1. Won’t Try to Make Your Player Fit Into a System

Be wary of any instructor who feels all hitters fit into the same old. It is extremely difficult to change a swing and choosing an instructor who wants to spend your valuable time and money on adapting a new system needs to be considered carefully. Most instructors see players at both ends of the spectrum. Some of their clients need wraps to refine their timing and increase their bat speed while others have technical flaws and need remedial drills to improve upon them.

2. Provides a Written Assessment

An instructor who has been teaching for any length of time should be able to provide a written assessment of your players swing. After all, they are selling you a service, and it is in their best interest to point out the areas their instruction can help your player.

3. Provides Video Analysis

Even the best most experienced instructor in the world cannot see everything that happens in a swing in real-time. Using video instructor can break down different parts of the swing and also look for consistencies and multiple swings in a row. Plus players learn better when they can see what the instructor is talking about.

4. Can Help You Set Short-term and Long-term Goals

A good instructor should understand the reasons you sought out professional lessons and help you set goals and achieve them. Any instructors that can’t identify areas of weakness after one session and give you concrete ideas of how to help the player improve isn’t giving you the full service you deserve.

5. Recommends Drills To Do At Home

While working with a professional hitting instructor once a week is an excellent opportunity for a young hitter to learn and improve, the hitter needs to work the rest of the week to solidify the progress made in their weekly session.

Learn More: Hitting Drills

6. Recommends a Workout Program

Proper technique is important to developing a solid swing, but the player needs the strength and flexibility to execute the swing as well. A good instructor will understand this and have techniques and exercises the player can do during the week to gain the strength and body control necessary for repeating an excellent swing.

7. Understands Current Hitting Methodologies and Takes the Best Parts From All of Them

While we wouldn’t recommend choosing an instructor who only believes in adapting your player to one hitting methodology, we recommend you find an instructor who understands all current methodologies and can help pick and choose the parts of those philosophies that best suit your player.

8. Played at a High-Level

Nothing replaces the experience of playing at a high-level. Instructors who played for any length of time has seen a lot of different things. They understand the struggles hitters go through and can help your player address their weaknesses and develop a positive approach that will help make them successful.

9. Seeks Opportunities to Continue to Learn

I am always interested in what excellent hitting instructors are looking at to stay sharp and continue to learn. I will always make it a point to ask about popular techniques and even ask instructors what websites they like to look at for current thoughts on hitting. And of course, I always hope they’ve heard of our friends at Baseball Zone!

10. Can Give You a Time-Based Plan

After one session with your hitter, the instructor should be able to tell you what type of progress they could make in what timeframe.

11. Encourages You to Call For Updates

An instructor who wants to give you good value for your money will be interested in giving you an assessment of what is transpiring in your player’s lessons.

12. Has Materials He Can Send You

Many instructors in this teenage have put their thoughts about hitting on a website or videos on YouTube. While not everyone has dozens of articles and an e-book on hitting like we do, we do expect that a good instructor will have committed some of his thoughts and strategies to paper, and he will be a will to share those with you.

13. Is Well Respected in the Facility He Trains In

Ask around in the facility for recommendations on an instructor or if you have an instructor in mind ask about their reputation. Show up early to your first lesson and ask the parents of the lesson before their opinion of the instructor.

14. Has Regular Availability

Gains and hitting are not realized in one or two sessions. There is no quick fix. If you’re interested in finding instruction for your player you should be committed to a series of lessons or even a longer commitment. If you can make this type of commitment, you want to make sure you have an instructor who can make that commitment to you as well.

15. Has a List of References

Every good hitting instructor should have success stories. You should know just by talking to the instructor if they can help players make their local teams whether they be travel teams or high school teams.

Baseball Situations Quiz

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