Theory hitting vs. Practical hitting

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One of my Mentors talks about "guardrails" being the toughest opponent in teaching hitting. It is just my opinion, but HS Coaches (especially ones that have had success) are the toughest nuts to crack when it comes to hitting mechanics. The standard reply is, "I've had this, that, _____ played for me, _____ played for me, I did this in MILB." To that I say, "so what!" "What you are TEACHING is WRONG!" A Coach can give a good hitter one tip that MAY help him to start hitting better, because he has seen the same thing done with good results. There is nothing wrong with that, IMO. The thing is, when a hitter doesn't understand WHY he needs to move certain body parts at the right time and in the proper manner, he can't fix himself and THAT is critical.

Power do you not see the arrogance associated with your statement? This attitude by private coaches like yourself is what helps to create animosity between private coaches and high school coaches.

I do agree and always have that there are terrible high school coaches out there. There are very arrogant high school coaches as well. But the same can be said for private coaches.

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I understand totally that HS Coaches don't have the time to teach every hitter to reach their potential, but it is my opinion that the Coaches need to have the proper information being taught when kids hit the Freshman class and they should keep records (video) of the kids and refer to it before an instruction session is being done. Yes, I know some do all this, but they are few and far between.

What sample size are you basing all this on? Vast majority of HS coaches that I've known did all this. You make it sound like 90% of HS coaches do everything wrong.

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Let me take a step back here and say, many things CAN be taught in a group setting and ALL Assistant Coaches should be taught proper mechanics. That way, you can assign your Coaches a few players at a time. Schedule instruction in groups of two at a time in 30 minute intervals. Make them OPTIONAL for the players. IMO, why waste time on those that don't want help?

I'm glad you said this because it does happen to be how most HS coaches teach hitting. I agree that this is how it pretty much has to be done. As for the last statement it doesn't apply because we are building a team. So we have to find ways to make everyone better and I've yet to keep a kid who doesn't want to get better.

I don't know how good the HS coaches are that are near you or that you've been around but from your and Bluedog's tone they have not been very good. I understand that but what gets me is how you paint the vast majority into this corner of being arrogant and not having a clue. Then you say we don't teach correctly but our kids are having success and going to college and having success there but you keep saying we are wrong. I don't understand how we can be doing it wrong with that success (not winning) and never see your super hitters.

Coach2709, thank you for the kind word. Power, I don't believe that high school coaches can't teach all players. If I suggested that, I apologize. I think it is a lot harder for them given time constraints. If a coach is organized and has laid out exactly what they want for a "base" and then taken the time to work with hitters one on one per rotations before practice, they can get a lot of teaching accomplished. I was so blessed to have great assistants and they knew my "system" (term used loosly) since I had coached them in high school. When it came to time constraints, they didn't have them and, in fact, took the initiative to do film work etc. That's when you know you have an excellent staff worthy of being head coaches.

Listen, there is a battle being waged now between private instructors and high school coaches. I could say the same about travel ball coaches and high school coaches. The problem is that it appears that due to monies paid, the high school coach is looked down on. In other words, my Johnny has taken x amount of lessons at x amount of cost and so, don't change their swing. That is not appreciated by high school coaches who, themselves, have put a lot of time in to learning the game and want to earn their money. Besides, a portion of their livelhood is riding on it.

Back to the topic -- one has to also factor in that theory and practical hitting have to incorporated a "mental approach" as well. I was reading on another site where the comment was made that a player was great in practice but could not pull the trigger in games versus real pitching. There is something very wrong in any approach that does not include the "mental approach." JMHO!