I rarely see programs that achieve success through "cloning" hitters. Every hitter is different in some way and you have to find what works for them. There is no single right way to do it.
How to handle the know everything coach???
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I rarely see programs that achieve success through "cloning" hitters. Every hitter is different in some way and you have to find what works for them. There is no single right way to do it.
I more often see programs that impose this cloning hitters on all players. How could the player NOT jump on board the coach's cookie cutter approach to hitting??? To many coaches, there is only one way and that is his/her way..... or the highway, baby.... ;-)
it is the development of the hitter that matters. the history. That is why being a hitting coach is not a one size fits all.
Of course hitters with a stride is successful. It is an important way to get more power. On top of that, not all pitchers are blazing fast.
So while my DD is having difficulty "timing" a 55 pitch, the ones who stride are hitting away.
At 60 or above, my DD does ok. Not that she is better than any of the rest. Really she is not. For once you tally the batting averages at the end of the year, they are all near the same.
A high school team still has to beat the slower pitchers. Mine is not playing in college, though has numerous offers. So in my case, it does not matter. The same for the vast majority of softball players.
Mine just started with baseball, and could only succeed by having a minimal stride. Once in softball, I ignored any coach who insisted on lengthening her stride.
The players body type also determine much of it. With no stride, and good contact, it is a HR. others may need more lower body movement to get the same HR. A HR, is a HR. That is what players want. If you can get it without a stride, there is no need to add it. If you need a stride to get a HR, by all means it should be part of your swing.
Of course hitters with a stride is successful. It is an important way to get more power. On top of that, not all pitchers are blazing fast.
So while my DD is having difficulty "timing" a 55 pitch, the ones who stride are hitting away.
At 60 or above, my DD does ok. Not that she is better than any of the rest. Really she is not. For once you tally the batting averages at the end of the year, they are all near the same.
A high school team still has to beat the slower pitchers. Mine is not playing in college, though has numerous offers. So in my case, it does not matter. The same for the vast majority of softball players.
Mine just started with baseball, and could only succeed by having a minimal stride. Once in softball, I ignored any coach who insisted on lengthening her stride.
The players body type also determine much of it. With no stride, and good contact, it is a HR. others may need more lower body movement to get the same HR. A HR, is a HR. That is what players want. If you can get it without a stride, there is no need to add it. If you need a stride to get a HR, by all means it should be part of your swing.
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My DD picks up her foot and pretty much puts it right back from whence it came. Funny thing is that she and another girl, both right handed, where fouling off to left field off the fastest pitchers in the region. My DD's main problem with her stride is that she's not coiling her hips. Another subject, however.
At the higher levels they definitely assimilate players to a specific methodology to serve as a foundation. But over time there seems to be some flexibility with regard to individual hitters. When my DD pitched against the Gators in the Fall the hitters looked very similar to each other. But in OKC at the WCWS they seem to have some distinct differences in style.
However, some programs have a dogma that must be adhered to without fail or compromise. That approach does not seem very productive as it works for some and for others it fails them miserably.
However, some programs have a dogma that must be adhered to without fail or compromise. That approach does not seem very productive as it works for some and for others it fails them miserably.
- Oct 25, 2009
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The most effective strategy I tried this year was having most of the kids use a Babe Ruth stance where they started with their feet almost together and then took a stride. It made a huge different in not only their ability to make contact but they hit it much harder than they had been. I definitely believe in a stride. Half step to me is still a stride. I believe the stride should fit the batter.
I tried several variations of the stride this year. A kick stride, the Babe Ruth stride, during games and practice; and the Happy Gilmore stride during practices.
The D1 coach I mentioned used a stride with her D1 team. They were quite good her first few years. Not because of the stride—just saying.
I'm not a fan of having to teach something later instead of now.
- Oct 25, 2009
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That's what John Tschida told me when I asked him how he got his batters to hit so much alike. He said it's my way or the highway! That was years ago during the D3 Nationals. They came in 2nd that year.
- Jun 24, 2013
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As a coach, if a parent is paying for lessons, then I do not try to change, UNLESS the girl is failing. I had a P one time, whose parents were paying for lessons. Their girl was failing horribly from following the pitching coaches instruction. He taught speed above all else. Above accuracy, above placement, above strategy. The girl claimed to have 5 pitches when in reality she had 2, the meat ball and the wild pitch. When she wasn't in the dirt she was right down the middle like a pitching machine. It worked halfway decent in rec, but she was so sporadic that she couldn't be relied on in big games. She might throw 2 good innings and then walk in (or HBP) 13 runs. You never knew if it was going to be her first inning out or her 3rd inning. When she moved to TB she was like a pitching machine to these girls and they ate her up. Her parents were convinced that I wasn't using her properly because it COULDN'T be possible that they were paying for lousy instruction (She had also switched P coaches when she couldn't break through a certain speed level (predetermined by her parents)). I finally cut her as she would not listen to the advice I was giving her (which dealt more with the mental aspect and less with the P aspect) and her parents were dead set that the P coach was improving their DD. I could not stand to see this girl fail anymore and realized I was powerless to change it.
She did even worse when the P coach showed up at her games and hollered such helpful phrases as "Throw Harder!" "FOCUS!" "Give it all you got!" "Hit your target!" "C'mon catcher! Help her out! You need to frame it better!" He blamed the catcher for not being able to jump and snag a ball 6' over her head or more than 3' wide (and yes ' means feet). He didn't think she had as many wild pitches as she was credited with, he told the parents that she had "poor catchers that weren't being taught how to block properly."
The only time I butted in is where I saw girls being handed over to a baseball hitting coach. I would ask the girls what their instructor was teaching them and I would even invite the instructor to practice or go visit them so I could see why they were teaching them that way. I also bought DVD's on how to teach softball hitting and attended camps and clinics so I would be sure I was teaching the latest methods.
She did even worse when the P coach showed up at her games and hollered such helpful phrases as "Throw Harder!" "FOCUS!" "Give it all you got!" "Hit your target!" "C'mon catcher! Help her out! You need to frame it better!" He blamed the catcher for not being able to jump and snag a ball 6' over her head or more than 3' wide (and yes ' means feet). He didn't think she had as many wild pitches as she was credited with, he told the parents that she had "poor catchers that weren't being taught how to block properly."
The only time I butted in is where I saw girls being handed over to a baseball hitting coach. I would ask the girls what their instructor was teaching them and I would even invite the instructor to practice or go visit them so I could see why they were teaching them that way. I also bought DVD's on how to teach softball hitting and attended camps and clinics so I would be sure I was teaching the latest methods.
What's the difference between softball hitting and baseball hitting? DVDs and camps don't allow you to ''be sure'' that you are teaching the latest (correct) methods.
Regarding your pitcher, doesn't sound like it was a mechanical issue, but a strategy issue. Which is a little different. As a coach, I will accept a player's mechanics if they are the directives of their hitting/pitching coach, but strategy (pitch selection, location) is the decision of the team coach. And I also agree that a player who trusts a poor private coach is risking her spot on the team. I might not attempt to change mechanics if they come from a private, but I might decide that I don't trust she's going to improve and move on when it comes time to re-up the contract. Which is what you did.
- Apr 26, 2012
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Maybe I missed something here but in your original post about your DD hitting coach you said he is the President of the org she plays for and the same org you're coaching in. Then you go to him and have him intervene so you don't have to.
There are so many coaches who teach a cookie cutter approach because that's all they know. They don't work with individual talent. If you're not doing it their way it's wrong and really It's wrong because they can't show it correctly. I don't mess with a girl who is seeing a coach, it's not right. The parents spend good money so we make it a point to have the girl and parents come to us when discussing thier personal instructors. I have this situation right now and the girl has yet to hit the way she once did. Mechanically the girl is fantastic but the hitting instructor has her messed up between the ears thinking about every body position and every situation. Too much for her at the plate to be worrying about. Friday after the game and another bad outing she came to me with her parents and asked what I saw. All I said was to shorten her routine in the box. Nothing was said about her swing, she puts the bat on the ball but she is never ready to hit. She did so and was one of our best hitters the rest of the weekend. I had nothing to do with her success and will not take credit, she did all the work. It took guts to admit failure and ask for help. That is why coach, to help others succeed.
My point is go to the President and take problem off your daiggters shoulders but you have to ask and proactive not reactive. If you don't do it sooner her mechanics may suffer later and then you'll spend more time fixing that.
There are so many coaches who teach a cookie cutter approach because that's all they know. They don't work with individual talent. If you're not doing it their way it's wrong and really It's wrong because they can't show it correctly. I don't mess with a girl who is seeing a coach, it's not right. The parents spend good money so we make it a point to have the girl and parents come to us when discussing thier personal instructors. I have this situation right now and the girl has yet to hit the way she once did. Mechanically the girl is fantastic but the hitting instructor has her messed up between the ears thinking about every body position and every situation. Too much for her at the plate to be worrying about. Friday after the game and another bad outing she came to me with her parents and asked what I saw. All I said was to shorten her routine in the box. Nothing was said about her swing, she puts the bat on the ball but she is never ready to hit. She did so and was one of our best hitters the rest of the weekend. I had nothing to do with her success and will not take credit, she did all the work. It took guts to admit failure and ask for help. That is why coach, to help others succeed.
My point is go to the President and take problem off your daiggters shoulders but you have to ask and proactive not reactive. If you don't do it sooner her mechanics may suffer later and then you'll spend more time fixing that.
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