Bad coaching advice - what to do

Does your son hit well using the academy methods?

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Our track record speaks for itself,

What does this mean? He has a winning program or that lots of his players go to the next level or what??

Perhaps we do it wrong but the only time we tinker with a players swing is when he is going bad or we see a flaw

Well this sounds like our high school coach. What my son is doing is when the coach is around and during batting practice he swings like the coach wants and during the games he does it like he was taught by me. He is hitting the ball better since I first asked this same question.

My high school coach put it this way with most everything we did in the game..

You can do it your way until it isn't working. If what you want to do doesn't work, then you'll do it our way.

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Perhaps we do it wrong but the only time we tinker with a players swing is when he is going bad or we see a flaw

My son's coach once told my wife when she asked what my son should change...'We don't fix what isn't broke...'

Boy you guys are quick!! Thanks for all the input. My son is an average hitter. Here is what the JV coach is telling him that is different than the instruction he's getting at the academy(RBI).

All hitting off a tee:
1) hit with a bent front leg
2) wrap the bat around the shoulder
3) hands back first, then stride, then pivot, then hit, head ends up a little forward than it was at address

RBI taught him this in contrast:
1) when you make contact with the ball, the front leg should be straight
2) bat should finish up around the neck after good extension
3) hands and stride foot separate at the same time, head stays in about the same spot as address

The "you do it our way" quote doesn't hold water with me. He's making everyone do this drill, not just Ben and I just think he's wrong....

For all you who said just do what they want in the drills/BP, I told him the same thing - just do what he asks. He's already caught the wrath of the coach by explaining what he's learned. You know how some coaches can be when you tell them you think they're wrong.....OH BOY...

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Originally posted by dPayton:
For all you who said just do what they want in the drills/BP, I told him the same thing - just do what he asks. He's already caught the wrath of the coach by explaining what he's learned. You know how some coaches can be when you tell them you think they're wrong.....OH BOY...

imo, i can think of very few situations where a kid should be telling a coach he is wrong. funny, my boss just hates it when i tell him how he's running his business wrong, too?

general schwarzkopf said "there's more than one way to look at problem, and they may all be right."

L8 - this is a little different. The guy who he has learned from played AA, managed AA and was a hitting coach for an AA team. The JV coach never played higher than high school ball.

my boss is a college dropout....i've got a 4 year degree!

if you're son is fortunate enough to play college ball and his new coach only has college coaching experience, will he tell the college coach he's wrong if it differs from something his intructor taught?

the point is, right or wrong a kid should not "correct" a coach. teach your kid the diplomacy of "going with it" or he may be tagged as uncoachable....just my two cents!

btw, my son is working with two former major leaguers, one is his grandpa. he has worked with former college players and a double a guy and a single a manager from san diego......they all offered something. good luck!!

Our son was told before the season started by his academy instructors on this exact subject- when in Rome do as the Romans do. And you can't play the next level until you complete this level.

So we took that to mean if this is what the coaches want from you that is what you should give them.

Just because it's different or not what you teach doesn't make it bad or wrong. If there were only one way to teach hitting then every single hitter at every single level of ball would look the same. It's not that way.

That being said I'm not a fan of the "it's only going to be done my way" philosophy. I pretty much teach what you described the AA guy was teaching but I have seen the other method work. So if I got a guy who can hit using that method then I'm going to pencil them in and tell them how great they are.

Your son is going to have to learn to deal with different types of coaches and teachings as he goes through this game. Some of it's great and some of it's terrible and some of it won't make a lick of sense. Doesn't really make it wrong. Plus, if something is changed it won't feel "right" to the player on the first try. He has developed a habit (good or bad) that he is used to. Any change to that habit is going to feel uncomfortable. It doesn't mean they should stop trying to make the change if it's good for them. It's like riding a bicycle - you don't just hop on one and start riding it. You have to learn how to ride it and that takes time.

I got a player right now who drops his hands when he hits. Obviously he is not doing very well right now. I got him doing a drill everyday that is helping but he's still dropping his hands although not as bad. It will probably take another week of doing that drill before it becomes a regular habit for him. We got to keep working at it and make the change. If we quit after the first time trying the new drill he would never get better.

You said your was an average hitter - to me that means he can improve (of course you can say that about everyone). He might pick up something in the new style the JV coach is teaching that will help him.

Teach him to cope with what's going on to make adjustments. I realize you are on here pretty much just venting and there's nothing wrong with that but think of this - if you go to the coach and say anything (even if you mean it positively) do you think he will change? I doubt he will.

L8 - I hear ya! I guess I mistyped or mis-communicated about what my son said to the coach. I don't think he said he was wrong, just what he learned from RBI was different than what his coach was telling him. And I REALLY know what you're saying about being labeled uncoachable. I keep telling him over and over - do what he asks and bust your ars....Thanks for the advice, I really didn't know what to do about this.

Lefty - 100% agree now with that. I just wasn't sure how to proceed with it when he came home all upset telling me the coach pulled him in his office because he wasn't doing it HIS way...Ya learn as you go...

Hi Coach - In regards to what the coach is teaching, I just think he's wrong, period. No one is taught to have your leg bent when making contact with a ball, well, as much as I've heard/seen. That's probably my biggest gripe. I'm having a hard time with a guy this rigid teaching something I know(or should I say think) is wrong. No one can tell me this coach knows more than the guy at RBI. I watch MLB swings all the time and everything he's taught at RBI is mimic'd on tv all the time. I guess I'm just worried he'll fall into bad habits. You're probably right too - I'm just venting. I need to sit back and enjoy the ride and stop worrying...Easier said than done! Thanks!!

PS - I'd never go to the coach and confront him on anything. He's got too much on his plate to begin with..

Sometimes two coaches are saying the same thing two different ways. But the bottom line for your son is doing what the coach says and playing, or tuning him out and sitting. Your son may not have been hitting well enough for the coach to intervene. Most coaches (not all) won't mess with success.

Are you sure the coach said to hit with a bent front knee? Could he have meant bent in his stance?

RJM - I thought so too(not messing with success) but after a practice I saw a few weeks ago, he had everyone doing that same drill. Note that he really hadn't seen the kids hit yet at that point so he really didn't know who could hit and who couldn't. And yep, when the coach was showing the kids what he wanted his leg was bent throughout. I've just never seen that. Couple that with the bat wrapped around the shoulder - it just looked very, very odd.

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Couple that with the bat wrapped around the shoulder

Maybe the coach isn't saying this properly. Maybe he doesn't understand the concept. Hitters c0ck the bat at an angle over their head to get whip (hope I explained this well enough to be understood).

RJM - My bad - when I say wrapped - I mean at the end of the swing, not during the wristc0ck at the beginning. The guy at RBI wanted my son to end with his hands higher than shoulder height.