I am an unqualified pitching instructor

[guero_gordo]

Catcher's first job is to help her pitcher. If she's throwing over left shoulder and barking like a dog, C should just say "nica pitch" and throw the ball back.

 

[goinyard]

Make copies of the video of some of the high level pitchers that are here on this site. Show some of these parents what you are talking about. It is one thing for them to hear theory and another for them to see what the best do. I did that with some of the hitting stuff I do. I even have a PowerPoint made where I display terms that they hear versus reality and then, cues I use and how they apply to the instruction.

i would love to get that powerpoint it would save me a lot of time and weird looks lol.

 

[Jojo]

Catcher's first job is to help her pitcher. If she's throwing over left shoulder and barking like a dog, C should just say "nica pitch" and throw the ball back.

She can't do that, she's also a pitcher and in competition with her.

 

[guero_gordo]

She can't do that, she's also a pitcher and in competition with her.

I get that, and the world frequently doesn't work as it should. She must be pretty scared.

 

[FP26]

Jojo,

I have read enough of your posts to have a pretty good idea how/what you teach. All I can tell you is that if we lived anywhere near you, I would not hesitate to bring my daughter to you for lessons. I have a lot of respect for your approach.

 

[JJsqueeze]

ugh....ugh again to make it ten characters.

 

[Jojo]

What happened is rude. However, the opposite happens to instructors who did pitch--they are told they can't possibly teach better than a parent of a pitcher. So it goes both ways. My assistants get that all the time, and in equally nasty measure.

However, in looking at resumes, the amount of non-pitching PCs has gone down to almost non-existent. There are so many pitchers out there now. I hate to say it, but I would no longer hire a non-pitcher has my team's PC. This has nothing to do with who teaches 10 or 12 year olds.

So you're saying, if given a choice between 2 applicants, one that has pitched in college and one that has years of experience instructing and studying mechanics and spins. Studying a wide range of pitchers and styles and not just the one they were taught, you'd choose the pitcher?
Because from experience, there are a lot of college pitchers that have no business being instructors.

 

[MandM]

She can't do that, she's also a pitcher and in competition with her.

Well there you go, who thought kids at that age would try to mess with each other's minds to get one up on each other, but I guess it starts younger and younger, or as you surmise, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

All that being said, I would LOVE to have a PC like you where I live! You have to let stuff like that go, your results speak for themselves, and if you are not keeping a print out as well of your students' successes to give your parents- you should. The key thing is that even coaches teaching HE are going to get a kid with a rocket arm once in awhile, who pitches with IR DESPITE their instruction. So these instructors will self-perpetuate. The true mark of a good PC is one who can maximize the potential of any students who is willing to put in the time and effort (of course this is key)- by providing them with the necessary mechanics that will make them as effective as they are able to be, even if they are not D1 material- those instructors will have many high quality pitchers with a cadre of stars sprinkled in. I am sure that you are in that category!

 

[Eric F]

So you're saying, if given a choice between 2 applicants, one that has pitched in college and one that has years of experience instructing and studying mechanics and spins. Studying a wide range of pitchers and styles and not just the one they were taught, you'd choose the pitcher?
Because from experience, there are a lot of college pitchers that have no business being instructors.

I'm with you, Jojo. The more I see, hear, and read, the less I believe in "I played in college" as a credential for teaching ability or knowledge. Yes, there are some very good coaches who played college ball, but there also some NOT very good ones. Being a student of the game - at a very deep level - is a more important factor.

 

[coach james]

The majority of coaches that have had the most success as a coach with a huge cashe of elite level players were very seldom half the player themselves that their current players are now...
Michael Jordan arguably the greatest player ever...horrible coach. Larry Bird... horrible coach
Bobby Night OK player.... incredible coach
Phil Jackson OK player... best record ever
To assume that only someone with first hand experience is the only one qualified to coach is pretty ignorant.