Responsibility of a coach when you see bad/different mechanics?

[sylvesterx4]

If a parent is paying a hitting instructor, is it a coach's responsibility to say those mechanics are a hindrance to their daughter's progression as a batter?

 

[Lance Steckler]

depends. I've seen lots of coaches trying to say an elite hitting instructor doesn't know what he's doing. yet, said hitting instructor has YEARS of success with VAST NUMBERS of college athletes.

 

[sylvesterx4]

I'm mostly in the camp of, if you have a private instructor and the parents are happy then leave it alone and there are multiple ways to skin a cat, but this particular player has no sequence at all and has issues with timing. I've suggested incorporating either a step or pre-load (small changes) but the instructor doesn't want it. He recently said he doesn't want her participating in any coach front toss, because it's affecting her timing.

 

[_MIA_]

I'm mostly in the camp of, if you have a private instructor and the parents are happy then leave it alone and there are multiple ways to skin a cat, but this particular player has no sequence at all and has issues with timing. I've suggested incorporating either a step or pre-load (small changes) but the instructor doesn't want it. He recently said he doesn't want her participating in any coach front toss, because it's affecting her timing.

If the kid has a private instructor, as a coach your view of her as a hitter is reflected in where she bats in the order and the number of ABs she is getting. The kid cannot be told one thing in practice and then the opposite thing when she goes to her lessons..that is just confusing. If the parents ask you why you are batting her where she is batting you can expound upon the mechanical issues which you think are effecting her performance and let them decide what they want to do. A kid's development is ultimately in the hands of the parents/kid.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Parents absolutely positively hate being told that the instruction they are paying for is not best practice. If the player is performing well I would not say anything. If the player is not playing well I would compare what they are doing (hitting/fielding/pitching) to a high level example (usually with video).

The key here is to avoid these conversations. You can do that in travel by analyzing their pitching/fielding/hitting AND ask them who their hitting/pitching/fielding coach is BEFORE you make them an offer.

There is a specific hitting coach that I try to avoid taking players from. It isn't worth the hassle/arguing.

If you are a school coach do what you want.

 

[Cannonball]

Been there and done that. As I posted here before, there is an instructor in my community that should be called, "The Killer of Swings." We know instantly when we get a player who is going to this instructor. For us, those players don't have a choice but to do the team hitting stations that we identify for them. For example, all hitters will do front toss and in multiple stations. Hitting balls in flight is exactly how hitters learn timing. Those players eventually figure stuff out or they are out of our program. We have too many talented players in the program for those players to be more successful than.

 

[radness]

If a parent is paying a hitting instructor, is it a coach's responsibility to say those mechanics are a hindrance to their daughter's progression as a batter?

Without the coach actually knowing how and what the instructor is teaching the player there is a Chance the player is doing things that are not actually what the instructor is instructing.
* sometimes that gets lost in translation in what the coach is actually seeing.
Beyond that...

Always say look for the success.
That said
There are some coaches that want things done their way regardless of the success of others mechanics already happening.
That is problematic!

Those are the do it my way only type of coaches that really have an ego issue. They probably don't even recognize it because they simply think they're right and what they want somebody else to do is the only way to do it.
Once you recognize a coach is like that it will be a very difficult obstacle because it's not the discussion of mechanics
it's the discussion of one person's preference over anything else.

Look for success. Watch out for ego.

 

[jdint]

Been there and done that. As I posted here before, there is an instructor in my community that should be called, "The Killer of Swings." We know instantly when we get a player who is going to this instructor. For us, those players don't have a choice but to do the team hitting stations that we identify for them. For example, all hitters will do front toss and in multiple stations. Hitting balls in flight is exactly how hitters learn timing. Those players eventually figure stuff out or they are out of our program. We have too many talented players in the program for those players to be more successful than.

Uh oh. I'm close to your area. Which side of the river is the Killer located?

 

[radness]

If a parent is paying a hitting instructor, is it a coach's responsibility to say those mechanics are a hindrance to their daughter's progression as a batter?

Reality is that you could have a .500 hitter, put her swing and a video on this forum, and get all sorts of different feedback
From dont do that at all to
Big Corrections or
Small Ajustments and
Applause...
And guess what All of that could be without knowing of her mindset which could be the most important factor.

Sometimes the hindrance is too much static going in the ears...

Look for success!

 

[Cannonball]

Uh oh. I'm close to your area. Which side of the river is the Killer located?

He is in my community. You're safe.