Not agreeing or disagreeing just makes for a good conversation. Tell me why a young baseball pitcher does not need a PC like a girl. Obviously , I think more fathers feel they can show their son the mechanics of baseball pitching but when it comes to getting a girl starting to pitch most fathers have no clue(my situation exactly). No 2 baseball pitchers are alike so why does it seem that the mechanics of softball pitching are so cut and dry. Once my DD reached around 14-15 and had the grips and spin and 4-5 basic pitches it was me and her(mostly her)
Not agreeing or disagreeing just makes for a good conversation. Tell me why a young baseball pitcher does not need a PC like a girl. Obviously , I think more fathers feel they can show their son the mechanics of baseball pitching but when it comes to getting a girl starting to pitch most fathers have no clue(my situation exactly). No 2 baseball pitchers are alike so why does it seem that the mechanics of softball pitching are so cut and dry. Once my DD reached around 14-15 and had the grips and spin and 4-5 basic pitches it was me and her(mostly her)
Going beyond that a little, DD's PC has been working with her for about 3 months and last lesson one of the other PC's saw something that needed fixing and pointed it out. Also, the part about picking up problems from the bucket is absolutely key. I'm way too busy trying to catch the ball to really see what DD is doing. That extra set of eyes, and changing it up every so often can be important.
I've used this analogy before. A pitching coach, hitting coach, etc. is like a fishing guide. They know where the fish are, can recommend the right pole and bait to use, can offer other little hints and so forth. But at some point, you have to drop the line in the water. (No, I am not a fisherman.)
A good coach can shorten the learning process. There are many roads you can take, some of which lead to nowhere. The coach will help you avoid those and set you on the path. But the player still has to make the effort.
Once I've worked with a player for a little while, I stop giving them answers and start asking them questions, such as "which way should the ball be facing at the top of the circle?" or "what's the proper sequence for hitting?" I do this because the objective is for the players to be able to make corrections themselves. I'm not going to be at all their games, standing by their shoulders telling them what they need to fix. If there is a problem they have to know how to fix it themselves.
That said, they can't always feel it. There's always some little thing or another that can be tweaked to get better. An experienced coach can see it, and has a larger mental database of experience to draw from than a parent working just with his/her daughter. I tend to find the most accomplished of my students are the ones I see the most. Not because I have any magic to offer, but because the level of commitment that comes with seeing a coach every week is a good indicator of the player's level of commitment to make herself better.
Still, one thing I make clear to every kid (and parent) who starts with me is the time she spends with me is the least important part of the process. It's the time she spends in-between that will determine her success. I'll point the way to the next improvement, but she has to make it.