- Jun 24, 2011
- 31
- 0
Teach the right way to begin with,there should of never been the notion that the swings for both sports were different.I take it you are in the softball swing camp then?
So Barlow is there a height and weight that you would teach a different swing at?
Baseball Rotational Hitting And Softball | The ParkerTraining System
Just to be clear I don't think we should teach a different swing. In a perfect world the first time they pick up a bat they should be shown the best way to swing. This issue really only comes up with girls who have been playing for a while without a lot of organized instruction. My comment isn't directed at how we teach as much as what do we do with players who are already hitting.
I just need to ask myself how nit-picky do I want to be. If I do try and make changes to a players swing what will the benefit be to the player. I simply don't like the idea of making changes just for the sake of matching the ideal without believing the change will be a benefit to the player in relation to the effort to make the change. This is the 80/20 rule. If working with a player on their swing for a few weeks only get's them another 5 to 10 feet of travel is it worth it or could that time have been better spent on other areas and just leave the swing until they are physically able to benefit from the change.
A swing is a swing is a swing... Baseball/Softball, Strong player/Weak player... same swing. Swing it hard in case you hit it!
IMO, W-L record be damned, there's nothing more important than teaching players to throw and hit properly. Unfortunately, a coach can effectively limit a player's potential when they see, but don't work to correct faulty mechanics because the player is experiencing a modicum of success at their current playing level. Same is true if the player isn't willing to recognize that change is necessary to improve and be successful at the next level (or more successful at the same level).
Good comments. This is a different subject, but as a coach, what discourages me from pushing hard to fix a swing is not that it will affect W-L record (which is truly might), but that the player won't work enough on her own and believe in the process enough to make it pay off.
Just to be clear I don't think we should teach a different swing. In a perfect world the first time they pick up a bat they should be shown the best way to swing. This issue really only comes up with girls who have been playing for a while without a lot of organized instruction. My comment isn't directed at how we teach as much as what do we do with players who are already hitting.
I just need to ask myself how nit-picky do I want to be. If I do try and make changes to a players swing what will the benefit be to the player. I simply don't like the idea of making changes just for the sake of matching the ideal without believing the change will be a benefit to the player in relation to the effort to make the change. This is the 80/20 rule. If working with a player on their swing for a few weeks only get's them another 5 to 10 feet of travel is it worth it or could that time have been better spent on other areas and just leave the swing until they are physically able to benefit from the change.