There was a thread that referred to college coaches changing hitting styles of players they recruited with mostly bad results. The thread seemed to send the message that there are multiple ways to hit well and that actual performance is the measuring stick. This got me to thinking, does this happen with defensive technique also?
I am a HS coach and I’ve spent dozens of hours studying defenders and how they position themselves, react, field, their footwork, and throwing motion. There appears to be a pretty consistent technique once players get to college. However, in HS and TB (with exceptions) defensive technique appears to be an afterthought as long as the defender makes most of the plays. Worse yet the players unknowingly believe that if they made a play, that they must have done it correctly.
When I attend local tournaments (Non-showcase U10-U18) among other things I see players who:
Are unprepared to field a ball hit their way
Don’t get to balls they should
Cannot back hand a ground ball
Don’t turn sideways to throw routine outs
Take 4-6 steps toward where they throw it
Outfielders who have a hard time fielding ground balls
This is all technique which can be taught, yet it appears that it is largely ignored in favor of offense.
At U10-U18 is actual performance the defensive measuring stick or is there none?
I am a HS coach and I’ve spent dozens of hours studying defenders and how they position themselves, react, field, their footwork, and throwing motion. There appears to be a pretty consistent technique once players get to college. However, in HS and TB (with exceptions) defensive technique appears to be an afterthought as long as the defender makes most of the plays. Worse yet the players unknowingly believe that if they made a play, that they must have done it correctly.
When I attend local tournaments (Non-showcase U10-U18) among other things I see players who:
Are unprepared to field a ball hit their way
Don’t get to balls they should
Cannot back hand a ground ball
Don’t turn sideways to throw routine outs
Take 4-6 steps toward where they throw it
Outfielders who have a hard time fielding ground balls
This is all technique which can be taught, yet it appears that it is largely ignored in favor of offense.
At U10-U18 is actual performance the defensive measuring stick or is there none?