Do great players need private instruction?

Alot depends on how much your Dad and relatives know about the game

My personal opinion is that any extra help that you obtain even in the younger years makes you that much better. My son is a left handed pitcher and he has been working with a private pitching coach since he was 10 years old. I do have to admit he hasn't yet had a head coach that specializes in pitching so I think they appreciate the fact that he is working constantly on getting better and learning new things. In our area the league has rules on how many players you can work with in the off season per day so sometimes makes it hard for the coach to work with kids.

quote:

Originally posted by Dooer:
To go beyond the HS level, how necessary is it to get private lessons?

I'm guessing the answer would be yes, it's necessary or at least helpful.

IMHO, good "one on one" coaching at the early ages (e.g., 9-12YO) is very beneficial. Especially in pitching.

As another poster pointed out, the coaching does not necessarily have to be paid coaching if someone (e.g., dad) has the knowledge to do the teaching.

One of the best things I did in baseball for my son was to get him (at about 10YO) working with a great pitching coach.

Do you NEED lessons?

It all depends on the level of proficiency desired and when you want to get there. Simply put, do you need guitar lessons, golf lessons, cello lessons? I guess most people do and a few don't.

Pitching and hitting baseballs are two activities greatly enhanced by good, qualified individual instruction. Trial and error, or worse yet bad instruction, is too time consuming and yields relatively poor results for a career spanning such a short period like baseball.

quote:

One of the best things I did in baseball for my son was to get him (at about 10YO) working with a great pitching coach.

Amen to that, Texan.

Yes

YES!!
I think it’s imperative that the talented player get the best instructions available. The more talent he has the more and better instructions he should get. If your son can launch balls to the warning track just imagine what he could do if he has some quality hitting instructions. If your son has the God given talent to throw 90 mph and his curve is OK just think what he could do with some great pitching instructions. The greatest minds would be wasted if there were no books to read or no teachers to teach. The greatest thoroughbred colt would become just another horse if kept stabled and fed a diet of wheat straw. The environment you place a young player into is crucial in his development.
Fungo

Without a doubt, my answer is YES!
My son has been taking pitching instruction for 9 years. At times he felt like his mechanics were being picked apart. Now he recognizes that the reason his pitching arm NEVER hurts is that he has training in the proper mechanics. Pitching is not a natural motion. If you want to pitch a long time, you'd better be doing it right.

I must admit that we did it the suggested bbscout way, hours and hours and hours upon hours of watching Maddux. I remember son sitting there and husband explaining exactly what he was doing and why, even when the kid was stil holding the blanket and pacifier. bbscout if you reading, you are absolutely correct and we are glad that son got to watch a master at his game so often on TV.

Absolutely!

and...unless Dad and family are seriously involved in a positive manner, plenty of it!

Btw, I have coached for a very long time at many levels. Imo, get your own son/daughter to the best coach possible by age 13. 13 and 14 year olds are easily the most difficult to deal with, let alone coach.

Yes!

Pro ball players get instruction daily in order to perfect their profession. Look at Tiger Woods and the amount of time that he spends on his swing. Even when he is at the top of his game he still works on perfecting it.

Ouch, I guess that I have failed. I was hoping that at least one person would say no.

My son is a 16 year old junior. He has played on quality summer teams since he was 13, however, there was limited if any, one on one instruction. He played on varsity as a soph for a section finalist in a good baseball area. He will be the #2 guy on the bump this year, as well as a every game player.

Funds and time have been limited. He has had the benefit of probably better then ave. coaching during his LL and Pony years.

He goes to his first showcase (PG Underclass) in couple of weeks, so I guess we will know better where he stands after that.

Dooer, very interesting question.
First, let me assure you than I am not speaking about an experience with a "great" player and my comments will be limited to hitting.
I tend to think that private lessons with a highly qualified pitching coach could be very valuable for a lot of reasons.
When our son was 14-15, we tried private lessons with two different hitting instructors. One was a former major league player and one was a AAA player who battled long and hard to try and get that last step. Both were extremely qualified. However, each had very different and individual styles. After a number of lessons with each...and more than a fair amount of $$$$, , we decided to forego the private lessons. Our son could not successfully adapt and make the changes that they were seeking. We made sure he kept at it more than long enough. He wanted to stop the first day.
So, he ended up essentially where he started...seeing the ball long , being a contact hitter with gap power, rarely striking out, all combined with some very good hand eye coordination. The reps came from my throwing hours on end of BP with the shoulder problems to show for it.
IMO, it is critical for hitters to get reps and a lot of them. If they have solid coaching and a good base from which to work, then I question the need for private lessons unless they are of the type where the player can adapt and be successful with changes introduced. There are many variables in hitting instruction and approaches.
Interestingly, when our son got to college, the hitting instructor would have him make adjustments during nearly every swing/at bat in practice, and he could do it, immediately. But he always ended up back with with his strength.
I guess I would come down this way: if your son is struggling with the basics or has flaws in his swing, then private lessons would be important. Once his swing is established, reps are more important than having private instruction. At least that was our experience.

Dooer,

I will approach this from another angle.

From the moment I was born - I had an innate talent to cook pasta. By 3 years old - I could whip up a lasagna that would knock your socks off.

I got better every year - but not as good as I could be.

At 15 years of age - I was sent to my Aunt Marie's. Once a week - for 3 hours - she trained me on various techniques.

By the time I was 18 - I made a Penne ala Vodka fit for a King.

By 20 - I could make Manicotti that would melt in the mouth of a frozen man.

Moral of the story - good lessons never hurt.

Mangia!!!

Dooer - While I feel that private instruction is a wonderful thing and can only make a strong player that much stronger - it doesn't have to prevent a player from moving on.

My own son who is an OF/LHP never had private instruction with his hitting and I paid for some private pitching lessons one winter, years ago. While I think he may be behind the curve compared to other college freshmen with his pitching.... he's there, he's learning, and at this point, doing very well.

Financially, private instruction was not within my budget either. So, I'll say for you and any others that have not had this opportunity - it doesn't mean that your son doesn't play/pitch well or that he can't have opportunities to go to the next level.

It's like everything else in life - you gotta work with what you have!!! Sounds like your son is performing very well at this point and he's fortunate that he (as did my son) had very good coaching which has probably compensated more than you realize for the lack of "private" instruction.

In our case the lessons were arranged by our Elite team. All the pitchers and catchers went for a group lesson put on by the then head pitching scout for thye Jays.
My son had good mechanics but the instructors broke the pitchers mechanics down and rebuilt them over 4 1hr lessons. My son was 15 at the time. It was a great instruction and fine tweaked his mechanics. I also taped the lessons for future referrence. My son was rotating his hips too much in the wind up, finishing too open and bringing his weight forward too soon. This helped me to recognize when he was falling into old bad habits.
We also had great coaching and that was a real benefit.

bbscout:

That clip is AWESOME. Thanks very much for sharing it.

I am going to give several examples of why it would benefit a kid greatly to have private instructon. 1st I hear of affordability. I hear prices from $20 per 1/2 hour all the way up to $75 an hour. It varies from place to place, instructor to instructor. However, I have read many stories here and know from experience that many players are on summer and travel teams that cost anywhere from $1000 up to 6000 for one season. Players always come up to me to show off their new $250 bat or 150 glove. I have always wondered about the need for those teams. I am sure valid ponts can be made for both. If your kid was a new musician, and the high school band teacher didn't have time to teach him, would you spend 600 on a new flute and a suit for the big concert, knowing that your kid is not prepared for this? I think not. Many high school coaches, though great teachers of the team game, will tell you that they don't have enough time for individual instruction. Some don't have the experience. Most youth and travel team coaches may coach a good game and be fine people, but my experience has told me that they generally aren't qualified to teach. I may be biased, since I instruct. But when I make a positive difference on the mechanical and mental side of a kids game and they improve because of it, I know it works and its beneficial to them. Today was a nice day here as I received 6 phone calls from high school kids that made their teams. Each told me that I had helped a great deal, and a couple of the pitchers told me that they were complimented on their throwing mechanics. These kids were on a great high. I was so happy for them. Last week I spoke to 2 college kids that had great workouts as freshman and told me they were better prepared because of the work we had put in. There is no greater sense of pride for me and yes, it does help the ego. But when these kids perform and execute better than most because of those workouts, it reaffirms the fact that good instruction can only enhance a kids abilities. I also have spoken to a couple of parents that have their kids playing on 3 teams at once in summer and 2 in fall. They don't have time for instructon, but did ask if I would look at ther kids to give my opinion. Both of these kids were a mechanical mess IMO. I recommended some things and then asked them to cut down on playing time and get the kids some help, if not by me then by anyone qualified. They have not and after speaking to another parent this evening that knows both of them, I heard that they didn't make the team. Many here will say that they didn't have the talent. This school is a florda 6a school with a tryout of roughly 75 kids. They have 6 seniors in the florida top 100. The youngsters trying out have excelled at every level, but my feeling is that they went to tryouts Unprepared. Luck favors the prepared mind. I am sure this will kick up some talk. This is certainly IMHO.

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
YES!!
I think it’s imperative that the talented player get the best instructions available...

...The environment you place a young player into is crucial in his development.
Fungo

Fungo is, of course, correct. Baseball skills are developed over years, not weeks or months. The earlier you learn to perform a skill properly, the more good reps you'll get and the better you'll develop that skill over time.

I've seen many players who play with bad mechanics but, because they were more developed physically at a younger age, they were studs. As the field got bigger and the other players matured, the studs became ordinary and eventually couldn't compete.

IMO, you should make sure your player has someone knowledgable looking at his mechanics, whether it's a private instructor or a coach who has the time and ability to work with him.

Mike F

quote:

Originally posted by soxnole:
13 and 14 year olds are easily the most difficult to deal with, let alone coach.

soxnole, this is too true. I think I went from "genius" to "babbling idiot" right on my kid's 13th birthday. His 16th birthday is next week and I hope to have made it all the way back to "knows a thing or two" or at least "doesn't embarrass me every time he opens his mouth."

Mike F

quote:

Originally posted by Mike F:

I've seen many players who play with bad mechanics but, because they were more developed physically at a younger age, they were studs. As the field got bigger and the other players matured, the studs became ordinary and eventually couldn't compete.

Mike F

And of course the stud that you refer to will have a chance of becoming a major prospect if he also works constantly at his skills...correct those bad mechanics...no work or dedication...no chance!

And proper pitching mechanics will help preserve your arm so you're still pitching when its your chance to move on to the next level!
We considered lessons at an early age an investment. Sometimes you get a return on your investment (in this case, scholarship money) and sometimes you don't, but we were willing to assume the risk with our son's arm.
I wouldn't consider him a great player, as the title of this thread indicates, but he's always thrown hard. Lessons have helped him throw correctly.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike F:

quote:

Originally posted by soxnole:
13 and 14 year olds are easily the most difficult to deal with, let alone coach.

soxnole, this is too true. I think I went from "genius" to "babbling idiot" right on my kid's 13th birthday. His 16th birthday is next week and I hope to have made it all the way back to "knows a thing or two" or at least "doesn't embarrass me every time he opens his mouth."

Mike F

MikeF - Apparently the 16 yr old is your oldest? For what it's worth, my oldest just turned 18 and I'm still in the "babbling idiot / embarrasing" category.

Elaborating on the topic.....My first response (a simple yes) was given with the thought that the player was older. HS or college age. I think proper instruction is imperative at ANY age or level. It's important at a young age so they learn proper mechanics and important when they're older to fine tune things. As somebody else pointed out, Tiger Woods is arguably one of the best golfers in the world yet he has a swing coach.

quote:

For what it's worth...
...I'm still in the "babbling idiot / embarrasing" category.

Beezer--please don't set it on a tee for us.
(just kidding--it was too much to pass up)

quote:

Originally posted by JT:
Beezer--please don't set it on a tee for us.
(just kidding--it was too much to pass up)

At least I can admit it.

You know, the answer to this question is very simple and easy to see.

What do professional players get on a regular basis? They all get individual time with their highly qualified coaches throughout the year, from the beginning of spring training till the end of the year. A friend who is a hitting coach for an MLB club has even gone so far as to have some of their organization's minor league players come to his home in winter for several days of one-on-one instruction in the batting cage in his back yard. They fly in and stay at a nearby hotel, and work on their game with him for a few days and then head back home.

If it works for the best, it should work for the rest!

I really thought I was the only babbling idiot?
I think we ought to start a club!

I did know better then to coach after he turned 12, Though I really liked it as a parent.
There just not going to get better if you have to hold there hand!