Thread: Instructional DVD - 8U

All, does anyone have a recommendation on the best instructional hitting DVD's for my 7 yr old? She's played one year of rec ball and is really motivated to improve. I want to make sure we are doing the right things. Thanks.

I learned a lot from the USA Softball series with Mike Candrea.The RVP (Right View Pro) is newer,pretty good. Mom and Dad need training as much as the player.

I have two daughters. My older one was going to professional instruction, (at an older age to fix all the problems I created), so we thought what the heck, lets take the younger one too- she was 8. The difference between the two has been amazing, my older daughter is/has always been a good hitter but getting professional instruction at a young age for the younger one has been an incredible advantage. Starting out at a young age with good form has been worth every penny.

Other bit of advice- Shop for a good instructor. We tried two. One did more damage than good, the other is difficult to get an appointment with and cancels alot but is really good when we get time with her. I would rather get good instruction every other week than bad instruction every week.

I've not seen a hitting video you can buy that is better then Alyssa Haber's seminar at Softballcon that is available for free on fastpitch.tv.

Check out episodes 152-157

-W

Originally Posted by starsnuffer

I've not seen a hitting video you can buy that is better then Alyssa Haber's seminar at Softballcon that is available for free on fastpitch.tv.

Check out episodes 152-157

-W

While there check our India Chiles' video on slapping. 4 parts. Great!

SS and SBPh- Holy Cow! I never knew that was there. That is awesome.

I'll add this- The BEST thing I ever did to educate myself was to cut and paste every post I could find by "Hitter" whose name is Howard Carrier. I printed it out and put it in a binder. I studied/study it whenever I could/can. While I did that, I started to see posters who showed up over and over that were obviously well versed in that same philosophy who were also helping people like me who were trying to learn. They made it to the binder too.

Once I figured some of that out, it was amazing to me how many very good coaches subscribe to Hitter's philosophy. Some know where it came from, some don't. You can tell when they start using the same phrases and techniques I see here...

Educating yourself helps you decide who you want teaching your daughter lessons. It will help you sort real instructors out from the hitting coach quacks. They are out there and they charge just as much as the good ones. When you go to get lessons, make sure the instructor teaches you too. What I mean by that is there should be a place where you are out of the way and you can stand or sit and listen. That instructor should be willing to privately answer your questions AFTER the lesson. If it is a half hour lesson, ask him or her to dedicate a few minutes at the end to answering your questions. Take notes. Don't interrupt the lesson though.

I'm not a hitting coach, but my two daughters and their friends have benefited greatly from the people on this forum. Once I learned the basics, we were able to make our practice time much more meaningful and it has translated into results on the field.

Originally Posted by Westwind

SS and SBPh- Holy Cow! I never knew that was there. That is awesome.

I'll add this- The BEST thing I ever did to educate myself was to cut and paste every post I could find by "Hitter" whose name is Howard Carrier. I printed it out and put it in a binder. I studied/study it whenever I could/can. While I did that, I started to see posters who showed up over and over that were obviously well versed in that same philosophy who were also helping people like me who were trying to learn. They made it to the binder too.

Once I figured some of that out, it was amazing to me how many very good coaches subscribe to Hitter's philosophy. Some know where it came from, some don't. You can tell when they start using the same phrases and techniques I see here...

Educating yourself helps you decide who you want teaching your daughter lessons. It will help you sort real instructors out from the hitting coach quacks. They are out there and they charge just as much as the good ones. When you go to get lessons, make sure the instructor teaches you too. What I mean by that is there should be a place where you are out of the way and you can stand or sit and listen. That instructor should be willing to privately answer your questions AFTER the lesson. If it is a half hour lesson, ask him or her to dedicate a few minutes at the end to answering your questions. Take notes. Don't interrupt the lesson though.

I'm not a hitting coach, but my two daughters and their friends have benefited greatly from the people on this forum. Once I learned the basics, we were able to make our practice time much more meaningful and it has translated into results on the field.

Hitter is good, no doubt; plus he is always thinking of ways to develop things to help the kids understand and get the "feeling" of what he teaches. Unfortunately, he's not active on here anymore.

A couple more posters to add to your binder is FiveFrameSwing and Wellphyt. They have helped me very much on here. What I like about them is not only their expertise and clarity but they will debate with you until you understand. With hard headed people like me a forum with posters like them is a blessing. FiveFrame, in particular, will debate with you til the cows come home—AND roll with the punches. Not many people can do that!

Don't know how many of their posts you've read but I consider it essential reading.

Absolutely! They are both on my list, I just didn't want to name names for fear of forgetting someone.

There have been 5-6 people who have PM'd me, sent info by e-mail or I have found answers to my questions by searching their posts.

It is truly a blessing to have people of this caliber who have come upon their information the hard way and willing to share it and say WHY they think that way.

That Mendoza clinic is awesome...

Originally Posted by starsnuffer

I've not seen a hitting video you can buy that is better then Alyssa Haber's seminar at Softballcon that is available for free on fastpitch.tv.

Check out episodes 152-157

-W

I buy a lot of dvds but have to agree that this clinic is as good or better than most. As a matter of fact FastpitchTV is my second biggest resource for fastpitch. After this site of course! And both are free! How awesome is that!
But since the topic is on dvds my best hitting dvd is by a guy out of Chicago, Justin Stone. He really breaks down things and explains them in a way I really understand. Plus he has a free webinar on youtube. You can check it out before you buy dvd.