My Two Cents

2 DD Coach · Sep 6, 2010

I think LC is on the right track here. I watched Howards videos and read his posts, and quite honestly found them lacking in SOME areas, but there is quite a bit of good information and knowledge there. I took the parts that I liked and adapted them to something I felt comfortable teaching.

Howard is a successful hitting coach, so he obviously is doing something right. Anyone who has dealt with him in person thinks he's great at conveying what he's trying to teach to the girls, and has nothing but praise for him. So perhaps Howard is just not as skilled at conveying his points from behind a keyboard, and at the end of the day, in person is really what matters. I don't think he should be labled as someone who will never last, because he has, or pushed away because someone doesn't like the way he types out his answers. I have respect for everyone who tries to help teach anything, and spend more time trying to find the good parts rather then point out the bad.

FiveFrameSwing · Sep 6, 2010

Shawn ... nice clips. Thank you!

2DD ... I agree that Howard has some good information worthy of being filtered in. I don't believe he wishes to debate or enter into detailed discussions ... more a one-way communication type approach where the user can take it or leave it. A private website would give him full control of how, what, when, etc. ... in terms of his choice of disseminating information. The information would still get back to places like this and be discussed. It could be a potential win-win situation for everyone.

Shawn · Sep 6, 2010

The reason I said guys like Howard never last is because they present an answer for everything, regardless if you like everything they say. They have no room for suggestions.

"It is hard to fill a cup that is already full"

And is extremely hard to convey everything over a key board.

I'm not the only where Howard posted something and several people praised everything he said, and we were like what did say that was so important?

Not that Howard is the only one guilty of anything I mentioned, including myself.

I think I'll make that my signature, remind myself not to do the same.

Shawn · Sep 6, 2010

The board is what you make of it. The information is what you make it. Nobody can explain everything they have learned through experience over a key board. If more people just took the time to put together a thoughtful topic, and not necessarily a topic about what another member said. It would be more productive.

Towson 15 · Sep 6, 2010

Shawn,
I saw those clips the first time you posted them and also saw that nobody commented . I would like to hear what you have to say about what you see.It did appear to me that the swing plane of the pro was flatter when compared to the swing plane of the women . It has been mentioned that the angle that the ball drops down in baseball is around 10 degrees and it is about half that for softball.Should the swing plane be flatter or steeper for the women?

alexander58 · Sep 6, 2010

While I don't pretend to know what many of you on the board know about "the swing", I like to read your posts and glean what I can from them. IMO Howard does a pretty a good job of communicating what he deems effective in terms of the mechanics of hitting. I don't believe he has a problem with being questioned. I believe he knows how pointless it is to argue when those involved believe what they believe. Noone is going to change their thinking on what is the proper way to hit. I would imagine none of the "usual suspects" on this board have changed their way of thinking on hitting in some time.

Shawn · Sep 6, 2010

Towson,

We should start a thread and discuss it. Men get use to swinging down/level/up or a stepper U in the swing. When Kruk tried to hit off of Michelle, even though he is far removed from having a competive swing, his comment was that at least in baseball many fastballs were straight and easy to get on plane. He joked that at least the lesser pitchers through the ball straight and he could those pitchers. With Michelle he said it felt like he was couldn't get on plane.

You don't have to move the hand and back elbow height to much to create different sensations. Really the differences are not huge.

Wellphyt · Sep 7, 2010

I have found lots of value in this forum before Howard started posting, while Howard was posting and after Howard stopped posting. There are a lot of knowledgeable posters here for those who are open minded. Clearly some on here have become HC fans and have taken on a role of cheering everything he post. Often times when a person becomes a fan they loose all objectivity. Others on here simple view HC as a FP hitting instructor giving his opinions on an internet message board. Although he is well respected, not all of us have elevated him to the point where he is above reproach. IOW, some of us view him as one of the gang.

One example of loosing objectivity are those who seem to think that girls can't related to MLB players. Where did that idea come from? We know that Cochran studied Ted Williams from the age of 11. We know that when Cochran was asked "who would you most like to meet dead or alive?"...she said "Ted Williams". What about Candrea and Enquist? They seem to think that MLB players are good models for FP players to emulate. IMO, there is no doubt that FP players at the higher levels are studying MLB player swing mechanics. This seems to be a classic example of the players getting ahead of the coaches and instructors.

FiveFrameSwing · Sep 7, 2010

Excellent post Wellphyt. Well stated IMO.

Greenmonsters · Sep 7, 2010

Wellphyt said:
I have found lots of value in this forum before Howard started posting, while Howard was posting and after Howard stopped posting. There are a lot of knowledgeable posters here for those who are open minded. Clearly some on here have become HC fans and have taken on a role of cheering everything he post. Often times when a person becomes a fan they loose all objectivity. Others on here simple view HC as a FP hitting instructor giving his opinions on an internet message board. Although he is well respected, not all of us have elevated him to the point where he is above reproach. IOW, some of us view him as one of the gang.

One example of loosing objectivity are those who seem to think that girls can't related to MLB players. Where did that idea come from? We know that Cochran studied Ted Williams from the age of 11. We know that when Cochran was asked "who would you most like to meet dead or alive?"...she said "Ted Williams". What about Candrea and Enquist? They seem to think that MLB players are good models for FP players to emulate. IMO, there is no doubt that FP players at the higher levels are studying MLB player swing mechanics. This seems to be a classic example of the players getting ahead of the coaches and instructors.

Wellphyt - I believe girls can relate to MLB players and I believe that achieving a MLB swing pattern is desirable. I also believe that today's elite FP players now in college (and/or National Team/pro etc) have had similar high-level coaching and have put in similar hours practicing as their male counterparts. If this is true, then why are female FP swings not as advanced as male BB swings in the same age group (specifically 16-22 yr old age group to exclude the additional resources afforded by pro BB)? Given this observation, I think using the best female FP swings as a model for aspiring players may be a more relevant and effective approach. Is the difference I see real or perceived? And if real, how do you explain it?

Respectfully - GM

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