Stats4Gnats,
Great description of players becoming chess pieces. This doesn't happen alot at the college level unless you have a young player who has been a chess piece coming into the program. I have to believe that at the collegiate level there is some accountability to become a head's up player. At Memphis, my pitchers are given a manual of everthing we do within our pitching plan. This manual was comprised by over 170 pitchers I have been fortunate to coach. This is a manual that continues to evolve with the current athletes. Powerpoints and videos accompany this manual. The thought process is that if I can get the pitcher and myself on common ground as far as information, we can then learn together. When I started this thought process and style, players had something to contribute. In the last 10 years it has started to wind down. Why? I beleive there is alot of "because that is the how they do it at_______. or Because _________ says this is correct" responses. Kids trust the information and then that is that. Minimal communication can be part of the problem.
If you are talking about calling pitches and stuff like that? Doesn't happen everywhere.
How does it get this way, technology and information. Add that with summer showcase and club teams where athletes move from team to team. where is there a steady diet of common information? Is it over coaching? To a point it is. Is that a bad thing? To a point it is. The reason for both? to a point, the world-wide web.
I run into coaches on a daily basis who ask to interact, some will talk for a bit, ask for information, recieve the information and then you never hear from them again. They get this information, plug it in their sales pitch and move into the coaching field without any trial and error. I am bringing it up from my experience but what I will tell you is that it happens all over the county with pitching guys that share information. Of the thiry or so that I mentioned earlier, I would say that 90 percent experience this same type of coach. We have come up with a name that describes this type of coach. Not that this type is a bad guy, it is just that he fluctuates with the flavor of the month, never having established a true philosophy brought about by trial and error. These guys are all over. Do you know how many poeple out there give private pitching lessons? More than should.
This for me,is a problem because all you have to do is read something from creditable people and roll with it. Scenerio: Player: "Coach, what is this whole scap loading gig?" Coach:"Get back to your drill work." Quick smart phone google. Coach: "Don't worry about it, it happens as a result of throwing hard." It happens. I have been asked many times by instructors, what other drills can I offer them because they have utilized all the ones they have and their clients need something new. My response is that they should let the individual move on. This is just an example of things. Everyone is waiting for the new flavor of the month to arrive. When he does, we will call it the "new inverted extension centipetal" approach, which will later give way to the "lower & traverse" method. Anything to keep the cycle of paid information going. There are many reasons to why athletes become chess pieces or robots. Above are a few.
On the subject of robots,I will spare you my thoughts on how science plays a big part in all this, but that is a much bigger post. Common sense will always trump science, for me. I beileve that with all that I am. Now that I have chapped most out there, I apologize in advance but again, it's just me.
This is a great thread. I am glad I found it. My son attended Coach Corral's pitching camp this past weekend. My son really enjoyed hearing him speak about pitching.
