Smitty28 posted:cabbagedad posted:I think most parents want to know...
Who is my kid spending three hours a day with? What are their qualifications? What are their rules and guidelines? What will they be teaching my son, baseball and otherwise?
What is my son responsible for?
What am I responsible for? How much will it cost?
What volunteering are you going to hit me up for?
What is the schedule? What do we do about things that come up that conflict?
If questions come up, what is proper protocol?
(for some...) My kid takes lessons/goes to trainer... should we continue during season?
(for some...) My kid has aspirations to play in college. What is your role in this pursuit?
What names are we aloud to call the umpires?
Not to single you out Cabbage (although I'd love your perspective), but this is the second time this issue has been raised in this thread so I thought I'd comment. I understand why a coach would ask players not to take outside instruction during the season (one voice, one method, etc), BUT... HS season is only 4-5 months out of the year, and the summer recruiting season starts up right after HS season ends. Do I think it's best if my kid is asked to make changes to his swing that conflict with how he's trained all year long, and then have to go and showcase a few weeks after the season ends? Not really. In the end the player is responsible for his performance on the field and his recruiting activities, and if a coach (any coach) can help I'm all for it, but to mandate that only the HS coach can have input seems unreasonable to me. I mean, the HS coach isn't going to be there at Lake Point or Jupiter or the myriad college visits, so should he really be taking this position when he isn't owning the ultimate responsibility for the outcome (college scholarship or draft)? I'm sure this may come across as selfish, and maybe it is, but I look at HS ball as a means to an end, a step in the process, an awesome experience for my kid, but not as the end itself. In case you are wondering, my kid has an awesome coach who is talented and provides really good insight and will offer advice, but he also knows my kid takes private lessons year round. He also takes the view that if my son expects to play he better hit, no excuses. This seems like a more reasonable position to take and helps the player learn how to take responsibility for his own development.
Hey Smitty,
Glad to share my perspective but I should first point out that I have a different take on how I look at HS baseball than you do. Nothing wrong with that and I am aware that I have an obvious bias as a coach. I don't look at HS ball as a means to an end. I take into consideration that most HS players at most schools won't go on to play college ball and their HS experience may very well be the height of their competitive playing days. I also find HS ball to be special and unique -many other ways, including playing for your school that all your family and friends went to, playing for your community, long-standing cross-town rivalries, etc. I feel I would be cheating the players of a very special experience if I treated it as just a means to an end... just a pipeline to the next level. It deserves billing as the main event that it is for so many. In fact, as I stay in close touch with our many players who do go on to play in college successfully, most have a HS ball experience as their best baseball memory. For many, beating their crosstown rival in HS carries more cred than making the conference semi's in college, even though the latter is an achievement at a higher level. College ball is special in it's own way but it is also where it really starts to become more of a job and some of the hometown community thing is often lost.
OK, so with that said...
Generally, HS players will benefit a great deal from finding good instructors and trainers to work with outside of the HS program. I think most everyone recognizes this. A few of the potential pitfalls of balancing private lessons and training during the HS baseball season are conflicting instruction, scheduling conflict and the health of the player.
For us, the big key is communication and commitment. We encourage outside instruction and training (including during season) but constantly discuss the importance of speaking up when the player runs across instruction that seems to conflict. We explain that there are often more than one "right" ways, different ways to convey the same message coming from different angles or using different terminology. In the rare occasion when there actually is a different mechanic being taught, we try to explain the differences and determine which will work best for the player. As you said, at the end of the day, they have to perform. We try to be a part of an environment where the player can learn to identify and separate the absolutes from the other aspects where he can take the most helpful teaches from each source and really benefit from a variety of coaching and training. Obviously, there has to be a hierarchy to the player's commitment and during the HS season, it must be with his HS team. So, while he is encouraged to continue his outside instruction, it must be scheduled outside of the team required practice time. With pitching, of course, this becomes much more challenging because pitching lessons involve pitching and the player must be fresh for his HS team bullpens and games. This is far more difficult to achieve while maintaining proper arm care. If there is a P who is not getting innings with the HS program, it can be more doable. Again, communication is key.