Call now to set up a
Lesson!
Space is Limited!
951-970-0539
coachb@3up3down.net
Located in
Riverside
WEEKLY RATE-$35.00
Please try and give me 24 hour notice if you have to cancel so I
can fill your spot with another student that wants to get in
that day. I know emergencies will occur, so if on the same day
you need to cancel please do so within a 2 hour window before
your scheduled lesson. If I don’t hear from you that day, I will
assume you are not coming and I will have to charge you double
the next lesson.
If you are paying monthly, I will try and reschedule you for the
same week or book you twice the following week.
TIME SLOTS FOR YOUR LESSON
Please try to arrive at your scheduled lesson on time because I
give lessons every half hour. I know it’s hard to get here on
time some days, but I have other lessons scheduled back to back
and I don’t want to inconvenience other lessons that are
waiting. Also it’s always good to try and get here 10 minutes
early anyway to warm up.
How do I pick a pitching
instructor?
Softball pitchers who are committed to
improving their skills will, in most cases, benefit from the
experience and instruction of a qualified pitching instructor.
However, taking lessons and the
subsequent need for a major commitment to lots of practice,
should be the decision of the pitcher…not a parent. We have seen
far too many situations where a parent, often with a commendable
intention of being supportive, actually pushes the daughter into
doing something to which she is personally not committed.
 
Finding a knowledgeable and competent softball
pitching instructor in your area might not be as simple as it
sounds. Just because someone calls him/herself a "pitching coach"
doesn't necessarily mean they have all the credentials and skills
you or your daughter might need. Find out from long-time
travel-team and high school softball coaches which of their pitchers
have had good success (and a
comfortable relationship) with a
pitching instructor locally. Talk also with those pitchers. Then,
interview the potential pitching instructor to make certain this is
likely to be a comfortable "fit".
Some things to consider:
(1) Many
pitching instructors are men pitchers.
A
200+pound male, teaching a girl pitching student “the way I do it”
is not necessarily beneficial. Male former
pitchers need to know procedures and techniques that perhaps they
did not personally practice, but which may be more beneficial
to young girl pitchers. Female pitching students
often relate better to female pitching instructors who have
successfully “been down the same road.”
However, regardless of the gender of the
instructor, when choosing someone to teach softball pitching be
certain that s/he either was an accomplished pitcher OR has
been a true student of girls fastpitch pitching… former
softball position players do not necessarily know or
relate to the mechanics and intricacies of pitching.
(The author of this
article, Gerald Warner, as you might guess, is a male
pitching instructor).
(2) Not all pitching students are alike...consequently
pitching instruction needs to be tailored to the girl.
Her
size, physical attributes, athletic ability, and "learnability" all
demand that pitching instruction and techniques be customized.
In nearly all aspects of
softball pitching, there are very few “one method fits all” rules.
(3)
Get individual instruction.
Although less costly, group
instruction…even two pitchers at a time…can be distracting.
Often, the more accomplished pitcher
(and perhaps the one with the most
promise)
gets less attention from the pitching
instructor who spends more time with one who is struggling. Nearly
everywhere, there are some instructors who are more interested in
building a relationship with the check-writer rather than the
pitching student. Be careful…if a pitching
coach pays more attention to a parent rather than giving quality
instruction to the pitcher, choose someone else.
(4) Some instructors feel that only "big" girls make good
pitchers, and try
to qualify their students based on genetics rather than commitment
and work ethic. A 5'5" girl CAN be taught to throw a 60 mph
fastball,
and more important is often more skilled at off-speed and breaking
pitches. And
obviously, not all larger pitchers
have the same desire and commitment
as their less-statured counterparts.
(5) Negative reinforcement is NOT a
good teacher. What works in motivating high
school football players will not necessarily work with softball
pitchers. If your potential instructor reprimands more than s/he
praises, your chances of success will be less.
Article by Gerald Warner of
PitchSoftball.com
Used with permission. |
