I figured that this post would trigger the MarkH signal - maybe it's not overcast enough in Texas for him to see it reflected off the clouds. In his absence, I will suggest that the best benchmark is comparing video and pictures of what the best pitchers do to what the coach is saying. Not a ton of high-quality slow motion videos of pitchers out there (that I've seen) but here's a couple:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OA6RfTre6Mhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avcEmdx ... 396.208251The obvious litmus test for me was always coaches that teach the wave through bowling motion vs internal rotation through release.
That said, C77 does raise some interesting points.
1) I like the plan - it's really easy to get into a mundane routine and forget about setting benchmarks and hitting them. This is also something any parent can ask a coach for and remind them to stick to.
2) Not sure if I would hold this as a requirement. The pitching coaches I've come across were all accomplished pitchers, but there are dedicated dads that became good hitting coaches (SSarge, for the old-timers). I've also come across accomplished pitchers who describe a motion different from what they really do.
3) Sounds great, but not sure how you assess safety other than history. Are there really PTs and orthopods out there who know enough about the fastpitch motion to provide advice beyond the most obvious considerations?
4) Can't argue with that.
5) I guess that would depend on who the coach was networking with, wouldn't it? Are there an agreed upon Best Practices? I've never seen it capitalized before.
6) I understand what this is getting at - I'm sure there are plenty of elite pitchers that became that way despite their coaching, not because of it. That said, how do you measure this? There's really no way of knowing why the elite pitcher is elite, or the average pitcher average - way too many variables.
7) This one goes without saying for anyone who has been around the sport for awhile, but hard to discern for newbie parents.