Rec Ball Dilemma

[redhotcoach]

Absolutely don't approach unless you are ready for a peeing match with crazy stupid dads.

Work with a few, then the rest can come to you. I know with hitting I soon had more then I had time to work with.

I know a lot of girls who could use help. Most of the dads obviously don't work with them, but would still take offence if I were to suggest anything. I have just decided to not waste my breath, the high school will need kids to hold the bleachers down too.

 

[YOCOACH]

I currently coach 14u rec. for local youth org. We really need pitching help here. I've been around here (forum) over a year now and have a good grasp on pitching and hitting. Thank you all. Got Hillhouse video and understand IR. Most girls here can't afford PCs and not many good ones around. I don't mind helping out and think I could really help this org. if given the chance. Here is the dilemma part, my daughter play 12u so I see 12u team also, one good pitcher, eh, and other needs help. I also follow 10u team as AC has second daughter on that team. They need pitching help, good potential, bad form. That is were my dilemma is. I see pitching potential, then I watch them tell the girls to bring pitching hand up to pitching shoulder and snap through, a-la 'hello elbow' but elbow stays pointed towards ground. I want to step in and say, that is SOO wrong, please let me help. I will see some of these girls later and I'll have to fix everything you did. My wife tells me to let it go, "not your team." Some of the other lower coaches, think I'm arrogant, maybe lol, but I know what they are doing is wrong.

So do i let it go, "not my team" or what? Plus how do I get the other coaches to understand they are teaching wrong mechanics and I'm not trying to be arrogant. I want to help this org.

Hitting is another topic for a different day, Pitching is more crucial.

Hillhouse says that the pitching motion he teaches is the same motion as an overhand throw upside down. How many people teach a kid to throw overhand straight through with a finish beside the right leg (for a RHer) as opposed to finishing across the body? Just a thought you might want to bring up. However, I have to agree with everyone else. Start with the pitchers you have access to (i.e. your own team pitchers) and once they become very successful, as I'm sure they will, you will have more work than you know what to do with.

 

[CoachScott]

Thank you all. I'll go forward with your advice.

YOCOACH - I already do the hillhouse thing with the over hand throw. Most parents just look at me, laugh and walk away. The kids love it though.

I'll put something together over the off season and see what goes of it.

I do have one girl I'm trying to recruit being she is on the gray line between communities. (evil grin) lol.

 

[rdbass]

CoachScott,
Great that you are willing to share your knowledge.Start with the players who want your help.The word will get around that you just want to help make the girls play better.Word of mouth will spread and you will have to turn girls away.Keep up the good work.

 

[JAD]

If you know what you are doing, I would suggest offering a free clinic for any girls who are interested in learning how to pitch. Becoming a good pitcher requires the 'buy in' of the player AND the parents. One way you might want to 'spark' some interest in learning how to pitch would be to explain that college pitchers usually get a full scholarship, while position players (other than power hitting catchers) usually get a partial!

 

[Westwind]

The clinic idea is the way to go.

Then set up "free extra practices, not mandatory to attend" and see who shows up. Invite catchers too. Get extra help and require each kid to have a parent stay to help their kid. Put everybody to work. Have handouts of where they can get more info.

Our rec league just built a website. The webmaster is a smart guy, not necessarily a fast pitch nut though, and he found and posted some old school hello elbow videos from really famous people who don't really pitch like that. I sent him links to every Hillhouse video I could find and a link to Bill's site for the video. He looked at the videos when he was posting links on the league site. He started doing Bill's stuff with his 8 year old, immediate results. He says to me "That guy is a genius, it is so simple to understand and it works". I nod my head and say "Discussfastpitch.com" He then says "What I like the best is that it debunks everything ,(insert name of local pitching instructor who knows the ONLY True Path To Pitching here), says. I just laugh and agree.

I then went into Phase Two of my evil plan for pitching dominance at our little school: "Grasshopper, you are now ready to think about Internal Rotation. There's this guy who goes by "Boardmember" at DFP... I'll send you a link....."

 

[jazz10NE]

I am finding myself in the same discussion with my wife.

Last night my 9yr DD who is in her 3rd year of 8U ball played for the Rec 10U team in town. She has been working on pitching once in while over the past 6 months watching and learning from her sister at lessons. She got to pitch 3 innings. She was better then the girls that were 10 or even 11 that were pitching, most with no clue and I watched a dad between innings tell her daughter to step back before going forward. I really wanted to say something but didn't want to 'BUTT' in and act as a know-it-all.

Background
I am only in my 5th year of coaching and first real year learning about pitching from my DD's pitching lessons. I am constantly on here learning, buying some videos (New England Catchers) and a performance fundamentals set and reading or talking to more experienced coaches in the area to pick up the little things I can. I have had success with 2 state ASA titles in 10U ball, I will say some coaching but mostly got a talented bunch of girls and this year the team is playing very well if I would stop messing with the pitching rotation so much we could be better.

My wife thinks I should start a basic fundamentals academy for pitchers, catchers, hitting, throwing. My garage is 45' deep so I can easily have 10u pitchers use it and with a tarp can work off the 't' or soft toss for batting. I know I am not an expert on any of these but really just want to see the kids "parents" get a better understanding of the fundamentals. She suggests I do a 1 our clinic for girls & parents and then hand out flyers to contact me for more work. I would be really reasonable for price of just $10 for a 30 minute private session.

The question after all this is how to start it.

 

[rdbass]

I would suggest talking to Straightleg.He has posted pics of his garage and I have also.Shows how to lay out a tarp for a tee and why and what measurements he uses.If you search Hitter or Straightleg from the older posts he gives a good explaination of why he uses the measurements that he does.You can do alot with alittle room.I am all for someone helping out players getting better.I plan on doing the exact same thing.Just waiting for my DD to hit better.Free advertisement for me.lol

 

[CoachScott]

Westwind - Will try the clinic in the off season and see who comes (free of course). Then I'll see about the extra practices until I loose the field to football. I have access to a reasonably priced indoor facility, Susquehanna Baseball factory. But that will then invove money, so at that point we'll see who is serious. I want to better our organization. But . . . . .

maybe I should start at new thread for this.

I'm currently being repremanded for something I did over the weekend at a local "fund raising" tournament. I'll try to shorten the story.

I have a B-team, tourny A-teams. I have 11 players, lost 2 last minute. Shoot, i need a player, think 10. Forgot A-rules 9 players. But one girls would miss a game or possible 2, leaving 8. Flyer says, "league roster only, no JO oe All-Star teams." Well, I play a technicality. I use a girl from another team in the league, "league roster player", who is not in tourny. She is 12, plays on 14u-B team. 3 games, pool play. We go 2-1. get 5th seed. Go to Sunday in bracket, play 4th seed, an A-team. Lose 12-0. No one on team conplaimed at least to me. I'm pretty open to them. My commissioner knew what I was doing, ok'd it. Tournament director said nothing. I avoided questions during play, probably wrong thing to do, but hind sight. Now my local org. is on my case for using another player outside my team and talking disiplionary action, really???? Maybe I derserve it, maybe I don't but really disiplinary action, from local fund raising tournament, which we lost. I'm leaving out a lot of details but you get the gist. Yes, pick up player was good pitcher.