- Nov 22, 2019
- 297
- 43
My 9-year-old DD just started playing for a 10-U travel team and was in the batting cage and not having a good day. The HC is watching and goes to her your elbow is too inside when you swing and you have to extend your arms, and she then promptly shows her a casting swing where the hands extend over the plate (mind you, she isn't showing her extension after contact). Earlier this fall while playing rec ball, my daughter broke her thumb with a coach pitching in part due to her casting.
Trying to be tactful I tell the coach I think she is getting mixed messages, as the private instructor she's started working with pitching and hitting is telling her something different. She promptly freaks out at me, walks away, and calls another coach over (who is her son who played college baseball). He then goes over a proper swing with my daughter that doesn't include extending the arms, and he works with her, including taking a video. After practice I go to the coach to apologize for getting involved, but tell her when you swing that your back arm has more of a hinge motion and that you can't extend your arms before contact, that's casting. She then goes off on me again telling me I'm wrong that she still plays softball and that is how she teaches everyone and that's why her daughter hits the ball and mine doesn't. (This is is in front of her assistant coach son who knows she is wrong, but he seemed scared to say anything.) I send the video to my DD's private instructor, who identifies the issue largely as leading with the elbow and not with the knob on the bat, and my DD has a great session with the private instructor the next day with the drills she was given.
Did I make the right decision to say something to the coach, and is it time to move on from this team not knowing if she'll get picked up by another travel team? At worst, she can return to her rec league, although it's not really ideal. My wife thinks I'm becoming "that" parent, but this seemed like it was just too big of a safety issue to ignore, especially given her past injury.
Any advice is appreciated.
Trying to be tactful I tell the coach I think she is getting mixed messages, as the private instructor she's started working with pitching and hitting is telling her something different. She promptly freaks out at me, walks away, and calls another coach over (who is her son who played college baseball). He then goes over a proper swing with my daughter that doesn't include extending the arms, and he works with her, including taking a video. After practice I go to the coach to apologize for getting involved, but tell her when you swing that your back arm has more of a hinge motion and that you can't extend your arms before contact, that's casting. She then goes off on me again telling me I'm wrong that she still plays softball and that is how she teaches everyone and that's why her daughter hits the ball and mine doesn't. (This is is in front of her assistant coach son who knows she is wrong, but he seemed scared to say anything.) I send the video to my DD's private instructor, who identifies the issue largely as leading with the elbow and not with the knob on the bat, and my DD has a great session with the private instructor the next day with the drills she was given.
Did I make the right decision to say something to the coach, and is it time to move on from this team not knowing if she'll get picked up by another travel team? At worst, she can return to her rec league, although it's not really ideal. My wife thinks I'm becoming "that" parent, but this seemed like it was just too big of a safety issue to ignore, especially given her past injury.
Any advice is appreciated.