Scout Lessons

Where abouts do you live?

Location and I assume you are looking for an instructor not a scout.

I am in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. I am not looking for an instructor, I wanted to know if their was a local area scout that gives lessons, just to kind of get evaluated and to check mechanics and all that.

Thanks for the feedback

Your best option up there is Justin Stone at the White Sox Academy in Lisle

I thought his expertise was hitting, fielding and catching; or is he an expert in everything baseball?

IMO, the best pitching instruction in Chicagoland is Bedinger's Bullpen in Joliet. I don't know if that is too far for you.

www.bedingersbullpen.com

There is a former Pirates scout named Tom Barnard in Lake Zurich...If you can't find his number in the book, let me know and I'll be able to come up with it for you.

Why do you think a scout would be a better fit for you than a professional pitching instructor?

A scout may give you an unbiased opinion but I would not assume that they know how to teach someone proper mechanics. Personally, I think you are better off with an former pro player for instruction.

One scout told my kid last year his mechanics were perfect....former player said they weren't. 5 mph later I am inclined to believe that just because you are a scout it doesn't mean you know much more than reading the numbers on a radar gun.

JMHO

nc42dad and others,

Wow I'm not sure former or current players are always better coaches than scouts. Area scouts fall into 3 main categories: 1)former pro players 2)former coaches 3) really smart baseball guys.

In any case I'd say the eye that makes a good evaluator makes a good instructor...with the caveat that good instructors must be good communicators.

Most guys that are former or current phenoms are so physically gifted that they are poor teachers because they can't communicate their abilities...they were good because they were talented...period!

The insinuation that area scouts are poor teachers is kind of insulting as well as the insinuation that these self made "gurus” that call them self instructors are more qualified than the average area scout. Honestly I would want the guy who has seen the best there is to compare you to what you possess or lack; that would be the area scout. Any idiot can tell you how good your kid is compared to what he sees everyday for $50/hr. It takes a guy who has seen the best to make informed comparisons.

That said. A few good area scouts in the Chicago area that give lessons:

Mike Daughtry AZ Diamondbacks
Steve Arneri Wash Nationals
Steve Miller Tor Blue Jays

All teach @ Homerun Sports and Fitness in Lake Zurich

http://www.homerunsportsandfitness.com/staff.html

I did not mean to insult anyone. Just because someone carries a title doesn't always mean they are smarter than another guy. Just because someone sells $1 miillion dollars of books and has a website doesn't mean his stuff will work for you either.

My point is simple - beware of titles.

quote:

Originally posted by blazer25:

Most guys that are former or current phenoms are so physically gifted that they are poor teachers because they can't communicate their abilities...they were good because they were talented...period!

Agreed, that is why Larry Bird was one of the worst basketball coaches ever. Well Said.

Skill recognition and skill development are two wholly distinct and different skill sets. Having one is not a given that the other will be possessed.

A person who recognizes assets and defects and can quantify them, doesn't neccisarily know, understand, or can impart with effect the systematic steps needed to correct or enhance what's been recognized.

We see coaches all the time in different sports that get high marks in certain aspects and low marks in others.

My question about why he thought he needed a scout was more directed at ascertaining whether he wanted evaluation, instruction, advice or influence.

TUZ you are correct I wasnt thinking as usual.