I've seen a couple of coaches who think that every private instructor except the ones his DDs go to are idiots. If you ask them not to mess with your kid, they will reluctantly comply when you're around and then jack around with swings/pitching mechanics anytime the parents aren't looking. I'd guess that the consensus would be to not play for someone like that.
Travel vs. School vs. Private Coaching Conflicts
- Thread starter cdhboiler97
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I've seen a couple of coaches who think that every private instructor except the ones his DDs go to are idiots. If you ask them not to mess with your kid, they will reluctantly comply when you're around and then jack around with swings/pitching mechanics anytime the parents aren't looking. I'd guess that the consensus would be to not play for someone like that.
I really appreciate the respect that you guys give to those of us high school coaches that work hard at trying to educate our youth and be a part of a sport we love. Yes, there are bad coaches out there in all HS sports but to pigeon hole us all into one group is disrespectful. I have coached against some of those guys and they are easy to defeat with just fundamentals.
Personally, I work on coaching 12 months of the year. I watch videos, read, attend clinics, and seek out other coaches for advice and new ideas. I work with our local TB organization trying to do what is best for the players year round. I have been asked to coach TB and choose not to so the players get different coaching from different ideas, not a one size fits all sport.
Yes, you touched a nerve. I get tired of reading such negative things all the time. For the record I have seen some really bad TB coaches too. That does not mean I think they are all bad or uneducated about the sport.
Player is going to hitting coach. Not happy with what they are doing. I know you need to go backwards to go forward IMO it was a mess. Mentioned it to parent once, they can make desesion, thier kid. They were paying for an idiot IMO.
No one would be foolish enough to pay me but I will throw 1000s of balls at someone.
No one would be foolish enough to pay me but I will throw 1000s of balls at someone.
inumpire
Observer, but has an opinion
- Oct 31, 2014
- 278
- 43
I have read all these comments just about and some were good, and some not so good. But here is my question........if your DD and all her team mate are so week trained and so knowledgeable, why in the world are they playing 14U “B”? wouldn’t a player with this skill set want to play the best competition she could to reach the next level. You already stated she is basically a stud, why ”B”??
I appreciate your effort to be better..... the post was referring to a Junior High coach, not high school. While I wouldn't want my DD HS coach correcting swings either unless well educated on it..... for sure not a Junior High coach who most likely coaches 4-5 different sports. Saying that, one of my DD's Jr High coaches played at Illinois so any tips from her are welcome.
Like anything else, there’s 3 possibilities here:
Every fundamental skill is really just a series of blended movements, and each individual may do one of those movements a little differently than the next. Likewise, every coach has had different levels of success teaching a player the finer points of one particular movement. It takes a lot of reps to make something habit, so there isn’t a lot of harm trying something to see how it feels and if it helps. Ultimately - the end result is the only thing that matters. So if that thing your coach showed you doesn’t improve the end result, then there’s no sense in incorporating it into how you play in a game. All coaches should understand that. #1 rule of coaching: don’t make a player worse.
From DD’s perspective – even if you think you are 100% right, try it in practice anyway and refer to the #1 rule of athletics. If you genuinely try and it doesn’t work for you, that’s fine – just smile and nod and try it in practice each time coach asks you to do it. Maybe it’ll work the second time, or the 10th, or maybe it never will. If it does work for you, then work on making it a habit. If not, then don’t make it a habit. Simple as that.
It takes a lot of reps and hard work to make something a habit. If you’re playing travel ball, working with a private instructor, and/or working at home you’re getting a lot of additional reps, so a few reps of something different at school isn’t going to ruin you for life.
Game time is no time to think about instruction. You need to do everything out of habit. If you get better results doing it your way, then that’s all that matters. Just remember – if everyone around you is getting better results by doing something different, then you may need to revisit your original assumptions about being 100% right.
Strategy is a different animal. Here’s an example: If coach says “dip your barrel below your hands to bunt” then smile and nod and try it in practice, but assuming all that does is make you pop everything up or foul - don’t work on making it a habit. If Coach gives the “Thou shalt bunt at this next pitch” sign with 2 strikes and 2 outs in the bottom of the seventh down by 7 runs, then that’s what you do. The decision to bunt in that situation is all up to Coach. How you execute the fundamental skill of laying a bunt down is due to your habits. You may think that’s the worst decision in the world – and there’s 3 possibilities: 1: You’re 100% right and no one shall EVER bunt with 2 strikes because the laws of physics prohibit you from ever getting that bunt down; 2: Turns out you get it down and start a 2 out winning rally; or 3: The ball rolls along the 1st base line, you run through the bag, the crowd goes wild, then the ball kicks foul, the pitcher touches it foul, ump yells “foul ball, batter out, that’s game!” and coach realizes “ooooof - maybe I shoulda called that on the 1st pitch instead.”
- You’re 100% right
- You’re 100% wrong
- You’re partially wrong
Every fundamental skill is really just a series of blended movements, and each individual may do one of those movements a little differently than the next. Likewise, every coach has had different levels of success teaching a player the finer points of one particular movement. It takes a lot of reps to make something habit, so there isn’t a lot of harm trying something to see how it feels and if it helps. Ultimately - the end result is the only thing that matters. So if that thing your coach showed you doesn’t improve the end result, then there’s no sense in incorporating it into how you play in a game. All coaches should understand that. #1 rule of coaching: don’t make a player worse.
From DD’s perspective – even if you think you are 100% right, try it in practice anyway and refer to the #1 rule of athletics. If you genuinely try and it doesn’t work for you, that’s fine – just smile and nod and try it in practice each time coach asks you to do it. Maybe it’ll work the second time, or the 10th, or maybe it never will. If it does work for you, then work on making it a habit. If not, then don’t make it a habit. Simple as that.
It takes a lot of reps and hard work to make something a habit. If you’re playing travel ball, working with a private instructor, and/or working at home you’re getting a lot of additional reps, so a few reps of something different at school isn’t going to ruin you for life.
Game time is no time to think about instruction. You need to do everything out of habit. If you get better results doing it your way, then that’s all that matters. Just remember – if everyone around you is getting better results by doing something different, then you may need to revisit your original assumptions about being 100% right.
Strategy is a different animal. Here’s an example: If coach says “dip your barrel below your hands to bunt” then smile and nod and try it in practice, but assuming all that does is make you pop everything up or foul - don’t work on making it a habit. If Coach gives the “Thou shalt bunt at this next pitch” sign with 2 strikes and 2 outs in the bottom of the seventh down by 7 runs, then that’s what you do. The decision to bunt in that situation is all up to Coach. How you execute the fundamental skill of laying a bunt down is due to your habits. You may think that’s the worst decision in the world – and there’s 3 possibilities: 1: You’re 100% right and no one shall EVER bunt with 2 strikes because the laws of physics prohibit you from ever getting that bunt down; 2: Turns out you get it down and start a 2 out winning rally; or 3: The ball rolls along the 1st base line, you run through the bag, the crowd goes wild, then the ball kicks foul, the pitcher touches it foul, ump yells “foul ball, batter out, that’s game!” and coach realizes “ooooof - maybe I shoulda called that on the 1st pitch instead.”
You're asking the wrong person, not my DD, and not my thread, my DD is in college!
What was the drill? enquiring minds need to know.
- Jun 20, 2015
- 853
- 93
the sanest way to make it thru the season is to adjust now that most of what happens you will not agree with, accept it now. get good lawn chair, sit out away from field (solo), and cheer for entire team. Resign yourself to the fact that neither DD or you parents have any control or input in the way HS coach does anything. from the lack of rotating players, players in 'wrong' positions, defensive alignments, batting philosopy, selective enforcement of rules, etc, etc,
Silently pray for the return of travel ball as soon as possible.
Best of luck.
Silently pray for the return of travel ball as soon as possible.
Best of luck.
- Jan 22, 2011
- 1,635
- 113
Heard yesterday that a local HS coach who was hired because he had over 12 years of experience as a travel ball coach is having his team do wrist flicks as part of throwing warms-up.
