How to ask “Do you teach Hello Elbow”?

This is related to another (forthcoming) post, and may also be a repeat question from a recent thread – but what’s the best way to ask the “do you teach HE” question to potential PCs in the most neutral way possible? I’m trying not to “rock the boat”, as these are league-sponsored clinics, and I definitely don’t want to sound like I’m trying to discredit the obvious success they’ve had in their own D1 careers(whether they actually used HE or not).

I’m thinking of just going with the “clueless parent” approach: “I made the mistake of searching youtube, and saw a slow-motion video that looked like the pitcher turned the ball sideways and bent her elbow behind her – I always thought the arm stayed straight, like a bowling or skee ball-type motion. Is there a difference?”

I just pasted this from another thread I posted in but this would be my recommendation...you are on the right track though

I'm not sure IR is a term you will hear much outside of a few places. I would ask more questions like the things Ken B posted. Where should the ball be at 9 oclock, should the arm be bent, should we push the ball down through release or be pulling it down or what should the upper arm be doing at release, what should the follow through look like. Getting the answers to these question instead of just asking do you teach IR or HE will probably give you a better understanding of what kind of pitching coach you are getting. Funny thing is if you can find video of her pitching in a game probably a 75%+ chance she pitches much closer to IR than what she is actually teaching (although believe it or not there are some HE pitchers pitching D1)

Never hurts to just ask them to show you the way they are going to teach. That's how i waded through the decision. Also using IR as a term as said above is not commonly used that i have heard.

Go sit through a couple of sessions. Sit quietly and watch. It doesn't take too long to see what they are teaching. Then you can decide whether it is for your dd or not.

It is not uncommon for a parent/player to ask to sit and watch me give a hitting lesson. I don't mind at all. I'd suggest you ask to sit in on a lesson to see what is being taught.

DJ, et. all,

Thanks. Just to clarify, I definitely wasn't planning on throwing around DFP terms like "IR" or brush.

I tried a google search for videos, but while we have several D1 teams, our area isn't a softball powerhouse like CA or the SEC. I'll try to search within youtube to see if I have any better luck.

So for now, I'll likely just ask about the bent arm, ball position, and follow through, and maybe a quick "can you show me?".

Thanks again for the responses.

shaker1 said:

Go sit through a couple of sessions. Sit quietly and watch. It doesn't take too long to see what they are teaching. Then you can decide whether it is for your dd or not.

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i would do as shaker said. go and watch. you can pretty much see what the PC teaches. HE will be very obvious.

One of the best markers is what they teach at the 12:00 position. If they teach to turn the ball toward second base you know there's no IR there, whether they are teaching HE or not.

I was doing lessons once indoors when I caught a glimpse of what was going on a couple of cages over. A young pitcher had her hand over her head with the ball facing forward and the "PC" turned it back toward second based. It just made me sad.

I would ask, though I have never been in the situation to ask this......"Do you emphasize the pinkie finger to lead the ball or the ball to lead the pinkie at the point of release?"

That tells me the emphasis/teaching on which axis of rotation is being used and the time of release, shoulder or elbow/forearm.

Too simple, don't know.

The only question you need to ask is if you can watch a student of theirs pitch. Typically one pitch will speak volumes. If your eyes are slow like mine, watch two pitches.