Learning and Applying~New mechanics

[radness]

Learning and applying new mechanics. Conversation topic how long should it take, could it take, to reteach the body new mechanics?
Examples for conversation~
If a player has already been doing what they've been doing for let's say:
atleast about 3 years.
Perhaps they started with it at 8 years old now they're 11.
Or
Have been playing starting at 10 years old and now they're 13 years old.


This includes getting rid of old muscle memory habits and applying new technique.
This conversation could be
changing ~
Throwing mechanics
Pitching mechanics
Fielding mechanics
Batting mechanics
Catching mechanics

How long to reintroduce new mechanics that stick?

 

[radness]

Bringing this discussion to dfp because recently heard of parents saying to their softball daughter at practice
'we just paid for you to have a lesson do it correctly.'
So,.... bringing this point
~Muscle memory is a very hard thing to overcome/change.
We can think about things in a moment while we're trying to retrain but is very difficult to apply new mechanics immediately in practice/games that are different than what our mind and body are accustomed to.

In this example ,math
learning that 1 + 1 = 2 we can use that right away one apple plus one banana is equals two pieces of fruit. We learn how to count and we can count any object.

Learning about new mechanics and seeing them we can recognize in the brain, but it is not the same when we have to replicate it with what our body is doing.
That is an additional step to learning mechanics.
Brain can know it,
the body still needs to learn it!

 

[Eric F]

There isn't one answer to the "how long" question. Every person is different. That said, a parent expecting their kid to change a complex muscle memory movement pattern after one practice session is ignorant about how the body works.

 

[joe720]

Different things will likely take different amounts of time. And then the individual also is another variable. I don't think you can actually put a time frame on mechanical changes. Their are kids i taught to do things that are still using bad technique years later. Others that picked it up in a week or two.

 

[_MIA_]

If I had to guess, the more reactionary the action, the more time it takes. In other words hitting mechanics would be harder to change than a putting stroke. I don't know..just spitballing.

 

[Eric F]

If I had to guess, the more reactionary the action, the more time it takes. In other words hitting mechanics would be harder to change than a putting stroke. I don't know..just spitballing.

I would bet that is accurate, and that's why we see young players who have different swings off a tee than they do in live hitting.

 

[daywalkerdad]

My dd has been through it, took about 2.5 months. Many times 11-14 is bodies are changing pretty fast and form needs tweaking or relearned. I would suggest is changing the feel. I read it online but made sense that fingers transmit signals to the brain. So different bat or ball might be easier to change than modifying form using the same feel.

 

[Vertigo]

All depends on the individual and how much body awareness they have. It took dd about 7-8 months to ingrain new pitching mechanics in her at the age of 13 and be able to transfer them to the rubber in games.

Hitting-wise she switched to the left side and became a slapper which took about 4-5 months at age 15 to be able to be proficient with it in games.

For both pitching and hitting it took working on both skills at least 4-5 days per week, including weekly lessons in both. We always waited until the off-season to make the changes, so there wouldn’t be as much of a struggle once the season started.

For both it also required a lot of drills and the breaking down of the mechanics in order to instill the new mechanics. I think the slapping came easier to her because there were no bad habits to break since she hit from the right side previously.

 

[RichK]

This may be incredibly reductionist, but it's also true: to change an (athletic) motion, you need to DO something differently not just think about it or have someone describe to you to do something differently. So much so-called instruction on this site are proclamations like 'move the middle' or 'work through the sagittal plane'. IMO the best combo is to teach a set-up/movement and couple it with a result you are trying to attain -- and then work those things consistently for muscle memory and confidence. For instance, hands-on show the difference between an 'around' vs. an 'out-from' swing: set-up, initiating movements, bat path, contact point, result. And then work it off tee, very short toss, short toss, machine grooved pitch. 'Change' one thing at a time, take your time. Really understand the foundational things about your past movement and your new movement and apply it to the next change.

 

[efastball]

"how long should it take, could it take, to reteach the body new mechanics?"

If it's your own kid, a few days.

If it takes longer, they are not listening/understanding, or you are not explaining properly, or you/they are not enforcing the new technique.

Plus, the reason 'it takes so long' usually is that most cues and drills are destructive or backwards or unknowable. What does 'stay back' mean? What happens when you tell them to hit the top of the ball to make it go up? Doing 2 tee drills, and (usually improper) fence drills, makes the swing worse.

So, if something is taking longer than a few days, re-evaluate what you are telling them, or how you are telling them, or how you are reinforcing the change.

Example, most kids under 12 don't raise their front arm (the elbow) when they throw. This change can be fixed in a few days. But most kids/Dads fail in consistently mandating the raised arm in practice, or at home.