A message to coaches from a pitching instructor.

[GunnerShotgun]

I feel multiple voices in a pitchers/hitters head is almost a bad idea.

This used to bother me but I came to realize that while it probably doesn't help it also doesn't hurt a whole lot. The talent level of the player will dictate their success for the most part.

Coaching is in the margins and in this case, we are primarily discussing mechanics. If I never coach mechanics in a player I can still impact their mental and physical approach to hitting/pitching.

That's how I sleep at night...

 

[RADcatcher]

Coaching is in the margins and in this case, we are primarily discussing mechanics.

If I never coach mechanics in a player I can still impact their mental and physical approach to hitting/pitching.

How are you impacting either their mental or physical approach?

 

[uncdrew]

But you knew the History teacher was the coach before you tried out for the team right?

I did, but I'm way more alert than most parents (on our team).

Our head coach is grateful and thankful for any help I provide. I don't tell him how to coach, who to start, etc. etc. That's all up to him and I'm fine with his decisions. But I have given him some pointers on my DD, her pitch count limits, etc. etc. and it's helped and he's open to it all. We're luckier than most with our high school coaching staff.

 

[peter.kottke]

If I am a coach I am not touching a kid who is a performing. If I am a parent I am looking for a new instructor if my kid isn't performing..That sequence should converge to a situation with no issues..(math joke).

Definitely don’t mess with success- though how does a coach know when the player’s performance is at its max vs the player is leaving something on the table? I think that if a player’s performance is so fragile that a coach giving tips on things to try disrupts it then probably it wasn’t going to last long. But certainly a bad coach can destroy a good player and parents need to be listening and observing if it seems that might be happening.
As for the instruction iterative method- seems like there are a number of assumptions :
Mathematically oriented
(1) A solution exists (the player has the ability to “perform”).
(2) your method converges.. maybe the step size (not sure what that is- time between practice? Between instruction? Between tests, ie games?) is too large and errors grow.
(3) the solution is unique - I can imagine each instructor pushing towards a different solution (which may or may not be the “best”).
Player oriented:
(1) the player’s progress / performance is dominated by the instructor input (as opposed to independent of it for a student who ignores, can’t understand, or does not practice, or, perhaps other influences such as coach or parent or player’s observations of what other players do are stronger inputs). In this case there might be an instructor who can break through to the player. This is different than the case of “a solution doesn’t exist” because it might exist but finding it wont be a result of instruction.


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[RADcatcher]

Good read

Definitely don’t mess with success-

encourage!

though how does a coach know when the player’s performance is at it’s max vs the player is leaving something on the table?

That is a good point. Basic response is there is a difference between a coach that is pushing a player to perform and a coach that's pushing a player to change what they're doing.

I think that if a player’s performance is so fragile that a coach giving tips on things to try disrupts it then probably it wasn’t going to last long. But certainly a bad coach can destroy a good player and parents need to be listening and observing if it seems that might be happening.

Coaches have to deal with multiple different personalities. That is part of the task of being a coach.

The coach being observant their own style, and learning the different players, can be important to the approach of speaking to the player. Some coaches are not very versatile in their approach. While some coaches are able to be more observant of these differences are able to make an adjustment in their approach to different players.
To the coaches that are able to be observant of their own style and the differences of players...
imo they will find they're able to coach/reach more players than
the non-flexible coach unaware of their own narrow coaching Style.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

How are you impacting either their mental or physical approach?

A mental approach could be the importance of throwing fewer pitches or throwing strikes in high-value counts. The physical approach could be something as simple as improving endurance to throw more innings or doing certain dynamic stretches to prevent injuries.

Most pitching and hitting coaches do not attend games so they are limited to working with players in a vacuum on mechanics. It has limitations as far as translating to success on the field.

 

[GoRight]

My daughter had a private hitting and catching coach. He taught a hitting style that apparently, at least at the time, her travel coaches did not like. She had a coach at 14u and 18u that hated that style. (Launch angle hitting is the best way to describe it). Her 14u coach took her out of the hitting line up completely, but she played every inning for him as a catcher. This despite her much success at the plate on her previous team and her team afterwards. Also went on to be a decent hitter at college. He just hated her swing. Called it a “kindergarten” swing. He would not talk to the hitting coach. Called him an idiot. (I kid you not). Here’s the kicker…at the end of the year, the coach did end of the year evaluations and told my daughter, your hitting will carry you in college. . The 18u coach did let her play. He just grumbled about the hitting coach and his “stupid launch angle crap”. All this messed up her head a bit. She was trying to please the travel coach and still implement what she was learning.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

This despite her much success at the plate on her previous team and her team afterwards.

I don't mess with players that are having success unless I am specifically asked about something. I don't care if they hold the bat upside down. That's not what I teach but why go looking for trouble?

It may be an issue as competition increases in a few seasons or it may not. I recognize that I have an ego and I have strong thoughts on how the game should be taught but those fights aren't worth having even if you are right.

 

[FP26]

The adversarial relationship between a team coach and a private coach always kind of baffled me. Sure, I understand there are personalities and egos at play. However, my assumption is that the private coach is working in the player's best interest. I also assume that the team coach is working in the team's best interest, which, by definition, would mean that if the player improves their skill, the team's skill level would likely improve as well. So, if the two cooperated, the player and team could potentially be better off in the long run. Maybe that viewpoint is a bit too optimistic, but I don't see the harm in trying to work together at first. One or both would likely learn quickly if there is any reason to continue the dialogue.

 

[BucketDud]

Had a girl once show up to the first practice after the Winter break with a completely new stance and swing. We'll call it the anti-launch angle swing . I recognized it immediately as what one local instructor teaches.

Even though I don't agree with it, did like the guy and we had talked over years about why he taught it. And for some players it worked ok. So for those kids we would work more on the things he emphasized during hitting at practice.

But best part was when I asked her if she had started taking lesson given the change: "nope". Few weeks later her Dad finally told me she had been taking lessons. He didn't understand we saw that as a positive kid would want to improve outside of practice. Not sure if that came from a previous coach or just their own thoughts.