A message to coaches from a pitching instructor.

[Gambler Bob]

My daughter is very fortunate with her HS softball coaches. All of them are very good softball coaches in addition to just being good all around people. This might be rare but her HS softball coaches IMO are better than her travel ball coaches.

 

[Fury_Mike]

Saw this message it is from a very experienced pitching instructor who produces excellent and elite pitchers.

Think it has very good advice within it.

The beginning sentence is~
A message to all travel ball and High School coaches.
View attachment 28674


My addition to this~Would apply this advice to other things as well like hitting and catching.

Great advice to travel coaches too!

 

[Fury_Mike]

So, you would expect school coaches to be supervisors. While I understand that the conditions in all areas of this country are not the same, in my area if you lose you get fired. Would you trust someone else with your coaching position? Finally, what if I think I know more than the expert? Just because someone calls themselves an expert doesn't make it so.

There will always be exceptions, but in most cases, RAD is spot on.

 

[Fury_Mike]

If we're just talking delivery and pitches, sure. that makes sense. If a pitcher is seeing a private PC, and you want her to learn a new pitch, just tell her so? If the coach feels that pitcher needs a new pitch, or one isn't working, that's his job right? Right or wrong, you can quibble with that for sure, especially if the results are in the girl's favor, but the team coach is the one that decides what is needed on the roster/rotation.

But other stuff, slight mechanical "flaws" or improvements, that stuff absolutely the coach has to be able to make without a "phone a friend" call to a private coach. If the coach sees a pitcher is flying open a bit, or not pushing off hard enough, or struggling with intense heat or something. There are all sorts of in-game/warmup situations that just don't arise in a more sterile practice/training environment.

That said, when in doubt, the pitcher is the one that is _doing it_. There are absolutely pitchers out there that can take a brief instruction from the coach on how to throw a new pitch, what it should do, etc, and then just..do it, without a 4-session intensive training session from their PC. Don't demand, but the team coach should be able to talk pitching with their pitchers without having to get it approved externally. The actual pitcher should be the one to decide what she wants to try, but should be empowered to say "that doesn't really work well with what I'm trying to work on right now" too.

your comments apply as long as the coach knows what he/she is talking about. Most HS coaches don't understand pitching well enough to critique it.

 

[Fury_Mike]

I'm going to pretend you "might" come back to this thread .

I think the reason most people think the majority of coach don't know anything.......is the vast majority don't. HS sports is brutal right now because so many good people are getting out of teaching. Which also means lot of good coaches are lost. Much easier to work a better paying, better environment job and just coach travel ball if that is your passion.

As for taking the kid off the team if you go to public school that isn't an option unless willing to move to a new district or they just don't play. But often in current times the coaches last much less time than the 4 years kids are in school.

As a TB coach I always deferred to what they were doing with their private instructor. Figured it wouldn't help to have two voices conflicting. Now if they weren't performing wasn't much I could do to help them either.

But so many HS coaches have no idea what high level pitching or hitting even look like, but also don't seem to have much problem imposing their way of dong things because they are kids. So I get the nod and smile approach because of this.

Spot on! Cannonball just likes to argue.

 

[Fury_Mike]

A subscription to Wasserman isn't that expensive.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

The challenge with that is by the time they get to high school, if they have bad throwing mechanics, its very difficult to fix.

 

[daywalkerdad]

Big difference in knowing mechanics and being a pitching/hitting coach.
Knowing allows you to tell a player what they are doing wrong; a specialty coach can tell a player how to fix it.

 

[RADcatcher]

If a coach has concerns that is fine but all instruction needs to come from pitching coach or single point.
When it comes to pitchers you are dancing with the one you brought. 30 minutes prior to the game is no time for instruction.
I would rather a coach sit DD than mess with form without discussion with pitching coach.

Simply stated powerful comment!

 

[RADcatcher]

Does this work both ways?

A conversation is two or more people talking about the topic. Yes there should be a conversation.

Without the conversation it's just one person telling another what to do without an explanation. No thanks to that!

 

[RADcatcher]

The challenge with that is by the time they get to high school, if they have bad throwing mechanics, its very difficult to fix.

It's alarming how many players are involved in average level travel ball that are lacking throwing overhand well. Especially at travel ball where they have a long-term commitment could be making a better commitment to teaching very necessary skill set!

High School and it's shorter season look at as much more of a mixed bag of talent levels so I do expect to see some not great throwing mechanics there.