Hey Coach, you said you wouldnt...

[radness]

Yep another thread on approaching the coach...because apparently...it has to happen...AGAIN

Player trys out for 10u t.b. team.
Fills out the 'please tells us about yourself team form'
10 yr. old
Played s.b. 3 years.
Started pitching 2 years ago.
Pitcher- goes to weekly pitching lessons~over a year.
Played some 2nd and OF. Looking to learn other defensive spots.
Also goes to weekly hitting lessons~over a year.

Player gets offered a spot!
Parents chat with coaches.
Coach says
"We like everything we see"
Parent says "Great! You see she has pitching and hitting instructor and that looks good?"
Coaches say
"Looks good, we wont change anything because your taking her to an instructor."

Few weeks in here it comes
Coaches want all batters to do
THIS ___________________.
( the THIS doesnt really matter to the story. The CHANGING matters!)

So a really intelligent 10 year old who has a fantastic head on her shoulders. Understands technical conversations fairly well and is able to hit,
just needs to keep growing and develop as a 10 year old.
Faces the confusing message of people telling her to do something that is uncomfortable, throws off her timing, weight and balance, not good results apon trying.
Now the 10-year old is questioning the situation
DOUBT has enetered the arena...

Now child and parents are put into a situation~ of how do you speak to a coach.
Hmmm ???
Parent talk to the coach?
and/or
Teach your 10 year old to speak to the coach?

The parent after thinking through the delema shared this, thought it was valuable thinking,

Parent said
"After thinking through the situation and the coach's saying clearly they would not change a thing because they understand she is working on it, has a good swing and an instructor paying attention."
(Parent continued and pointed out)
*"They are not trying to change her pitching mechanics.
Possibly because they don't know what could be better,
but they are trying to change her hitting mechanics because they
'think' they know what's better."

Think the parents way of paying attention is spot on!!!

So hear comes the
"Hey coach, got a minute?" moment...

Sharing these type stories so others, including coaches, can
recognize the added DILEMMA when people coaching say one thing,
and do another!

( this story is not about performance, thats fine)

 

[BigSkyHi]

As a coach, felt it was my responsibility to get in touch with the instructors that were working with a player in order help to player enjoy success not confusion.

Also helped me to become a much better instructor.

 

[Hawk_]

As a coach, felt it was my responsibility to get in touch with the instructors that were working with a player in order help to player enjoy success not confusion.

Also helped me to become a much better instructor.

This..... every pitcher I have has an instructor. I ask for key words to remind them of their technique. If my player has a hitting instructor or method to hitting I do the same thing.
Most coaches think they can teach hitting effectively.....most are wrong.

 

[Ksphenom]

We coach to help kids be successful and maybe win a few. I don't coach to hear myself talk. I don't know everything but enough to help individuals and a team maximize strengths of that team and reduce our flaws.

I've had pitchers join the team and pitch ok. Some parents are always looking to take their DD somewhere else. Which is fine but a Kid who's ok at pitching now can't pitch or lost some ability to pitch.

I'm not going to her pitching coach practice because the parents want me to.

Never take a kid to a pitching coach that hasn't developed at least one kid from scratch. How successful are the other girls seeing this coach?

Batting:
I always ask my players the following.
"Do you like having everyone telling you how to hit the ball. Do you like people doing that?"

It all stops when you just hit the dang ball.


Batting guru's. I will fix this if you cannot.
If a kid cannot hit do to the following they will be taught to sac bunt or check swing something into play.
Taking huge steps and changing hand levels
Not keeping head still or pulling head
Overloading/excessive bat wrapping
Closing eyes
Off balance
Rolling over before or at contact
Can't hit a ball if you hear pow before you swing
Nothing above your head
Nothing in the dirt

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[nikkilugi]

We recently had a coach approach a hitting issue the right way I think. My DD is 15 and plays on an 18u team. She has excellent success at the plate, hence why she is playing 18’s, but we recognize there is always something to work on. My dh, her Dad, is her hitting coach and that has worked for them. However, I am the one who practices with her, takes her to practices and deals with her team. One of her coaches recently approached me about an issue she was seeing and wanted to know if we were open to trying a tweak in her swing. I appreciate that the coach understood DD likely had her own hitting instructor and asked before just trying to change things.

 

[Cannonball]

Ok, so I've run in to this many times. Most often it is the area of hitting. Most often is has to do with various drills etc. Most often, the parents don't understand the intent of various drills and the instructor doesn't use the drill(s). I think that the best response I can give as a coach is that I am a little flexible and the player can do whatever drill work. However, when that player does not produce I will replace that player with someone who does produce.

Not to sound too conceited but I know most of the instructors in my area. I would question many of their resumes and the criteria that they use to give the impression that they are experts. I have mentioned one in my area here several times on this site and others. Playing a year of pro ball doesn't make you an expert. I have also mentioned that it is clear that we don't get along. IMO, every player we get from that "expert" needs coaching. I bite my tongue and let them fail IF they can get on the field in the first place.

 

[Eric F]

This week, I have gotten into a discussion with one of my DD's team coaches about some issues with her swing. He started off by acknowledging that she works with a private instructor, and doesn't want to get in the way of anything she's working on with him. Coach told me what he's seeing, and what he thinks she should do to correct the issues. He and I agree on the issues, but have significantly different ideas on how to approach them. We looked at video of her swing together, and it quickly became clear that his idea of the swing is significantly different than the swing Maddie has been taught. He has been respectful, and open to further discussion about swing mechanics. I shared some info and videos that reference some of my understanding of mechanics. I don't know his mind will change, but I hope he's been able to recognize that I know a few things.

 

[BigSkyHi]

This week, I have gotten into a discussion with one of my DD's team coaches about some issues with her swing. He started off by acknowledging that she works with a private instructor, and doesn't want to get in the way of anything she's working on with him. Coach told me what he's seeing, and what he thinks she should do to correct the issues. He and I agree on the issues, but have significantly different ideas on how to approach them. We looked at video of her swing together, and it quickly became clear that his idea of the swing is significantly different than the swing Maddie has been taught. He has been respectful, and open to further discussion about swing mechanics. I shared some info and videos that reference some of my understanding of mechanics. I don't know his mind will change, but I hope he's been able to recognize that I know a few things.

Communication is so much better than foot stomping

 

[Lance Steckler]

This week, I have gotten into a discussion with one of my DD's team coaches about some issues with her swing. He started off by acknowledging that she works with a private instructor, and doesn't want to get in the way of anything she's working on with him. Coach told me what he's seeing, and what he thinks she should do to correct the issues. He and I agree on the issues, but have significantly different ideas on how to approach them. We looked at video of her swing together, and it quickly became clear that his idea of the swing is significantly different than the swing Maddie has been taught. He has been respectful, and open to further discussion about swing mechanics. I shared some info and videos that reference some of my understanding of mechanics. I don't know his mind will change, but I hope he's been able to recognize that I know a few things.

easiest way to tell him to pound sand is if she is mashing the ball all over the yard. I could can care less about any hitter's mechanics, AS LONG AS THEY ARE HITTING THE BALL HARD.

 

[Orange Socks]

My DD was taking lessons from a coach who was telling her to hit down on the ball. I found a picture of her in college swinging the bat and showed her what she looked like with her swing. I even showed her that her bat path was not "down" on the ball, in fact it was upward motion. She asked "where did you find that!" LOL. The interwebs! It was not confrontational rather I was coming to her inquisitively. She is a head coach at a D2 in Tenn. As many on here have said, these hitting and pitching coaches seem to teach something that they don't even do.