By 
Things have certainly changed in high school and youth baseball in the last twenty-five years. When I started coaching baseball in high school, none of our players signed outside of hitting or pitching instruction. Today, it seems that everyone has an instructor and starts in the minor leagues. In fact, most cities now have baseball/softball facilities that offer instruction. It has certainly changed the way things work, but does it help?
It is not unusual to receive several calls during a week asking if I offer paid instruction or asking for a good reference to someone who can offer lessons. Good instruction is not cheap. The best instructors offer 30 to 45 minute lessons that range from $35 to $65. Many on-site instructors require monthly contracts to be signed and paid up front.
Over the last few years I have been studying this paid instruction trend and find it interesting. In my research I have found both the good and the bad. I realize our players need instruction and if parents are willing to pay for instruction I would encourage them, especially in the off-season. The offseason is the best time to work on skill development when hitters/pitchers can be free from the day-to-day worries of competing for position or excelling in a game. I don’t mind instruction during the season for the younger players, but for the older varsity players I would prefer that they work hard in practices and then work individually on their own time during the season. There can be a distraction when players hear terminology every day in practice and go to an instructor at night or on the weekend who might use different teaching terms. It can be confusing for players. Hitting is a reaction and good hitters should be free from thoughts about mechanics when they are in a game. For pitchers, we need to know your throwing load during the week to protect your arms and outside instruction during the season for a college player adds to the wear and tear on the throwing arm. Also, after a 2 ½ to 3 hour practice, another hour of instruction at night would overload the player. It would be better for them to hit for 15 to 20 minutes with no distractions after practice. Hitting at home from a tee or throwing drills can be very helpful. During the week, players need to get home to eat, do their homework and rest.
I remember a story that one of my former players told me several years ago. He was in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and had a great year at AA ball in San Antonio hitting .296 with 18 HR. In spring training the next year, he hoped to make the Major League team, but he tried too hard and the results were not good. The Dodgers’ hitting instructor at the time, former major league slugger Reggie Smith, suggested he work with him after practice in the cages. He thought Reggie was going to change something he was doing, but instead he loaded the automatic pitching machine with about 100 balls and told it to hit everyone hard in the middle. For the next 45 minutes it was him and those 100 balls in the cage. (Reggie actually left and came back) The next day he went 4-5 with two doubles. He had been taking a lot of practice swings every day, but what he really needed was to be alone for about 45 minutes and clear his head of distractions.
One of the trends I find today is that parents feel like they have to pay someone to get their child better. That can be true or false. I’m amazed to see someone spend $45 on a weekly lesson and wait until the next week to attend the next lesson, not spending any time between lessons working on their skills. It would be better if the player spent 30-45 minutes 4-5 days a week working on their skills without paid instruction. If a player doesn’t feel like working to get better, especially at the secondary level, he’s not going to get better. Young players don’t grow up today playing sand games in the summer or competing every afternoon with the neighborhood kids. Paid instruction is taking the place of pick-up games and many are getting bored with the instruction. Good instruction 2-3 times a month is enough during the season and 4-5 times a month during the off-season is fine. Spend the rest of the time practicing to improve. Nothing replaces a hundred ground balls or a hundred swings, if done correctly.
So what is a parent looking for if they want to pay an instructor? First, find someone who will give you money’s worth of it. Talking for 30 minutes and not doing repetitive exercises is a waste of time. With a good hitting instructor, the student should swing a lot. That is the only way to improve. Really, you are paying for that person to be a coach and oversee the practice time. No changes are needed for each lesson. Some instructors feel the need to give customers “something for their money” and encourage them to keep coming back each week. These types of instructors are a waste of time and money.
Also, swing instruction should not be wasted on style, but on improving swing mechanics. Styles should only be changed when they get in the way of swing mechanics. Make sure you hire someone who really knows the mechanics of the baseball swing.
A good throwing instructor will spend time working on basic throwing motion before working on throwing mechanics, especially with younger players. Regardless of the player’s position, proper shooting mechanics are important and young players cannot improve as shooters without good easy shooting moves. The most important thing for pitchers is control and speed. Control is learning to repeat good mechanics on every throw. This takes time and practice, regardless of who you pay for the instruction. Mechanics often change as young players go through stages of growth, especially young tall pitchers who may be growing through stages that don’t allow for full body control.
Developing speed also takes time, there is no magic formula and some of it is just genetics. As players get older, they can be taught a proper off-season long throwing program to improve their arm strength and begin to learn good arm and shoulder exercise programs in addition to a general strength and training program. conditioning. This should wait until the player is mentally and physically ready to handle an exercise program. Young players can start with fun conditioning drills at practice or a couple of shoulder/arm drills using their glove as a weight. Make it fun as well as a learning time.
Youth league players need to spend time practicing (and throwing) the fastball to develop good arm strength. When control of the fastball has been achieved, they can learn a good changeup. The curve ball should not be taught until they are at least 14-15 years old, depending on their physical development.
With today’s video technology, more parents need to take advantage of video. Players need to see themselves to develop a mental image of what they are doing during the activity. Record videos during the lesson and also during some games. Then spend some time looking at the videos and making comparisons. It is also good to use the DVR to record some good professional or college players on TV. Slow down the video to study your moves and then compare them. This is a great way to learn and improve.