muddies the water more is the parents of these players. How do I approach them and suggest that they could be wasting their money in pitching lessons and causing their child to build bad muscle memory habits or even possibly causing their child to have a future injury. I would love for them to all be on the same sheet of paper as far as mechanics are concerned because it would be a whole lot easier to practice. However, I don't want to play God and say who is right and who is wrong. Suggestions please!