Anyone can call themselves a pitching instructor.

[Mr T]

Where do you live roughly? Is there any instructor teaching IR, or at the least not the bowling/hello elbow approach in the SF bay area?

Seriously, we need to create a google+ circle with decent instructors tagged on a map.

 

[Jojo]

Where do you live roughly? Is there any instructor teaching IR, or at the least not the bowling/hello elbow approach in the SF bay area?

Seriously, we need to create a google+ circle with decent instructors tagged on a map.

I'm from TX.

 

[undergroundga]

Who decides if someone is a decent pitching instructor?
Is teaching IR a critical component?
What do I look for in finding a good pitching instructor?

 

[GOINGDEEP]

We have about 6 so called PC in this area. I don't think any of the 6 could teach a fish to swim, much less a pitcher to advance. The girls I have known that went to them already had a great foundation in FP. My honest opinion is they went to certain PC's because the PC had some college connections. ( which I can't blame them ) But most of the DD's I've spoke to agree the "coaching" part they learned very little.

With a D1 pitching background ( baseball ) I took it upon myself to learn and teach my DD fast-pitch. Loved it. Just got through 5 mins ago with a father/daughter lesson. But I don't do lessons for other girls, not sure if I have the knowledge or the patience. I will offer free advice to girls who have asked in the past but I don't claim to be a PC to anyone but my #1.

As I've stated before, I've had the pleasure to talk with and get advice from Ernie Parker over a few years when I would hit a bump in the learning process. He is the only PC I've seen that could mirror the RH to LH mechanics and grips with no thought or hesitation. Which helped me greatly since mine is LH. We never took lessons from him but use his verbal knowledge to this day.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I'm from TX.

Mind me asking where? We've played some good teams from TX. Wonder if we have faced any of your pitchers?

 

[Ken Krause]

I run into this situation all the time. Amazing the junk that gets taught out there. When I take on a new student, my first question is whether she has had lessons before. If she says yes, I will then run down the list of what usually gets taught in Illinois, i.e. have you been told to face the ball toward second at the top of the circle, slam the door closed, snap the wrist hard, touch your shoulder, etc. More often than not they say yes. So I spend time not only showing them what they should be doing, but explaining why.

The other issue that can be maddening is having another pitching coach who teaches that stuff but has a great reputation because he/she was fortunate enough to have one or two students who had a lot athleticism (translation: throws real fast). The assumption is he/she taught them to do it. In some cases I think they do it in spite of that particular teacher, but either way if it was all the teacher, all his/her students would throw that fast.

As a pitching instructor myself, I do believe there is a lot of value if you find the right one. A good instructor can really shortcut the learning process by pointing the student down the right path, saving a lot of trial and error. An experienced one has seen most problems before and can likely offer up a suggestion to fix them. But yeah, there sure seem to be a lot of folks out there whose primary interest is separating parents from their money.

 

[tomzpc]

Where do you live roughly? Is there any instructor teaching IR, or at the least not the bowling/hello elbow approach in the SF bay area?

Seriously, we need to create a google+ circle with decent instructors tagged on a map.

All of the instructors in my area (hour north of NYC) teach wrist snaps, get behind the ball early (no later than 3 oclock) and follow through straight up. It's horrible. I've gotten girls on teams that I have coached at 10U farther along in a few practices than these so-called coaches do in several sessions, each time charging upwards of $80 an hour.

 

[Jojo]

Who decides if someone is a decent pitching instructor?
Is teaching IR a critical component?
What do I look for in finding a good pitching instructor?

1. Well no one person should decide if anyone is a good pitching coach, but if they are teaching poor mechanics early on that is a good sign they not be worth your time and money.

2. No---I have found MOST pitchers with good speed resort to internal rotation on their own.

3. I think you should first educate yourself on basic mechanics and methods, L&D, Step, Closed. Decide what you want for your DD, watching a few college pitchers is a good start. Find that instructor that teaches that method, then see how their students pitch. Go to a lesson and see how they relate to their students. Do they explain things where the student understands, or do they just say, "Do it this way".
Do they work on correcting poor mechanics or do they just say, "Stop doing that."
When my DD was very young I wanted to change her PC, and I went and observed several PC's at their lessons before I chose the one I wanted her have.

 

[Jojo]

As I've stated before, I've had the pleasure to talk with and get advice from Ernie Parker over a few years when I would hit a bump in the learning process. He is the only PC I've seen that could mirror the RH to LH mechanics and grips with no thought or hesitation. Which helped me greatly since mine is LH. We never took lessons from him but use his verbal knowledge to this day.

I always mirror when I instruct, and tonight I had to start a new lefty, and it threw me off! I was like,,,Ahhhhhhhh! I can't do it right handed anymore!

When I spin left handed I always tell my student I get bonus points if my spin is better!

I actually had a lefty leave me for another instructor because someone told her parent that lefty pitchers should be taught by lefty instructors! Seriously, lefties are the easiest to mirror!

 

[Jojo]

Mind me asking where? We've played some good teams from TX. Wonder if we have faced any of your pitchers?

South Houston area, Galveston county.