HE pitching coach interested in IR

strawman · Apr 27, 2016

I recently met with a PC to see about having her work with a couple 10U girls. She was wonderful with the kids and has an impressive resume as both a high school and college pitcher. However, she teaches the hello elbow style. After the short lesson I talked with her about how I was reading/learning as much as I can and trying to make sure the girls learned the correct way to pitch from the get go. I expressed my wishes that they learn IR from the start. She wasn't familiar with IR but was incredibly receptive. She said she loves learning as much as she can and would like me to send her some articles and/or videos regarding teaching IR.

I was wondering if any of you could recommend a few comprehensive articles or videos that I could send her? Something that would help show a Hello Elbow style teacher why it may not be the ideal way to learn/teach.

Thanks in advance.

djcarter1966 · Apr 27, 2016

There is plenty of good stuff the guys can help you with, but slo-mo video of any high level pitcher would probably do the trick, I might actually see if you could dig up video on her if she played D1. or video her if she demos for students.

catmaster · Apr 27, 2016

Strawman I went through the same thing with DD's PC. I just directed her to be pitching forum and sent most all of the stickys to her. After she reviewed them she made the switch. Very nice to have a PC willing to learn and adapt

strawman · Apr 27, 2016

djcarter1966 said:
There is plenty of good stuff the guys can help you with, but slo-mo video of any high level pitcher would probably do the trick, I might actually see if you could dig up video on her if she played D1. or video her if she demos for students.

I thought about asking her to pitch so I could video her at 240fps and then play back in SlowMo. I suspect she would be surprised at what she would see herself doing. But I also didn't want to be rude or condescending. As I mentioned, she was a very nice, intelligent girl.

strawman · Apr 27, 2016

catmaster said:
Strawman I went through the same thing with DD's PC. I just directed her to be pitching forum and sent most all of the stickys to her. After she reviewed them she made the switch. Very nice to have a PC willing to learn and adapt

I thought about that as well. However, I've seen numerous threads with insults being thrown around regarding PCs who coach the HE style. I'd like to be able to avoid that if possible.

I agree, it's refreshing to find a coach who is even open to the possibility that he or she may not know everything there is to know. A coach who isn't constantly trying to get better isn't much of a coach IMO.

marriard · Apr 27, 2016

strawman said:
I thought about asking her to pitch so I could video her at 240fps and then play back in SlowMo. I suspect she would be surprised at what she would see herself doing. But I also didn't want to be rude or condescending. As I mentioned, she was a very nice girl.

If she is open, slo-mo is a great way to show that she probably has always pitched that way and didn't realize it. Great she is open to learning - worth seeing if she will follow through. Hillhouse DVD and youtube videos are also a great place beyond the sticky forum subjects here.

Start with the Amanda Scarborough slow-mo from Powerdrive videos. Send it over with the subject "Where do you see an elbow follow through in this motion?"

Tatonka · Apr 27, 2016

strawman said:
I thought about that as well. However, I've seen numerous threads with insults being thrown around regarding PCs who coach the HE style. I'd like to be able to avoid that if possible.

I agree, it's sadly refreshing to find a coach who is even open to the possibility that he or she may not know everything there is to know. A coach who isn't constantly trying to get better isn't much of a coach IMO.

Good luck with this process, I've been down this same road a couple times. Some PC's (and HC's for that matter) are just absolutely not interested in changing anything from what they themselves were taught regardless of how much things may have changed. BTW, I think this applies to quite a few issues in this sport; squash the bug, infielders wearing a facemask or catchers regarding flipping off the mask vs leaving it on to name just a few. Technology (think slow motion video capture), scientific study, simple progression of athletes and more all contribute to change and improvement. Sadly, too many are either threatened by change, comfortable with what they have or just downright too stubborn to think that anyone else (especially a simple parent) could add value. Some may just give you lip service (they are in sales after all)..."hey yeah, I'll look into that" and then maybe even look at a video or the pitching forum here and get turned off because it will mean they have to go back to work and learn something new. And then, there are the rare few who will be open minded and embrace and devour every bit of info they can get their hands on and actually put this newfound knowledge of the subject to good use!

It's been truly amazing to me that anyone who is involved in the business of coaching will not at least try and understand what others in the same business are doing. Study your competitors, learn from others, stay involved and get better or die off like the dinosaur you'll become. Truth hurts and it's pretty easy to see what is working and what is not if you keep your eyes open. Some teachers of the "old school" approach can improve your kid's technique over whatever they might be doing now but the question is what works best longer term?

The info on this forum (and the links contained herein) contain everything you would need to show someone who is willing to explore the world beyond HE. You might consider parsing it out a link at a time to see how it's received. You'll probably be able to tell if they are actually studying it or if you're getting blown off. Good luck with your journey!

Man10 · Apr 27, 2016

I would send her the link to this site. I don't know how anyone could deny IR or learn how to throw with IR better than this site, especially the stickys.

4 girl's dad · Apr 27, 2016

Tatonka said:
Good luck with this process, I've been down this same road a couple times. Some PC's (and HC's for that matter) are just absolutely not interested in changing anything from what they themselves were taught regardless of how much things may have changed. BTW, I think this applies to quite a few issues in this sport; squash the bug, infielders wearing a facemask or catchers regarding flipping off the mask vs leaving it on to name just a few. Technology (think slow motion video capture), scientific study, simple progression of athletes and more all contribute to change and improvement. Sadly, too many are either threatened by change, comfortable with what they have or just downright too stubborn to think that anyone else (especially a simple parent) could add value. Some may just give you lip service (they are in sales after all)..."hey yeah, I'll look into that" and then maybe even look at a video or the pitching forum here and get turned off because it will mean they have to go back to work and learn something new. And then, there are the rare few who will be open minded and embrace and devour every bit of info they can get their hands on and actually put this newfound knowledge of the subject to good use!

It's been truly amazing to me that anyone who is involved in the business of coaching will not at least try and understand what others in the same business are doing. Study your competitors, learn from others, stay involved and get better or die off like the dinosaur you'll become. Truth hurts and it's pretty easy to see what is working and what is not if you keep your eyes open. Some teachers of the "old school" approach can improve your kid's technique over whatever they might be doing now but the question is what works best longer term?

The info on this forum (and the links contained herein) contain everything you would need to show someone who is willing to explore the world beyond HE. You might consider parsing it out a link at a time to see how it's received. You'll probably be able to tell if they are actually studying it or if you're getting blown off. Good luck with your journey!

I think the main difference here is that the PC is willing to learn something new. Not just being forced upon them.

Tatonka · Apr 27, 2016

4 girl's dad said:
I think the main difference here is that the PC is willing to learn something new. Not just being forced upon them.

As mentioned...."the rare few"

HE pitching coach interested in IR

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