how to recognize quality/correct hitting instruction

IT always amazes me when someone says I went to a clinic and I was right. Especially because if you ask 4 other people who sat there they all have different opinions on what was said. I attend the Be The Best Coaching clinic in NJ with some of our other coaches. We always make copies of our notes and pass them around, its amazing to see what we each take out of the same speech/demo because there is always one who has a different focal point.

As for hitting coaches, read, learn and don't be afraid to say sorry No. A few of the teams use a hitting coach (friend of one of the coaches), we were approached in the beginning of the year saying if we started going to him as a team we would get a deep discount since the rest of the org used him. I figured we would give him a chance. After one lesson I quickly change my mind, I didn't like the way he was teaching (same thing heard squish the bug, back elbow high, etc) but the comment he made that sealed the deal for me was we want to drive the ball into the ground balls b/c line drives and fly balls are out, grounders they have to make a play on. We did out research found another hitting coach, he cost a little more but the girls love him he explains why he does each drill and what it will do for them. I'm glad we said no to the other coach trust your gut if you feel like he's doing more harm to her mechanics don't be afraid to say no thanks.

doublesteal said:

the comment he made that sealed the deal for me was we want to drive the ball into the ground balls b/c line drives and fly balls are out, grounders they have to make a play on.

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He or his twin is now the head coach of DD's high school team.

This can have strategic value in 8U, however.

What else besides a strike out would a pitcher prefer......it's a ground ball. Why purposely teach driving the ball into the ground.

bmakj said:

so how do I recognize quality hitting instruction? the only thing that seemed off was his utterance of "squish the bug" a couple of times. what things specifically should they be teaching?

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I say this humbly as someone who has worked at this for a LONG time and is still trying to learn every day -- most everything he said and all his stations were not of high quality, as others have noted. The fact that you can't recognize that tells you what you have to do: as someone else said...read, read read and learn learn learn. If that doesn't interest you, and it doesn't interest everyone (and that's more than ok, we all have jobs, families, lives) then you just need to be very careful and thoughtful about who you entrust your daughter to. Trust the group here that basically gave you a warning about the coach your daughter saw. Try someone else, check here again. You may think that looking for travel programs with "results" would be a sure bet but sometimes those programs just get all the best talent and don't actually train or instruct anyone. It's not easy, but it's doable by normal people like you, me and everyone else here. Good luck.

mudrunner said:

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.

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AMEN Brother! We've been through 3-4 coaches. Most were good, but the best/better ones were the coaches that represented what mudrunner mentioned above. We're attending Baseball Rebellion in Hillsborough, NC. What I like about them is their system. We see 2 different coaches and they all teach the same system. They have a different way of communicating and connecting with my daughter, but the method/message is the same from coach to coach.

Canonq said:

AMEN Brother! We've been through 3-4 coaches. Most were good, but the best/better ones were the coaches that represented what mudrunner mentioned above. We're attending Baseball Rebellion in Hillsborough, NC. What I like about them is their system. We see 2 different coaches and they all teach the same system. They have a different way of communicating and connecting with my daughter, but the method/message is the same from coach to coach.

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I've seen their videos on-line, and like the way they approach things.

Have any of you been to a college hitting clinic?

Holy God! Every one of you should just bring pick axes and pitch forks and tell the college coach(es) how bad they are...thanks for the comedic relief!

Go to a Dave Hudgens hitting clinic sometime and you will start with hitting ground balls off a tee to a spot 8 feet off the tee...I know...the internet heroes here know more than a hitting coach who has been in MLB for 30 years...there is value here if you are interested in learning to turn the barrel against a firm front side, creating a corner with you body and creating a barrel path that has a corner too...again internet heroes know better <SMH>

I am fortunate enough to get to watch Richie Hebner give hitting instruction a few times a year...based on the comments here, all of you folks would poo poo his training too...watching him work with Bautista last year was really eye opening...that was cool!

So what would I consider quality hitting instruction?

There is no doubt the Hansen principle has to play into this but at the end of the day results have to count for something...quality hitting instruction can be boiled down to whether you can answer these 4 questions in a positive fashion: 1) Can the instructor effectively change the movement pattern? 2) Can the instructor communicate with your DD in a manner in which she understands? 3) Do you see changes in their swing and 4) are they seeing positive results in games?

When any of the above questions are not answered after a reasonable period of time, move on...what is a reasonable period of time? That's the parents call based on where DD is starting from...I've worked with 12 year olds who were 0-30 on soft front toss in their first lessons who are now the best hitters on their TB teams...are their swings high level? NOPE...

Some will progress further...some will not...there are plenty of D1 and MLB swings that are far from "elite."

My bit of advice...pick an approach and just go with it for 6 months...then reassess...

My 2 cents...CP

After one lesson I quickly change my mind, I didn't like the way he was teaching (same thing heard squish the bug, back elbow high, etc) but the comment he made that sealed the deal for me was we want to drive the ball into the ground balls b/c line drives and fly balls are out, grounders they have to make a play on.

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Is different than:

Go to a Dave Hudgens hitting clinic sometime and you will start with hitting ground balls off a tee to a spot 8 feet off the tee

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A drill with a purpose.....

chrispots said:

So what would I consider quality hitting instruction?

There is no doubt the Hansen principle has to play into this but at the end of the day results have to count for something...quality hitting instruction can be boiled down to whether you can answer these 4 questions in a positive fashion: 1) Can the instructor effectively change the movement pattern? 2) Can the instructor communicate with your DD in a manner in which she understands? 3) Do you see changes in their swing and 4) are they seeing positive results in games?

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This criteria seems reasonable to me. If you hang around these forums long enough you realize that what one guru classifies as "high level" is not what the next guru is going to classify as "high level". Each will find one or two words to disagree on and they will do so with conviction. It is up to "you" as a parent to determine what works best for your son or daughter. Educate yourself and don't fall for the marketing propaganda.

chrispots said:

Have any of you been to a college hitting clinic?

Holy God! Every one of you should just bring pick axes and pitch forks and tell the college coach(es) how bad they are...thanks for the comedic relief!

Go to a Dave Hudgens hitting clinic sometime and you will start with hitting ground balls off a tee to a spot 8 feet off the tee...I know...the internet heroes here know more than a hitting coach who has been in MLB for 30 years...there is value here if you are interested in learning to turn the barrel against a firm front side, creating a corner with you body and creating a barrel path that has a corner too...again internet heroes know better <SMH>

I am fortunate enough to get to watch Richie Hebner give hitting instruction a few times a year...based on the comments here, all of you folks would poo poo his training too...watching him work with Bautista last year was really eye opening...that was cool!

So what would I consider quality hitting instruction?

There is no doubt the Hansen principle has to play into this but at the end of the day results have to count for something...quality hitting instruction can be boiled down to whether you can answer these 4 questions in a positive fashion: 1) Can the instructor effectively change the movement pattern? 2) Can the instructor communicate with your DD in a manner in which she understands? 3) Do you see changes in their swing and 4) are they seeing positive results in games?

When any of the above questions are not answered after a reasonable period of time, move on...what is a reasonable period of time? That's the parents call based on where DD is starting from...I've worked with 12 year olds who were 0-30 on soft front toss in their first lessons who are now the best hitters on their TB teams...are their swings high level? NOPE...

Some will progress further...some will not...there are plenty of D1 and MLB swings that are far from "elite."

My bit of advice...pick an approach and just go with it for 6 months...then reassess...

My 2 cents...CP

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Chris, I have been to a couple of dozen. In fact, my dd was asked to be a "demonstrator" at a couple including some put on by the late Mary Nutter. Mary was a good friend. There are some outstanding coaches out there to be sure. However, simply because a coach is a college coach doesn't, imo, mean that they know anything much at all. I know one young lady who played against my dd who is a hitting coach now in college. In personally knowing her, I would say that she was much of an expert at all. She was hired based upon her career stats and not, necessairly her knowledge. BB was offered similar a couple of similar positions. Per the bold above of your post, I agree.