Do you use word of mouth? or the internet?

[radness]

How valuable is gathering insight & info via
By word of mouth?

Are people more prone to use others as a resource seeking teams and instructors?
Vs
Marketing on websites?

Having found my
'relic flyer' from decades ago...
Reminded me giving lessons have used flyers
And Word of mouth....
No website.

The catcher was drawn by artist Daniel Neal.

 

[BT3100]

Travel ball word of mouth is sometimes tough. Some people listen to every word ya say while others who should listen tend to want to do the opposite of what you tell them. It's odd actually. Me? I sit at the feet of those who have done it before me and I ask for help and do what they say. Why bang your head against the wall when someone else has already learned from their experience and are willing to share with you what they've learned?

 

[YOCOACH]

Instructors produce results or they go by the wayside. Those that produce good, if not great finished players, whether it be hitting, fielding, catching, pitching, etc. have no need to really advertise because word of mouth does the advertising for them. JMO.

Sometimes though, the players don't put the work in, don't follow instruction, etc. and it's on the instructor to cut them loose since there is such a demand for their time and they only have so much of it to spend. Which raises another question. At what time do you cut them loose?

 

[Orange Socks]

Travel ball word of mouth is sometimes tough. Some people listen to every word ya say while others who should listen tend to want to do the opposite of what you tell them. It's odd actually. Me? I sit at the feet of those who have done it before me and I ask for help and do what they say. Why bang your head against the wall when someone else has already learned from their experience and are willing to share with you what they've learned?

Word of mouth for established instructions. New instructors need to advertise since they don't have a base of players yet.

The old sayin' You can lead a horse to water....but that horse has a better idea. He'd rather start digging his own well. (I just made that up on the fly)

I am not a pitcher's parent, but I know many of our local high level pitchers go to a few instructors who have had tremendous success. I am telling a younger pitcher dad he needs to leave their current instructor, and go to one of these instructors to take her to the next level. Nothing against her current pitching coach, since I have known him for 10 years. I asked dad, how many college or decent HS level pitchers does he work with? That's right ZERO! His job is to get 8-10yr old players to become serviceable rec ball pitchers. He's too worried about what the instructor will think. Dude! It's part of the program, and is normal for players to use multiple instructors over the years.

One of the more well known local pitching instructors does not do individual instruction since she her time is very limited and in high demand. So she will have 3 pitchers working at the same time, and she comes highly recommended from other dad's. My other pitcher dad friend said, he prefers individual instruction. You don't need to be critiqued on every pitch in a workout. Am I wrong? Hey kid, work on this technique or pitching thought for 10 pitches and I will be back in few minutes. Working with other girls pushes each other to do better.

We had a pitcher on our 18U team years ago and the coach told dad to take his kid to one of 2 pitching instructors for a long time. Dad didn't do it and frankly she was getting lit up that summer. They leave the team and then start going to one of those instructors. And guess what? She improves and starts pitching in the mid to low 60's!

 

[SoftballDadnWV]

Word of mouth from someone you know, respect, and like - is by far the best form of advertising.

 

[Rick M]

I think for pitching instruction, we’ve entered a kind of golden age. Between Tincher, Pauly, and Fastpitch Foundations, there are now independent certifications that verify a baseline level of understanding for pitching instructors.

The word-of-mouth network led me to bring DD to some poor instructors early in her softball journey. There are lots of coaches who have been around for 25 years, and “everybody goes to them.” They’re happy to take credit for the 30 pitchers they’ve coached who went on to play in college, but in their time they probably coached hundreds who never made it to varsity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bonesaw]

I use the internet (EDIT: I mean this site, not youtube or Twiiter etc. Ironically i found this site thanks to a youtube video of a Hillhouse clinic where he mentions it. Seems I owe Hillhouse a double thanks.)

Anyways, if I saw a flyer like that at the Piggly Wiggly my DD would find herself in the local play-it-again trying on catchers gear haha!