16u pitcher launched a channel to help younger kids learn how to pitch. Needs your support and input.

Just a simple question ... Why would a kid listen to a sixteen year old versus a professional pitcher? Your heart is in the right place. I’m just not sure the effort will be effective. 

I guess the simple answer is that younger pitchers can be more relatable to kids than a pro.  Also, not many pros have a Free detailed program online that teaches kids how to go from t-ball to HS Varsity level. Possibly because pro's are either busy or want to be paid in some way for their time.

Granted there is no revolutionary information being relayed. Most of the content is "best practices" type of stuff. But, Good information can come from anyone.

A lot of the pitching  instruction videos  on you-tube are narrow in scope and cover a small aspect of pitching. And you would need to piece together stuff from multiple programs to get something that's comprehensive. I'm not the kid in the video, just someone who sees the potential of the project.

I agree with you  -- good content is good content, regardless of the age or experience of the presenter. Certainly pro pitchers bring more credibility to the table, but they are not necessarily good coaches and communicators.

I think the video you linked to is pretty good and I hope the kid keeps it up.

@JCG

Thanks for the reply. I think that if kids took the time and effort to engage in positive projects like this, it should be encouraged. There are enough people already on the other side of the equation giving criticism. How many pro's are teaching  online and opening themselves up for criticism?

It is really cool to see a young man trying to give back to the community and the game! Creating a YouTube channel for pitching will bring value to many who may not have the resources to secure professional instruction.

Feedback for improvement:

1)  Watch a few YouTube videos on Camera presence. He does a great job of showing enthusiasm, but some thought should go into the viewer's experience as well.   Meaning, all the unnecessary movement takes away from the viewer's ability to focus on the content. Not saying to avoid movement totally, but maybe tone it down some.  Watch the YouTube influencers and you will see they do create enthusiasm, but not to the point where the viewers become over stimulated and click off of their channel.

2)  Content is king!  Coming up with enough content to keep the channel interesting and relevant is a challenge for most YouTubers.  He may wish to reach out to some of the power pitching facilities such as TBR, FBR and DriveLine and see if they would be interested in helping him with content for his channel.  Be advised that they do not subscribe to the "balance point" method the young man is teaching so be prepared for a different point of view.  I believe Randy from FBR and Kyle from DriveLine are consultants for certain MLB organizations and it would be a huge credibility boost to his channel if he ends up doing a collaboration video with one of those guys.

Keep up the good work and I wish you tremendous success with your channel!

@Scott Muroe

Thanks for the feedback and the suggestions. I feel like your post is a good example of how forums like this should be used.  Meaningful and constructive feedback is not always easy to come by on forums. Thank you!

I'll pass the sentiment along. I think that collaboration with other programs may be a little ways down the road given time and age constraints.

Sirloindameaty posted:

@Scott Muroe

Thanks for the feedback and the suggestions. I feel like your post is a good example of how forums like this should be used.  Meaningful and constructive feedback is not always easy to come by on forums. Thank you!

I'll pass the sentiment along. I think that collaboration with other programs may be a little ways down the road given time and age constraints.

You are welcome! Also, I agree the forum should be a place for feedback....how else can you learn if you do not ask for feedback?

In defense of those who choose not to provide feedback, this forum has a couple of members on it that have ruined it for people like you and I apologize for that.  There many good people on this site who have a wealth of knowledge that would love to help continue an up and coming player's success. You know who they are...just PM them with your questions.

Just for informational purposes, there are 14-year-olds on YouTube that are making over 6 figures a year....Collabs are the way to grow quickly.

I have a company that does Digital Marketing, as well as, provides event technology for corporate meetings and events.....feel free to PM me if that young man has any further questions.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Why can't a 16 year old be an effective coach?  Who knows?  I am certain my son could teach younger kids to pitch better than a lot of coaches out there.

I do just want to put one thing out there.  I live in Texas.  If my HS son gives lessons, helps someone out with baseball or similar and gets paid for it, it is a UIL violation and if you play on a high school team all of the games can (and most likely will) be forfeited.

It happened here a couple years ago.  https://usatodayhss.com/2016/n...ted-amateurism-rules

@go44dad

Thanks for the reply and heads up. At this time, the you-tube channel and all the content is  free and he is not getting paid for anything. But that is a good point about the various rules around players getting paid. Thanks you!

I just took a quick glance at this from work with no audio.  My observation may be useful from this different perspective.  The video is 4:18 long.  There are three short 5 second action clips (two of them being identical).  The remaining 4+ minutes are video of a guy talking.  I don't even know what the topic was but kids young and old require a much higher ratio of visual demonstration and less talk.  Even if he was just talking about what he was going to be presenting in the future, still need more visual to hook the audience.

Looks like he does have good energy and enthusiasm.  Good luck to him with the project.

@cabbagedad

Thanks for the reply and the thoughtful feedback. I'll  make that suggestion to the channel producer.