I will start by saying everyone is different. This is only my opinion.
For us, my DD is 13 and has been pitching since age 9..... its important in my opinion to go every week. Her mechanics are good usually. But as she becomes solid in one pitch a new one is intoduced or a new drill is introduced for improving power or spin etc.... so there is always something to work on. We work in the yard several times a week also at which time i reinforce what she learns at lessons. With pitching if you arent working twards learning something new,or working to improve something old youre going backwards. There is always something to work twards.
The question id ask myself would be do i feel confident in my ability to recognize and improve her in areas in place of that coach? Will she stick to the work time if it isnt on a strict schedule by appointment? Will you stick to it? Life gets crazy and things get put on the back burner a whole lot quicker when nobody else is waiting on you to show up. How often do yall work in the yard?
We were in this position before, so i feel you. And that is why i asked myself the same questions above. I had to be really honest with myself about where we were at at the time. We work a lot at home but our yard time is flexible so i wanted something concrete/scheduled.
We had been with the same PC for a couple years. Really liked him but he was only available 1 day out of the week. And my daughter had games that night each week. We couldnt pay for a spot we werent able to use.... couldnt expect him to hold it if we werent paying for it either....but also i felt she didnt need to go a whole season without a single pitching lesson so we needed to find a new coach that could do them on an alternate night.
So even though we liked him, we decided a pair of fresh eyes for a while couldnt hurt and made a change. We liked the new coach too and they were great together, My dd even improved some after that, but then after almost a year, she got a job as a varsity coach for an out of district school and so once season started she didnt have the time to devote to giving lessons. (Understandably,) but we still needed to be working and i wanted to know we had someone other than me that was a non parent to be involved. So we went back to our original PC. Now that my dd doesn't play on that night its working out fine again. We are glad to be back where we have been most of her years pitching.
(she still works in the yard with me most often anyway, but i still wanted to have a scheduled time with someone else...to consult with weekly. Kids do tend to respond differently to non parental figures. Then that way he can guide and i just reaffirm what hes teaching.... .and i know we will stick to and keep our appointment that way because its set up/paid in advance. )
However, I do believe we did what we had to do when we made the choice to change at first. I dont believe a kid should be left to get complacent or miss lessons because of lack of availability from one coach just because they may be a nice person. I think in your case, my advise would be There is something to be said for fresh eyes.....i agree with that statement someone made earlier.
Sometimes someone is just not able to make the time. No matter how much they wish they could, and no matter how hard theyve tried.
It doesn't mean you have to leave on bad terms or that you cant go back as her schedule becomes more open in the future. But ultimately its about the development of the kid and so if shes not able to give her the time she needs at this time to get the development she needs -for whatever reason, then liking the coach wouldnt be enough for me. (Even though i may 100% be understanding regarding why they cant be more available. ) Most good coaches who have the kids best interests in mind would understand the need to change in this type of situation and have no hard feelings twards anyone. I hope this helps!
For us, my DD is 13 and has been pitching since age 9..... its important in my opinion to go every week. Her mechanics are good usually. But as she becomes solid in one pitch a new one is intoduced or a new drill is introduced for improving power or spin etc.... so there is always something to work on. We work in the yard several times a week also at which time i reinforce what she learns at lessons. With pitching if you arent working twards learning something new,or working to improve something old youre going backwards. There is always something to work twards.
The question id ask myself would be do i feel confident in my ability to recognize and improve her in areas in place of that coach? Will she stick to the work time if it isnt on a strict schedule by appointment? Will you stick to it? Life gets crazy and things get put on the back burner a whole lot quicker when nobody else is waiting on you to show up. How often do yall work in the yard?
We were in this position before, so i feel you. And that is why i asked myself the same questions above. I had to be really honest with myself about where we were at at the time. We work a lot at home but our yard time is flexible so i wanted something concrete/scheduled.
We had been with the same PC for a couple years. Really liked him but he was only available 1 day out of the week. And my daughter had games that night each week. We couldnt pay for a spot we werent able to use.... couldnt expect him to hold it if we werent paying for it either....but also i felt she didnt need to go a whole season without a single pitching lesson so we needed to find a new coach that could do them on an alternate night.
So even though we liked him, we decided a pair of fresh eyes for a while couldnt hurt and made a change. We liked the new coach too and they were great together, My dd even improved some after that, but then after almost a year, she got a job as a varsity coach for an out of district school and so once season started she didnt have the time to devote to giving lessons. (Understandably,) but we still needed to be working and i wanted to know we had someone other than me that was a non parent to be involved. So we went back to our original PC. Now that my dd doesn't play on that night its working out fine again. We are glad to be back where we have been most of her years pitching.
(she still works in the yard with me most often anyway, but i still wanted to have a scheduled time with someone else...to consult with weekly. Kids do tend to respond differently to non parental figures. Then that way he can guide and i just reaffirm what hes teaching.... .and i know we will stick to and keep our appointment that way because its set up/paid in advance. )
However, I do believe we did what we had to do when we made the choice to change at first. I dont believe a kid should be left to get complacent or miss lessons because of lack of availability from one coach just because they may be a nice person. I think in your case, my advise would be There is something to be said for fresh eyes.....i agree with that statement someone made earlier.
Sometimes someone is just not able to make the time. No matter how much they wish they could, and no matter how hard theyve tried.
It doesn't mean you have to leave on bad terms or that you cant go back as her schedule becomes more open in the future. But ultimately its about the development of the kid and so if shes not able to give her the time she needs at this time to get the development she needs -for whatever reason, then liking the coach wouldnt be enough for me. (Even though i may 100% be understanding regarding why they cant be more available. ) Most good coaches who have the kids best interests in mind would understand the need to change in this type of situation and have no hard feelings twards anyone. I hope this helps!
Last edited:
