Posted by: Scott W (stwinton@netzero.net) on Tue Jul 25 10:14:51 2006

> >>> I’ve yet to ever see a coach keep a hitter out of a lineup that mashing because the hitter won’t change his style to the coaches style…
>
> Hi Scott
>
> I have received hundreds of e-mails from players and parents that would strongly disagree with you. Some complained that even though they had received college scholarships based on their hitting performance, they were told that for them to make the team, they must change their swing mechanics to conform to the coaches teaching.
> You state, “You (Jack) are quick to condemn the establishment without knowing whom is doing out the instruction and why its being given...are there bad little league/high school/college coaches out their, YES! Is their only one way to skin a cat, hell no!”
>
> Scott, there are far to many “bad little league/high school/college coaches” who believe their way is the only way to “skin a cat.”
>
> Jack Mankin

So your saying a college coach will keep a productive hitter out of the lineup because he’s not hitting the way the coach wants him to? I’m around college coaches all the time; I played at a high level, I’ve worked for MLB…hell, I make out lineups all the time, the one thing that I can uniformly say is that a coach will ALWAYS play the guys that hit! NO Exceptions!

The thing that most players don’t understand is that the swing that worked at one level in most cases will not work at the next higher level. (A little league swing in most cases will not work for frosh baseball, the lower level high school baseball swing usually will not work at a the varsity level…a great high school hitter will have to adjust to be able to succeed at the JC level and major college level.…you should get the picture.) You adjust and adapt to the rise in competition and level or you will perish as a ballplayer.

The most common adjustment that needs to be made as you rise through the levels of baseball is getting shorter and more and more efficient with your swing. The biggest fault with young hitters is a long loopy swing. If you are unwilling to adjust you will not make it. Most college coaches can see in a short amount of time the types of swings that are required for success at their respective level. As a coach that sees a fault in the players swing, its their job/responsibility to point it out and to start the corrective, re-teaching process. At what point does the stubborn player buy-in to the coaching, 0-20, no AB’s…? The very real thing about making an adjustment in one’s swing is that you will, in most cases get worse before you get better. Most young players don’t have the trust in their coaches coaching to stick with it, its compounded when they are not 100% committed to the adjustments and they have all pro, little league all-star dad coaching him at home as well…breaking out the little league video. Players at that stage want quick fixes, and immediate results, both of which DON’T happen in baseball.

It’s far easier for Dad and son to come to batspeed.com with sob stories about coach’s stubbornness then to face so of the hard truths about the ultra competitiveness of baseball at highest levels. Adjust, Adapt, and be coachable…do those things and you have a chance, don’t and you’ll be on the same lines of uncle Rico claiming he could have been all state.

The bottom line is that if you are trying to skin the cat and the cats skinning you, you'd better be ready for a new way.