I don't know about that. You have a good rep on here with success to back it up. If a successful coach starts messing with a swing or other mechanics most realistic parents stand back. I have told my DD two different things pending on who she will be dealing with. 1 listen and learn, you know sue, betty, and tina and how well they xxxxx, that's who taught them. Or 2 take everything with a grain of salt and see if they have info you can use cause I don't know of anybody they have produced.
Long range TEAM hitting strategy
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I don't know about that. You have a good rep on here with success to back it up. If a successful coach starts messing with a swing or other mechanics most realistic parents stand back. I have told my DD two different things pending on who she will be dealing with. 1 listen and learn, you know sue, betty, and tina and how well they xxxxx, that's who taught them. Or 2 take everything with a grain of salt and see if they have info you can use cause I don't know of anybody they have produced.
Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,881
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Thank you for the compliment. When I coach, I can't be a supervisor and so, I coach. When I work with the hitters, we have "standard drills" that everyone does. Still, for the most part, each hitter has elements of their swing that we have done some "personalized instruction." I would say that 3 weeks in, we are doing that. So, when they are hitting, I can't help myself but to remind them of the element of their swing that they need to work on in that at bat. I'm not trying to win a particular game. I'm trying to make my players better by the end of the year so we can advance.
I think those elements you speak of are what creates the friction some times. DD has hand drop problem she was never taught DBSF but will do it and I'm sure it would be first thing noticed by another coach. Now when that coach starts changing something I stand back and try to figure where they are going with it. A lot of times the AHA moment hits and I see they are addressing the down stream problem with an adjustment upstream. Sometimes I'm wondering and never see where their going so I ask then AHA ok different approach same desired out come. Then there is good lord she is already dropping her hands and your telling her first move is to take hands straight down. Same is pitching mechanics. She has a pc who has a bunch in college and the signing day pictures as proof. In lessons I learn as much as she does. Now some parents "I've already tried that, that don't work". Those are lost cause. Nothing will work for them since it wasn't their way of thinking. I'm a firm belive in the parent deafness syndrome that develops around 12 to 14 yrs old. I love when a coach can repeat everything I've said and she belive it or uses different verbage and gets the results I've been wanting for the last 18 months. On the other hand I can't stand when " I was hired as HS coach because I know how to coach and every thing I say is the right way to do it" as your looking at them trying to figure out how they manged to navigate the parking lot.
Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,881
- 113
Thanks for the parking lot comment. Made me laugh out loud. I absolutely understand. Heck, I don't know if I could walk in from the parking lot. Ours is beyond the baseball field and up a hill. I drive down instead. LOL I don't believe that any of our "answers" here on a website can always be translated into what happens in practice or games. As you know, "you have to be there" is pretty much the standard. If I thought I was doing a disservice to my player, believe me, I'd be quiet. I don't have to be right all the time. That coach is long gone. In fact, I told the girls I was going to try to not yell anything at all during the first day of tryouts. I bet I had at least five ask me to yell at them. LOL
I think those elements you speak of are what creates the friction some times. DD has hand drop problem she was never taught DBSF but will do it and I'm sure it would be first thing noticed by another coach. Now when that coach starts changing something I stand back and try to figure where they are going with it. A lot of times the AHA moment hits and I see they are addressing the down stream problem with an adjustment upstream. Sometimes I'm wondering and never see where their going so I ask then AHA ok different approach same desired out come. Then there is good lord she is already dropping her hands and your telling her first move is to take hands straight down. Same is pitching mechanics. She has a pc who has a bunch in college and the signing day pictures as proof. In lessons I learn as much as she does. Now some parents "I've already tried that, that don't work". Those are lost cause. Nothing will work for them since it wasn't their way of thinking. I'm a firm belive in the parent deafness syndrome that develops around 12 to 14 yrs old. I love when a coach can repeat everything I've said and she belive it or uses different verbage and gets the results I've been wanting for the last 18 months. On the other hand I can't stand when " I was hired as HS coach because I know how to coach and every thing I say is the right way to do it" as your looking at them trying to figure out how they manged to navigate the parking lot.
SB45
Dad, Coach, Chauffeur
Interesting thread...back to the OP...TEAM hitting?? I agree with an earlier post...(paraphrasing)...spending time on mechanics as a whole team at this age is probably not too productive. And given the situation described in the OP...probably not a age/situation/time to spend a lot of focus on mechanics. SO...I would ask...do you have any thoughts on any team hitting strategies or focus areas that you want to work on? do you have a sense of where your weaknesses are? There are a couple of general areas that I think of as being beneficial to "team hitting"...
BUNTING...lots of bunting practice can be very helpful...if everyone can bunt well this can give you more strategic options as a team
SPEED...practice hitting against fast pitching...for those that do it well, increased confidence and it's good practice...those that can't hit the same speeds as the others are often exposed in the process as having mechanical flaws that you or someone else can work on separately (and you don't have to prove it to them anymore)
INSIDE PITCHES...some pitchers like to work inside...some like to work outside...the best do it all...if your team (generally) can't hit inside well or don't like to...you have to sit off the plate a bit...now you are more susceptible to outside pitches too (ie...you're basically screwed). Spending time on inside pitches as a team can help improve quickness and may give you some strategic options against pitchers that like to work specific areas.
RHYTHM...without getting into too many mechanical things, you can emphasize making sure that your hitters have decent rhythm...specifically looking for hitters that do not have much of a negative move at all...have a fast negative move and then stop...have a poorly timed negative move...move all back and all forward. there is tons of room for individuality but I won't let anyone be standing still when they need to launch fast action in their swing. Slow and controlled movement at the time they need to launch into fast aggressive swing. Bending the knees and moving better helps a lot of hitters pretty quickly.
BUNTING...lots of bunting practice can be very helpful...if everyone can bunt well this can give you more strategic options as a team
SPEED...practice hitting against fast pitching...for those that do it well, increased confidence and it's good practice...those that can't hit the same speeds as the others are often exposed in the process as having mechanical flaws that you or someone else can work on separately (and you don't have to prove it to them anymore)
INSIDE PITCHES...some pitchers like to work inside...some like to work outside...the best do it all...if your team (generally) can't hit inside well or don't like to...you have to sit off the plate a bit...now you are more susceptible to outside pitches too (ie...you're basically screwed). Spending time on inside pitches as a team can help improve quickness and may give you some strategic options against pitchers that like to work specific areas.
RHYTHM...without getting into too many mechanical things, you can emphasize making sure that your hitters have decent rhythm...specifically looking for hitters that do not have much of a negative move at all...have a fast negative move and then stop...have a poorly timed negative move...move all back and all forward. there is tons of room for individuality but I won't let anyone be standing still when they need to launch fast action in their swing. Slow and controlled movement at the time they need to launch into fast aggressive swing. Bending the knees and moving better helps a lot of hitters pretty quickly.
Here is what I try to do with the travel team I help coach.
I arrange two nights during the week (Tuesday and Thursday) and make myself available at the local cage from 6 pm to 8 pm on those nights. The team is split into 4 groups of 3 and each group is given a 1 hour slot. During those slots the three hitters alternate. One is in the cage for front toss. One is outside the cage in the "on deck" position, timing the ball and doing dry swings. One is at a tee station (sometimes self toss) working on drills to promote specific things. Each player typically has three rotations per visit. Number of swings would vary based on progress, as I believe more in quality than quantity. I find this to be more productive then having two weekly practices with more limited swings and more limited personalized instruction.
I arrange two nights during the week (Tuesday and Thursday) and make myself available at the local cage from 6 pm to 8 pm on those nights. The team is split into 4 groups of 3 and each group is given a 1 hour slot. During those slots the three hitters alternate. One is in the cage for front toss. One is outside the cage in the "on deck" position, timing the ball and doing dry swings. One is at a tee station (sometimes self toss) working on drills to promote specific things. Each player typically has three rotations per visit. Number of swings would vary based on progress, as I believe more in quality than quantity. I find this to be more productive then having two weekly practices with more limited swings and more limited personalized instruction.
Pitching and hitting are NOT a "one size fits all" endeavor, so I would HIGHLY encourage your players to seek out a pitching/hitting instructor that maximizes their potential, your coaching staff should just re-enforce what is being taught during the paid lessons. Too many HS and TB coaches try to fit a square peg in a round hole...
I would also like to point out that if you have 12 players, and they each take a 30 minute private batting lesson a week, that is the equivalent of 6 hours of one-on-one practice time.
The team is a community league travel. Not a recruited team. We have 5 or 6 experienced players, 3 or so intermediate, 2 or so developmental.
We have a very organized team hitting approach, but seen some improvement. Slow going though.
Collectively - 5 strong hitters - I think reps will help. Trouble picking offspeed, dealing with north south movement.
rest - loopy swings, dropped hands, and dragging. Issues are isolated...just no time to focus on their improvement.
I approach coaching as sending the best player home a little better. We are however at that point where the other girls need focused attention.
Looks like keep the reps up, focus on core strength, re-enforce fundamentals are all I can really do. recommend extra instruction to the other players.
We have a very organized team hitting approach, but seen some improvement. Slow going though.
Collectively - 5 strong hitters - I think reps will help. Trouble picking offspeed, dealing with north south movement.
rest - loopy swings, dropped hands, and dragging. Issues are isolated...just no time to focus on their improvement.
I approach coaching as sending the best player home a little better. We are however at that point where the other girls need focused attention.
Looks like keep the reps up, focus on core strength, re-enforce fundamentals are all I can really do. recommend extra instruction to the other players.
- May 17, 2012
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- 113
This is the best answer/reason.
The only downside is that if the paid hitting/pitching coach is average to below average. Most parents don't want to hear that they are paying money for poor advice. I mentioned this earlier in another thread but if it's possible figure out who their hitting/pitching coach is before you select them for your team. It saves aggravation latter on.
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