how to recognize quality/correct hitting instruction

4 girl's dad · Jan 30, 2017

Read. A LOT!! It has taken me a couple years to get to know what I was looking for.

But if she is just starting out, you have time to mess her up and then get it back! Jk!

obbay · Jan 31, 2017

This should get you started - https://www.coachlisle.com/free-tips/
remember the goal is to achieve a high-level or Elite swing -there is no such thing as a baseball swing or a softball swing.

Also remember that hitting is like religion: everyone truly believes that their way is the only way, all others are wrong. While you can ask a coach questions about what he teaches, you are not going to change what he believes, so don't try. its the parent version of "smile and nod".

I know a coach (baseball guy) who's a pretty good coach but he is completely out to lunch when it comes to fundmentals. he used to drive me crazy trying to get players to swing flat. turns out, he has a pet peeve developed from some of his players swinging with too much uppercut. All he would verbalize was "don't swing with an uppercut, you'll hit pop-ups- swing level!" that drove me nuts, but he was right to try to break the over-upper-cutters of their bad habit.

its complicated and most youth coaches that I have seen (including our HS Varsity coach) are only repeating what they were taught 20+ years ago..

best of luck and do your best not to get frustrated! (you can always seek refuge here)

quincy · Jan 31, 2017

4 girl's dad said:
Read. A LOT!! It has taken me a couple years to get to know what I was looking for.
J
But if she is just starting out, you have time to mess her up and then get it back! Jk!

I know I asked you to that, now I am asking you to stop doing that. &#55357;&#56832;

mudrunner · Jan 31, 2017

That is a very valid question that I don't know the answer to lol. My DD has had 4 different hitting instructors/coaches over the last 5 years or so. I thought the first three were good, but DD never really improved. They taught the same old school ways of hitting that I was raised with. They took my money, went over the same drills every week, watched a few slo mo swings, and our half hour was up....see ya next week. I didn't realize until she took some lessons from Cannonball what good instruction was. IMO a good instructor breaks down the hitting sequence, and can explain why this is or that is happening in terms that the parent and child can both understand. On top of that a little variety in drills keeps things fun and interesting. I feel that a good hitting instructors job is to give you the tools and understanding you need make YOURSELF into a better hitter. If they feel that they need to sell you a 24 week hitting lesson package then they are doing something wrong.

Also, any time DD has an organizational or team hitting camp like you are talking about DD keeps her ears open and listens, but pretty much just sticks with what she knows. Her team hardly ever does those. I am not crazy about them because it seems the main goal is to get all the girls through each station before time is up, and there is very little attention to detail.

Chris Delorit · Jan 31, 2017

The $24 million dollar question.

Experience, results, personalized training & video. Very important that your daughters see themselves in order to connect the dots.

mudrunner offered some valuable personal experiences.

Chris

Strike2 · Jan 31, 2017

Lots of debate here and elsewhere on the best techniques, and sometimes this subject is over-thought.

I believe there is more than one way to arrive at an effective swing, and ultimately, I think the best way to recognize good instruction is how the kid is hitting the ball.

The guy I send my kid to is very straightforward, and his instruction includes basic tee work, soft toss, and front-toss. Not only does he communicate very well, he's consistent, has a good eye for detail, and can accurately pitch at game speed. He occasionally demonstrates what he's talking about by hitting the living shirt out of a softball with a swing we'd all like to own. His relatively minor adjustments last week had my kid hitting one hard shot after another by the end of her first lesson since last Spring. At field practice a few days later, she was doing the same thing.

Granted, I'm talking about a player who has been at it for awhile, but...

Regardless of skill level, are they getting better? Ultimately, that's the most relevant question.

Mr T · Jan 31, 2017

Great question. In general a good instructor will be trying to generate violent athletic movements to crush the crap out of the ball. The litany of terrible instruction goes on and on and on but at its core it's based on the idea of CAN'T, it's a fear of athleticism and movement, being late, striking out, etc..

Cannonball · Jan 31, 2017

mudrunner said:
That is a very valid question that I don't know the answer to lol. My DD has had 4 different hitting instructors/coaches over the last 5 years or so. I thought the first three were good, but DD never really improved. They taught the same old school ways of hitting that I was raised with. They took my money, went over the same drills every week, watched a few slo mo swings, and our half hour was up....see ya next week. I didn't realize until she took some lessons from Cannonball what good instruction was. IMO a good instructor breaks down the hitting sequence, and can explain why this is or that is happening in terms that the parent and child can both understand. On top of that a little variety in drills keeps things fun and interesting. I feel that a good hitting instructors job is to give you the tools and understanding you need make YOURSELF into a better hitter. If they feel that they need to sell you a 24 week hitting lesson package then they are doing something wrong.

Also, any time DD has an organizational or team hitting camp like you are talking about DD keeps her ears open and listens, but pretty much just sticks with what she knows. Her team hardly ever does those. I am not crazy about them because it seems the main goal is to get all the girls through each station before time is up, and there is very little attention to detail.

Thank you for the compliment. I love working with your dd. It is easy to have fun when the hitter is motivated and listens like your dd does. Here is what I would ask of any of you parents and I believe mudrunner will back this up from what I do/expect, please do your best to watch a lessons and if you have questions, please ask them. I try to have a conversation going almost the entire time with either the hitter or the parent explaining what they are doing. It is easy to find hitting instructors who yell out compliments when a player hit a shot. It is hard to find hitting instructors who will coach as much when the player doesn't hit the ball hard. JMHO!

FP26 · Jan 31, 2017

obbay said:
This should get you started - https://www.coachlisle.com/free-tips/
remember the goal is to achieve a high-level or Elite swing -there is no such thing as a baseball swing or a softball swing.

Also remember that hitting is like religion: everyone truly believes that their way is the only way, all others are wrong. While you can ask a coach questions about what he teaches, you are not going to change what he believes, so don't try. its the parent version of "smile and nod".

I know a coach (baseball guy) who's a pretty good coach but he is completely out to lunch when it comes to fundmentals. he used to drive me crazy trying to get players to swing flat. turns out, he has a pet peeve developed from some of his players swinging with too much uppercut. All he would verbalize was "don't swing with an uppercut, you'll hit pop-ups- swing level!" that drove me nuts, but he was right to try to break the over-upper-cutters of their bad habit.

its complicated and most youth coaches that I have seen (including our HS Varsity coach) are only repeating what they were taught 20+ years ago..

best of luck and do your best not to get frustrated! (you can always seek refuge here)

This is an excellent point. It's not always about "what" is said. Sometimes you also need to know the context. The instructor needs to find a way to connect with the student. Sometimes that may require using words or phrases that you may not otherwise use. Sometimes cues will mean different things to different people.

4 girl's dad · Jan 31, 2017

Another thing that is important is learning to see bad mechanics as well as good ones. Then, also understand what they are doing when they are bad to help them adjust.

I recommend reading the hitting hall of shame thread here on DFP.

how to recognize quality/correct hitting instruction

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

4 girl's dad

obbay

Banned

quincy

mudrunner

Chris Delorit

Member

Strike2

Allergic to BS

Mr T

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"

FP26

4 girl's dad

Similar threads

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Share this page

Online statistics

Forum statistics