how to recognize quality/correct hitting instruction

chrispots said:

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!

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You forgot the torches - you can't have a proper peasant revolt without the torches!

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>

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I don't think anyone here would really argue against that drill - b/c there's a good chance of the drills purpose (as RDB posted) being explained to us beforehand.

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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Putting on a nit-picking hat for this one - but might #3 be an "optional" question? Either due to such a minute change you don't really notice it, or a more likely scenario (and probably only applicable to (guessing here...) 12YO and above) where the change is mental, e.g. timing, or just a coach that does #2 so well, the increased confidence makes the current mechanics remarkably more effective.

Returning to Hudgens vs. the example given by the OP, I'd summarize it by saying it's the difference between:

the internet heroes here know more than a hitting coach who has been in MLB for 30 years

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Not to put too fine a point on it, but has he grown or learned anything new in those 30 years or is he 30 years behind the times? On the other hand, info from the internet is better than nothing but nowhere near as good as face time.

I agree that it sounds like he probably has a reason and can explain why he does everything he does and to the OP- THAT is a sign of a good coach. He's probably an excellent hitting coach but generally speaking, holding a job for 30 years doesn't guarantee perfection.
I have been working for over 30 years and while I am good at what I do, I am always learning how to do it better.

the internet heroes

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To some posters,(moms, dads, DD & DS ) the 'internet heroes' are all we have access to .......just need to choose wisely.

Read this on the internet:

Aug 6, 2014 at 7:27pm 1chapterahead said:
Eric, ask your daughter to beat balls straight into the ground ~ 4' in front of the tee. Than increase it to 10'. Than 20, etc. Get her to have a more direct hand path. Don't worry about sending the barrel rearward. Get the loop out.

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Surprising what you can find on the internet...

RD if you're going to come with the self portray stuff, I'd see your Coon and raise it with my photo:

coachbubbles said:

IMO (and as stated above) the hitter has to "feel the barrel" to control the barrel. One trick I have used that works almost every time is to put a target (throw down base) about 3 feet in front of the tee, another 6 foot, another 15 feet and another 30 feet. Have them "hit the target" working from shortest to longest and back and forth. Sure this creates a chop swing initially, however they can't do this drill by dropping the barrel or tucking the elbow. This is a great way to get them to "feel the barrel". Once they get this down then I do targets at waist high and at the ground at the net at the end of the batting cage. !

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Interesting to see someone else post this too. After watching so many hitters not be able to "feel it" I came up with that over compensation on my own to make them understand. I use it as described above - with a purpose and an explanation of what we are trying to accomplish. You can tell them until you are blue in the face but very few younger ones get it and just do the same thing over and over again with little correction.

I've asked myself the same Q as OP and resolved myself to the fact that their isn't just one way (although most elite hitters have many similarities) and have just bound myself to being a lifelong learner. Otherwise you have 20 year old knowledge.