A Hitting Thread - Kind of:

[Cannonball]

I was asked by a prominent member to kind of outline what I/we do in our lessons etc. In doing so, I was also asked how I drummed up business. (I think that was what I was asked.) I will run out of time but will start the thread.

First, and I want to make this clear, both BB and I are not experts.

BB and I have given lessons for a few years now together. It is partly instruction and partly a "Father - Daughter Thing." As most of you know, I have never charged and have only done a few players, both softball and baseball, and did that for fun. BB started giving lessons a couple of years ago and kept those lessons to a small group of young ladies that she coached starting at the age of 9. She has charged a very minimal fee and only enough to pay for the gas she expended driving the hour from where she lives to here.

We have a very basic set up. We have agreed to some very basic coaching cues that we both use. We have agreed that we won't rob parents in order for their children to receive quality coaching. So, this is a part of the background for what we have been doing.

When HS ball ended, I had a bunch of our HS players come up to me and ask if I'd give lessons in the summer. I didn't really want to do this since I think players need a break from me. I am kind of intense at times. Then, a couple cornered me with their parents. They were asking for lessons and would pay whatever I wanted. I went to my AD. We have 25 contact days in Illinois, but to be honest, a lot of HS Coaches also coach TB and so, ... My AD wanted to make sure that no one could say a word about what I did. I have my own equipment, balls, ... so that wasn't a problem. Heck, I bet I have 4 or 5 buckets of balls with "BB" written on them. I built the protectors etc. for the cages and so, that wasn't a problem. Our nets are left up all summer long for the community to use and so, that wasn't a problem. My AD wanted to know if we could get players to come that were not from our school district. That required one phone call and I had players coming from four or five school districts.

BB and I agreed that she would demonstrate and work with players on one half of the cage and I would do the same on the other. We tried to keep it at one student per half hour. Naturally, I wanted BB to work with my HS players since she can see things and help them in ways that I can't or won't see since I have worked with them so much in season. We charged $15 per half hour. We agreed to go two nights a week and that if players didn't want to come every week, that was up to them. They were to be assigned times and all that we asked was that we were notified if a player was not coming so we could put others in that time. Two members here benefited from that and their dds came to lessons. They are not from my school district but are also not in HS yet.

Limiting our instruction to 2 days a week made it tough for some players to take lesson due to their TB team practices. So, a couple got together and asked if they could take lessons at the same time. We agreed and created a "block" for them that was 45 minutes. That really gave me a chance to have a break. It also limited the number of HS girls from my HS that could take a lesson on a given night since I didn't add one more player. Finally, we got the schedules from the players who play for multiple teams and so, could make sure that we knew when open times became available as well as know when players were on the road and so, not coming to lessons.

Equipment I provided:

Balls
Tanner Tees
Stay Back Tee
Screens (One was not very good but it worked.)
Tennis Balls
Chair/Stool
Throw Down Plate (I didn't have enough of these and so will have to get another one.)
Car - Car Radio so I could listen to my Cardinal Games. LOL


Well, all of this and some of the best kids around is the foundation for what we started to do this summer. I will come back with more info later. (More "meat and taties" as I like to say.) If you have any questions, please ask. OH, we limited our numbers. At one point, and I might be exaggerating but not much, I think I turned down about 50 request for lessons. Most wanted to take lessons with BB and so, that's a good lesson in humility right there. LOL

 

[rdbass]

Your doing what I would love to be doing....Keep up the good work you're a good man. Looking forward to more info.

 

[FP26]

Good stuff cannonball. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Longshot]

Nice, I wish there was something like that around here. Good Job.

 

[Cannonball]

So, what happens that first lesson? I don't like to do a lot of instruction that first lesson. I'd rather assess the player and see what their swing looks like. I also want to give them some instructions on particular drills to see how well they pay attention and if the have the ability to do what we do. I don't think what we do is for everyone.

I/we start by throwing some front toss most of the time. If we don't start with it we will end with it. Early on in the first lesson, I am taking the hitter to the stay back tee. Here I give some instructions that the hitter probably does not know. I want to see how well that they listen. Also, few hitters have seen this device and so, I get a sense right away about their athleticism and coachablilty. I want the parents here watching so that they can see if the hitter and I mesh and if they understand some of the instruction that I give. Let's face it, if a parent is sitting there and thinking that I'm crazy then they aren't for what we do.

Some other things that I will do that first lesson:

Happy Gilmore off of a tee.
Happy Gilmore but with me bouncing tennis balls from side toss. This is to see athleticism and adjustibility.

I think you get the idea that this is a fast moving evaluation. I really try to talk to the hitter and get feedback from them. I hope I make that first lesson/evaluation fun for the player and that I get some decent idea of what I need to do with this hitter. Your cost for lesson 1? Nothing. It is free and from there, I let the parents determine if it is a good fit or not.

 

[mudrunner]

DD took a few hitting lessons from Cannonball over the summer. He might get sick of hearing this, but I cannot say enough good about him as a person or his process. He is in it for the right reasons and is great at what he does. I think DD took 5 lessons. The first one as he said was free, so we were $60 in. I can honestly say that has been the best $60 I've spent in DD's softball career. Her mechanics and confidence improved quite a bit, and she's hitting the ball harder than ever. BTW CB she asks me almost every week if I've heard when your next round of lessons is going to be lol.

 

[BStine]

DD took a few hitting lessons from Cannonball over the summer. He might get sick of hearing this, but I cannot say enough good about him as a person or his process. He is in it for the right reasons and is great at what he does. I think DD took 5 lessons. The first one as he said was free, so we were $60 in. I can honestly say that has been the best $60 I've spent in DD's softball career. Her mechanics and confidence improved quite a bit, and she's hitting the ball harder than ever. BTW CB she asks me almost every week if I've heard when your next round of lessons is going to be lol.

I'm jealous. Really wish we were closer!

 

[reagansdaddy]

I am not familiar with a stay back tee. Do you have a photo or can you explain how it works.

Thanks for a great thread Cannonball!

 

[Cannonball]

Here is a picture of the stay back tee:

This was invented by my friend Donny Buster. Donny is no longer with us. Here is a cut and past from a post I made on another site about how I use this device in a lesson:

If you are familiar with Donny's Stay Back Tee, see the angled portion of the tee that extends upward from the ground and has the black pad extended to prevent hip slide? Well, I have my hitters step into the device itself far enough forward that the pad is against their front leg/hip. I have the tee at about 11 o'clock. I have them then follow a sequence. I point to the back hip and say, "hip." They bring the back hip forward. Now, in doing so, you can imagine what is happening with the back leg and foot. I want them to feel resistance between the top and bottom of their bodies. I then say, "knob." I want the resistance to be held while the hitter begins to turn the barrel by pointing the knob at the ball on the tee. (Essentially this would give the impression that the hitter is beginning to walk away from his/her hands.) Then, once they do this, they then finish the swing without a command.

I do several things with this drill. I give them something to think about by saying, "hands and hips are better together." I explain that the hips start, as they do with the cue. The top resist and does not go instantly. The hips basically say to the hands, hey where are you. The hands then ask, where are we going. Oh, point the knob at the ball. Catch up by delivering the barrel. I know for you guys, this is simplistic but it makes sense to the players I deal with. I stop them once in a while and ask where is Elvis? I do this between saying hips and knob. They stop, look at their back knee and see it. I ask them how does their front knee get straightened? The understand that when the back hip starts, the front knee begins to get straightened.

I move the tee portion of this device from straight forward which should produce a pull to, rotating back where the hitter would hit the ball up the middle, to almost horizontal with the belly button which should produce a ball to the opposite field.

BTW, some people get confused when it comes to a lefty hitting off of this device. It works for both. Just turn the device around and change the position of the tee portion.

From this drill, I want to take them to front toss. I what them to take what they just practiced and immediately have them hit balls that are moving. I can't tell you how many kids this past week have said that they really understand this drill and think it has helped with their swings.

I hope I have presented this with enough clarification that you all understand what I do.

 

[iMlearning]

Here is a picture of the stay back tee:

This was invented by my friend Donny Buster. Donny is no longer with us. Here is a cut and past from a post I made on another site about how I use this device in a lesson:

If you are familiar with Donny's Stay Back Tee, see the angled portion of the tee that extends upward from the ground and has the black pad extended to prevent hip slide? Well, I have my hitters step into the device itself far enough forward that the pad is against their front leg/hip. I have the tee at about 11 o'clock. I have them then follow a sequence. I point to the back hip and say, "hip." They bring the back hip forward. Now, in doing so, you can imagine what is happening with the back leg and foot. I want them to feel resistance between the top and bottom of their bodies. I then say, "knob." I want the resistance to be held while the hitter begins to turn the barrel by pointing the knob at the ball on the tee. (Essentially this would give the impression that the hitter is beginning to walk away from his/her hands.) Then, once they do this, they then finish the swing without a command.

I do several things with this drill. I give them something to think about by saying, "hands and hips are better together." I explain that the hips start, as they do with the cue. The top resist and does not go instantly. The hips basically say to the hands, hey where are you. The hands then ask, where are we going. Oh, point the knob at the ball. Catch up by delivering the barrel. I know for you guys, this is simplistic but it makes sense to the players I deal with. I stop them once in a while and ask where is Elvis? I do this between saying hips and knob. They stop, look at their back knee and see it. I ask them how does their front knee get straightened? The understand that when the back hip starts, the front knee begins to get straightened.

I move the tee portion of this device from straight forward which should produce a pull to, rotating back where the hitter would hit the ball up the middle, to almost horizontal with the belly button which should produce a ball to the opposite field.

BTW, some people get confused when it comes to a lefty hitting off of this device. It works for both. Just turn the device around and change the position of the tee portion.

From this drill, I want to take them to front toss. I what them to take what they just practiced and immediately have them hit balls that are moving. I can't tell you how many kids this past week have said that they really understand this drill and think it has helped with their swings.

I hope I have presented this with enough clarification that you all understand what I do.

Have you ever taken off the tee and had them hit front toss with the pad still on?

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