I've been following along on the posts regarding Howard's drill. Looks like a good discussion overall. But as I thought about it I did see something come up that I think is worth considering.
There is a tendency when analyzing video to pick apart every aspect of it and compare it to the ideal. Sometimes that's justified, as when you're looking at game or even tee swings someone posts to show the overall swing. But I think you have to be careful when looking at video of drills to focus on the purpose and not over-analyze the rest.
I say this from experience. A couple of months ago I posted a video of a drill I had developed to help a pitcher get the feel of throwing the backhand change through release. I wanted her to feel her hand pulling the ball through the zone and sort of dragging the ball behind her. So I took a swim noodle and had her pull that while I held the noodle and created a little resistance. The drill worked, she got the feel, and so I thought I'd share it. I grabbed my Kodak Playsport, got her mom to hold the noodle and videoed it. Seemed like this was a case where a picture is worth a thousand words. The video is posted on the Softball Performance blog.
After I posted the video, I noticed a couple of other flaws in her delivery, not the least of which was turning her shoulders out early. This is something she struggles with from time to time. But because I was focused on the point of the drill -- what her pitching hand was doing so someone reading the post could see what I was talking about -- I didn't even think to look at the rest of her delivery.
This is one of the issues with shooting a quick video to help illustrate a point. It was simply a matter of pulling out the video camera I always carry with me, pointing and shooting. It was not a professional DVD I'm selling that shows Ken Krause's complete method for throwing the changeup. It was just a quick look at a single point.
If you looked at that video you might be tempted to look at her overall mechanics, and if you see what I see there the value of pulling the noodle through the release zone might get lost. We could get into a whole discussion about posture, when the hand turns, how far apart her feet were spread, the action of her shoulders etc. But the point was to find a way for this pitcher (and others who have the issue) to feel what her hand should be doing so she can learn to improve that aspect of the pitch.
I think that's something everyone needs to keep in mind. Look at what the point of a drill on video is first, and see if it is helping the player learn what the coach is trying to get her to learn. If the mechanics aren't ideal in the execution of other parts of the skill it may not be a function of the drill. It could be a function of the player and where she is in the learning process. Perhaps the coach will work on other flaws later, feeling they are a lower priority than whatever is being worked on with this drill.
Key thing to remember is everything can't be first. You have to start somewhere. With hitting in particular you need to prioritize -- what is absolutely essential to giving the hitter a measure of success/improvement now, especially if corrections are being made in-season? What issues can wait until later to correct?
Remember that kids generally will be far more inspired to put in the hard work if they see some measure of payoff quickly. Correct the big stuff first, and sweat the small stuff down the road. Yes, the small stuff might be what it takes to get to the elite level. But if they don't make it past the lower levels due to frustration or lack of performance, they'll never have a shot at the elite level. Just my two cents.
There is a tendency when analyzing video to pick apart every aspect of it and compare it to the ideal. Sometimes that's justified, as when you're looking at game or even tee swings someone posts to show the overall swing. But I think you have to be careful when looking at video of drills to focus on the purpose and not over-analyze the rest.
I say this from experience. A couple of months ago I posted a video of a drill I had developed to help a pitcher get the feel of throwing the backhand change through release. I wanted her to feel her hand pulling the ball through the zone and sort of dragging the ball behind her. So I took a swim noodle and had her pull that while I held the noodle and created a little resistance. The drill worked, she got the feel, and so I thought I'd share it. I grabbed my Kodak Playsport, got her mom to hold the noodle and videoed it. Seemed like this was a case where a picture is worth a thousand words. The video is posted on the Softball Performance blog.
After I posted the video, I noticed a couple of other flaws in her delivery, not the least of which was turning her shoulders out early. This is something she struggles with from time to time. But because I was focused on the point of the drill -- what her pitching hand was doing so someone reading the post could see what I was talking about -- I didn't even think to look at the rest of her delivery.
This is one of the issues with shooting a quick video to help illustrate a point. It was simply a matter of pulling out the video camera I always carry with me, pointing and shooting. It was not a professional DVD I'm selling that shows Ken Krause's complete method for throwing the changeup. It was just a quick look at a single point.
If you looked at that video you might be tempted to look at her overall mechanics, and if you see what I see there the value of pulling the noodle through the release zone might get lost. We could get into a whole discussion about posture, when the hand turns, how far apart her feet were spread, the action of her shoulders etc. But the point was to find a way for this pitcher (and others who have the issue) to feel what her hand should be doing so she can learn to improve that aspect of the pitch.
I think that's something everyone needs to keep in mind. Look at what the point of a drill on video is first, and see if it is helping the player learn what the coach is trying to get her to learn. If the mechanics aren't ideal in the execution of other parts of the skill it may not be a function of the drill. It could be a function of the player and where she is in the learning process. Perhaps the coach will work on other flaws later, feeling they are a lower priority than whatever is being worked on with this drill.
Key thing to remember is everything can't be first. You have to start somewhere. With hitting in particular you need to prioritize -- what is absolutely essential to giving the hitter a measure of success/improvement now, especially if corrections are being made in-season? What issues can wait until later to correct?
Remember that kids generally will be far more inspired to put in the hard work if they see some measure of payoff quickly. Correct the big stuff first, and sweat the small stuff down the road. Yes, the small stuff might be what it takes to get to the elite level. But if they don't make it past the lower levels due to frustration or lack of performance, they'll never have a shot at the elite level. Just my two cents.
