Group CATCHING Lessons - Waste of time - YES?

[B34R DOWN]

Now, I am not a coach.

This is all I need to know about your softball expertise... Please cite your references for all this research you have done Professor... I wonder if you know anything about sports in general... Like have you ever played them? Have you not heard of muscle memory??? That's what the majority of their drills are... All sports have group lessons, so I guess they are wasting their money too? Stick to being a Jerk because clearly you don't know the Softball part...

[softballjerk]

Now, I am not a coach.

This is all I need to know about your softball expertise... Please cite your references for all this research you have done Professor... I wonder if you know anything about sports in general... Like have you ever played them? Have you not heard of muscle memory??? That's what the majority of their drills are... All sports have group lessons, so I guess they are wasting their money too? Stick to being a Jerk because clearly you don't know the Softball part...

OMG! You are THAT GUY who wastes money on these types of stupid things!
Muscle Memory - REALLY? Come On, you can do better than that... on second thought, maybe you can't -because these group catching sessions do nothing more than to drain your wallet (and by reading your reply, maybe it drains what little brain matter is left in your head, too)!

I will say it again; "WEEKLY GROUP LESSONS" for catchers is a waste of time and money. Think about it, do you really think in order to be a great catcher, one would have to attend weekly group sessions mixed together with all types of kids, skill levels and ages? If you answered YES to this, then I'm surprised you can actually read this post.

Now, since someone earlier mentioned the "package deal" i spent some time looking up the credentials of the Catching Coach. I was astonished to read that this girl, was not a starting catcher for 3 of the 4 years she was in college.

So, she sat in the bullpen for three years and played only one season of college softball and people like you, feel she is the next messiah, or at least well versed enough in her experience and training to TEACH the next generation of softball catchers -IN GROUPS!

Its all about the MONEY for people like her. How can you say it isn't? Sure, she cares about your kid, because to her, those are little bundles of money that dance around her facility doing ridiculous drills, all under the pretense that they are getting better.

Find an instructor that actually evaluates your kid and spends time measuring, evaluating and correcting her specific needs. Then practice those things over an over again, until they become habits and in this day and age, if video analysis is not a common tool used by the instructor in their lessons, I would keep shopping..

[Dongers Army]

Softball Jerk, you have literally made my day; thank you. Over the years there is always an ass hat or two that gets a few too many soda pops in their belly and sit behind their keyboard to entertain the HeyBucket crowd. Again, thank you.

I have seen nobody that disagrees that 1 on 1 is better than group lessons (assuming the instructor is worthy). Noted. In fact, a number of notable experts, who have actually gone through the process have confirmed 1 on 1 instruction is beneficial.

What I can share is that my daughter greatly benefited from these very same group lessons that you are referring to. She learned to love the game through these weekly events, honed her skills in these environments, and when she needed that extra bit of instruction or assistance in battling through a slump she got additional 1 on 1 attention. "Attention" that in my household is called parenting. Through the efforts of many "group" instructors, my daughter survived and now when the tuition is due that bill goes to the athletic department and not me. (Full disclosure - we do still have to pay room and board, so perhaps we should have provided more 1 on 1 instructors)

What I have also witnessed is that there are a lot more girls looking for quality instruction than there are quality instructors. Many quality instructors will address this demand by offering group sessions. Has always been a win-win scenario in the parks that my daughter has taken me.

At the end of the day, there are many different ways to accomplish your goals and your daughter's goals, and judging and criticizing others is not getting you or your daughter any closer to those goals. But it sure is fun to read.

Thanks for making the holiday season great!

[PairOfAces]

S jerk this buds for you.
We haven't had a good troll in a while since a special TX dad left us.
Keep it coming. This may make the bucket classic list.

Agreed, and hope he keeps it coming. But to be fair, he gave himself away as a troll with "jerk" in his name.

[UmpSteve]

C'mon, guys!!

He did post with a question mark (?) in the subject line.

And he clearly is objectively listening to the responses of others with an open mind, right??

Right?? Right??

Okay, so he wants everyone to agree with him. Is that so bad?

[DonnieS]

Well said, there are so many ways to run these clinics. My kids certainly have benefited from group practices as well as from 1 on 1. Some people can do the group method very well, some people cant. The best I have seen are some old - timers who would bring a small crew with them, they would work with the group as a whole, and then peel off some on both edges for individual , quick lessons. The best guy that i have seen at group practices - would do a one hour with the group and then, take
and do 1 on 1 for the rest of the day. It was a long day for the team coaches but it was a way to get a lot of kids access to a very high level coach at an affordable rate. Its kind of like television or the internet , if you dont like the site or the channel, dont go there. And if you think someone is ripping you off , dont let them do it twice.

DonnieS

Softball Jerk, you have literally made my day; thank you. Over the years there is always an ass hat or two that gets a few too many soda pops in their belly and sit behind their keyboard to entertain the HeyBucket crowd. Again, thank you.

I have seen nobody that disagrees that 1 on 1 is better than group lessons (assuming the instructor is worthy). Noted. In fact, a number of notable experts, who have actually gone through the process have confirmed 1 on 1 instruction is beneficial.

What I can share is that my daughter greatly benefited from these very same group lessons that you are referring to. She learned to love the game through these weekly events, honed her skills in these environments, and when she needed that extra bit of instruction or assistance in battling through a slump she got additional 1 on 1 attention. "Attention" that in my household is called parenting. Through the efforts of many "group" instructors, my daughter survived and now when the tuition is due that bill goes to the athletic department and not me. (Full disclosure - we do still have to pay room and board, so perhaps we should have provided more 1 on 1 instructors)

What I have also witnessed is that there are a lot more girls looking for quality instruction than there are quality instructors. Many quality instructors will address this demand by offering group sessions. Has always been a win-win scenario in the parks that my daughter has taken me.

At the end of the day, there are many different ways to accomplish your goals and your daughter's goals, and judging and criticizing others is not getting you or your daughter any closer to those goals. But it sure is fun to read.

Thanks for making the holiday season great!

[Pale Rider]

Well...I could write a freaking book on this, but I;d have to name it "I was a Dumb SOB but I Learned'

I'm from an area so far behind on being 'visible' its palpable...BUT...we're learning..
Here's my 'learning'...and for the record, my kid aint to bad and I have the ass callouses from driving to seek what we (wife (aka Highness) and I felt was best...Learned a LOT from people on here, a bunch of whom Ive met and now call friends...They guided me, helped my daughter with things even beyond 'performance'...
Several of whom could call me broke down someplace...all I wanna know is where they are, may take me a bit but Im coming...PLUS I know GREAT folks in virtually every town in the US I can call who'd help! (They wear camo)
Instructors?
I did a tad of research...Its real simple, common denominator, There's some, Simply watch TV (not that I gave 2 damns about my kid being on TV BTW) but the gals you see playing most have something in common...
California...and no its not the ONLY place where the game is played at the highest level, other areas are in those dogfights now...and thats a GREAT thing...But California is where it started...
so I used the Clampett Theory..."Californeey if the place you oughta be"...wasnt gonna move...But I sought knowledge from their programs...Even my friends on here from other State will attest they made friends with folks from the OC...I look forward to the day I can get all of them together and go massacre some fish in the Gulf of Mexico

And by an odd quirk of fate, at the beginning of my epiphany, I met a couple of men at the WCWS from CA several years ago who are common denominators, one probably the biggest...Di NOT know who he was...Both are very unassuming, very amiable and thankfully honest. Main man is by far the biggest reason my kid got a shot...BUT, it was ALL her blood, sweat and tears...

So pick who teaches your kid...carefully...

Group lessons (besides whose teaching)?
Depends on how big a group and TBH what caliber of kid is in the group?...Your kid cant, shouldn't swing a bat, throw to 2nd or across field or take ground balls continuously for an hour...besides blisters you risk stupid injuries from overuse...certain skills one on one is best

As far as Jen...I love Jen, only met her once as we were departing PGF summer before last...but have chatted with her some...Shes 'walked the walk'...and...Look at where her students are committed? Besides that...and Im gonna proclaim a secret...Men coaches dont *really* know what motivates girls...Thats the closely guarded 'secret of life'...or at least part of it... Jen does with her spirit and love of the game...
As far as yoga pants...rather see that than some 300 pound man in athletic shorts 2 sizes to small and varicose veins that look a Rand McNally map of of LA
NOT that even notice yoga shorts Im a gentleman
for example of girls listening to girls...
I used a FANTASTIC Professional catcher...a beast with 2 National Championships for my kid...@$80 an hour...some catching, some hitting...Mine came home with a HUGE grin saying she'd shown her something at the lessons and she was CRUSHING the ball...The tip?...Keeping her head down on ball longer...wow...Ive only been telling her that since she was 8 (shes was 16 then)....BUT, that tip came from another young lady...

[jusfrkix]

If you have a daughter playing softball do her a favor... drop her off at her practices and games then leave.

[softballjerk]

Well...I could write a freaking book on this, but I;d have to name it "I was a Dumb SOB but I Learned'

I'm from an area so far behind on being 'visible' its palpable...BUT...we're learning..
Here's my 'learning'...and for the record, my kid aint to bad and I have the ass callouses from driving to seek what we (wife (aka Highness) and I felt was best...Learned a LOT from people on here, a bunch of whom Ive met and now call friends...They guided me, helped my daughter with things even beyond 'performance'...
Several of whom could call me broke down someplace...all I wanna know is where they are, may take me a bit but Im coming...PLUS I know GREAT folks in virtually every town in the US I can call who'd help! (They wear camo)
Instructors?
I did a tad of research...Its real simple, common denominator, There's some, Simply watch TV (not that I gave 2 damns about my kid being on TV BTW) but the gals you see playing most have something in common...
California...and no its not the ONLY place where the game is played at the highest level, other areas are in those dogfights now...and thats a GREAT thing...But California is where it started...
so I used the Clampett Theory..."Californeey if the place you oughta be"...wasnt gonna move...But I sought knowledge from their programs...Even my friends on here from other State will attest they made friends with folks from the OC...I look forward to the day I can get all of them together and go massacre some fish in the Gulf of Mexico

And by an odd quirk of fate, at the beginning of my epiphany, I met a couple of men at the WCWS from CA several years ago who are common denominators, one probably the biggest...Di NOT know who he was...Both are very unassuming, very amiable and thankfully honest. Main man is by far the biggest reason my kid got a shot...BUT, it was ALL her blood, sweat and tears...

So pick who teaches your kid...carefully...

Group lessons (besides whose teaching)?
Depends on how big a group and TBH what caliber of kid is in the group?...Your kid cant, shouldn't swing a bat, throw to 2nd or across field or take ground balls continuously for an hour...besides blisters you risk stupid injuries from overuse...certain skills one on one is best

As far as Jen...I love Jen, only met her once as we were departing PGF summer before last...but have chatted with her some...Shes 'walked the walk'...and...Look at where her students are committed? Besides that...and Im gonna proclaim a secret...Men coaches dont *really* know what motivates girls...Thats the closely guarded 'secret of life'...or at least part of it... Jen does with her spirit and love of the game...
As far as yoga pants...rather see that than some 300 pound man in athletic shorts 2 sizes to small and varicose veins that look a Rand McNally map of of LA
NOT that even notice yoga shorts Im a gentleman
for example of girls listening to girls...
I used a FANTASTIC Professional catcher...a beast with 2 National Championships for my kid...@$80 an hour...some catching, some hitting...Mine came home with a HUGE grin saying she'd shown her something at the lessons and she was CRUSHING the ball...The tip?...Keeping her head down on ball longer...wow...Ive only been telling her that since she was 8 (shes was 16 then)....BUT, that tip came from another young lady...

Dongers Army, DonnieS, Pale Rider

Ok, you three are the type of delusional parents that keep these money grubbing leaches in business.
The fact that you would publicly make a statement of "Look where Jen's catchers go to college" tell the rest of us that you are really mixed up in the head about how the recruiting process works!

Its disturbing to think that you are giving credit to a weekly group catching so-called-coach, for a kids college commitment. Considering what you are saying here, what about the many more kids that come to these weekly clinics and go nowhere?
Oh, I bet your lovely catching coach, relishes in taking the credit for the few talented players who went to top schools (wake up, dummy, these types of kids would have gone to big schools anyway, regardless of her ridiculous GROUP SESSION), but what we don't so much hear about is the kids that religiously attended these money sucking lessons, but went nowhere because they can't throw a runner out, or actually block a PITCHED ball (but may be a blocking master at those imaginary balls - that are blocked and framed in these "Lessons").

You see, people like the one you mentioned "Jen", will always hop on the backs of talented kid, so she can get recognition as being instrumental in the kids successes, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. They do this, so others will continue to come and waste their money at these group sessions.

Let's be clear here; there is only ONE reason these types of GROUP LESSONS exist and that is because your favorite instructor "JEN", can not make as much money, giving the more player beneficial one-on-one, lessons. It's simple math!

I give her a lot of credit to your CATCHING COACH, for identifying the weak minded softball parents out there and cashing in on the emotional stupidity of them. Logic and common sense, obviously do not override lulu yoga pants and pipe dreams...

[DonnieS]

Relax, have a safe New Years, lay off the caffeine.