More to Choosing an Instructor Than Mechanics

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Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
DD started hitting lessons for the 1st time (she is 11) a few months back, mainly because her and I were having a difficult time working together. Before her 1st lesson, I watched two lessons saw two hitters really spread out similar to how the instructor hit (she played for a powerhouse D1 program so there was ample video online..).....hmm. 1st lesson instructor tells DD to widen up some..ok her reasoning for doing that was solid and DD was comfortable with it. Watch second lesson..spread her out some more. Third lesson basically had her where the instructor was when she played..DD was not comfortable with this style and mentioned it. I gave her a 4th lesson and said thanks for your time...but we are done. DD was dreading going to a 5th lesson.

On a brighter note, DD and I can now work together again so perhaps the bad experience had some utility :LOL:
Sounds like the instructor was trying to clone all her students to be like her. I guess that's one way to find an instructor - look for one whose mechanics you like and have her mold your daughter in her image.

Clearly, though, you know that wouldn't work. I think that's the challenge successful players have when they move into coaching. They try to just replicate what worked for them instead of seeing if there might be a better way. Or having different approaches for kids of different body types, ability levels, etc.

One thing about great athletes is they will likely succeed no matter what they're taught unless it's just gawdawful. So they can get away with stuff the majority can't.

Glad it worked out in the end. Sometimes our daughters need to discover that there is worse out there than dad or mom.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
Good points!
And yet
...there are people that will attend weekly workouts that are the same routine over and over. Not even elevating the pace. Routines that could be done at home, because by this time, should be memorized.

What i notice from this is
People initially beleive they are doing the right thing to attend lessons private and group.
Its a good thing, get educated and a workout!
However sometimes by paying for someone else to grow the child, people leave the respondsibility of the learning curve up to the instructor. It becomes the instructors pace of learning...
And depending the type of lessons or group workouts being attended, there IS a low limit of knowledge and training actually being provided.
But people cant/dont see it.
Because its either the only thing they know, and believe they are doing the right thing.
They haven't explored New knowledge, sitting content in the same place doing the same thing, saying look how good my daughter does this same workout routine.
Yet hasnt grown all year.

Rather than continue to evaluate the growth of their child in the situation.

To ask themselve at intervals months apart is my daughter still improving?
She may have grown initially, but is she still growing?

People will be people,
All of us on the learning curve of life.
At a different pace than eachother.
No one size fits all.
That said
Much prefer new knowledge to GROW stimulating challenge, and positive energy!

Look for success, Seek to GROW!
Of course the other side of that is how much effort the student is putting into what she's being taught. Growth doesn't happen in a vacuum, and in my opinion it doesn't happen during lessons. Lessons are for guidance on what to work on to grow.

Perhaps another way to look at it is advancing. In order to advance you first need to have at least decent mastery of what you have right now. It would be irresponsible of an instructor to keep introducing new things when the student can't even do the old things properly yet. For example, there is no sense in teaching a kid a riseball when she can't even throw a fastball for strikes 60% of the time. She needs the to get the foundation in good shape before she can move on to more difficult skills.

Think about catchers. No reason to put a lot of emphasis on improving your transfer skills if your throwing skills are poor. First fix throwing, then worry about how and when to get into a throwing position. If the student doesn't work on her throwing on her own you better believe every lesson is going to focus on basic throwing mechanics until she gets them right. However long that takes.

Once she has the skills you then go into maintenance mode on throwing and work on other things.

I am always honest with students and their parents. My job is to teach the girls, not entertain them or their parents. If you want to say your 10 year old daughter has eight pitches I'm not your guy. But those guys are out there. If you want her to learn skills that will carry her through her entire career, then come on down.
 
Nov 13, 2020
92
18
We'll see..she is only 11 and hasn't hit puberty yet so I am sure her opinion of me will continue to vary.. :LOL:
right? our DD just turned 11 and so many emotions.. one second we are joking about a crazy pitch laughing, next second she’s crying saying that we are making fun of her. We can’t handle it some times..
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
right? our DD just turned 11 and so many emotions.. one second we are joking about a crazy pitch laughing, next second she’s crying saying that we are making fun of her. We can’t handle it some times..
It is a roller coaster for sure. When I was her age I was never home, outside from the time I came home from school and then would go back out after dinner. I am sure my parents were not too upset about that :LOL:
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Of course the other side of that is how much effort the student is putting into what she's being taught. Growth doesn't happen in a vacuum, and in my opinion it doesn't happen during lessons. Lessons are for guidance on what to work on to grow.

Perhaps another way to look at it is advancing. In order to advance you first need to have at least decent mastery of what you have right now. It would be irresponsible of an instructor to keep introducing new things when the student can't even do the old things properly yet. For example, there is no sense in teaching a kid a riseball when she can't even throw a fastball for strikes 60% of the time. She needs the to get the foundation in good shape before she can move on to more difficult skills.

Think about catchers. No reason to put a lot of emphasis on improving your transfer skills if your throwing skills are poor. First fix throwing, then worry about how and when to get into a throwing position. If the student doesn't work on her throwing on her own you better believe every lesson is going to focus on basic throwing mechanics until she gets them right. However long that takes.

Once she has the skills you then go into maintenance mode on throwing and work on other things.

I am always honest with students and their parents. My job is to teach the girls, not entertain them or their parents. If you want to say your 10 year old daughter has eight pitches I'm not your guy. But those guys are out there. If you want her to learn skills that will carry her through her entire career, then come on down.
Of course the student has to apply themselve.
Its a classroom.

To the topic choosing an instructor ~includes paying attention to the instruction provided.

If an instructors role is to Grow the player and the performance has stagnated.
( stop growing or not growing)
There is a responsibility in the situation that i point out for parents to BE aware of...

There are instructors who will continue to take money and keep a student on their schedule regardless if their performance grows or not
Simply because they are offering a business!
If you're willing to come into the business and pay for it then they are doing business with you.

Therefore I look at it as the parents responsibility to evaluate and assess the lesson being purchased.
Along with the skill sets that should be improving.
Which means evaluating the instructors role also!

Learning curve means you keep getting better!
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
Of course the student has to apply themselve.
Its a classroom.

To the topic choosing an instructor ~includes paying attention to the instruction provided.

If an instructors role is to Grow the player and the performance has stagnated.
( stop growing or not growing)
There is a responsibility in the situation that i point out for parents to BE aware of...

There are instructors who will continue to take money and keep a student on their schedule regardless if their performance grows or not
Simply because they are offering a business!
If you're willing to come into the business and pay for it then they are doing business with you.

Therefore I look at it as the parents responsibility to evaluate and assess the lesson being purchased.
Along with the skill sets that should be improving.
Which means evaluating the instructors role also!

Learning curve means you keep getting better!
Yes, definitely agree with that. If you see mastery of what's already there and there is no growth that is a waste of money and time. Instructors should be looking for the earliest opportunity where it makes sense to continue advancing the student forward.
 

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