VERY OT: Omaha baseball hitting coaches

[Nate004]

I’m wondering if anyone who post on here knows of a good hitting coach in the Omaha area I could take my 14 year old son who has high school tryouts coming at the end of February to for some lessons. While I would preferably keep it as cheap as I can, I do realize quality comes at a price, so I am willing to shell out the dough for a great coach. Anyways anybody got ideas/connections?

 

[mgbreis]

No clue, but good luck to him! What HS? All I can say about hitting coaches is that my sons never had one. We just put up a cage in the basement and hit a million balls all year long. I knew guys that took their sons to a hitting coach for 30 minutes once or twice a week and I never understood what that could possibly accomplish. I've got one at a JUCO and one a sophomore in HS. Maybe email the Prospects and see who they recommend, their connections can't hurt.

 

[cubsker]

Dwayne Hosey operates out of Play it Again Sports. Seems you could do worse than a former big leaguer.

 

[dew4red]

The Blind Guy. Ponca hills I believe
402-451-8054

 

[SuperBigFan]

For the folks that already blew a ton of cash on it...they will get mad BUT...don't waste your cash.

Just have him go hit at a cage.

Also, sounds like a 9th grade team? Tell him to be cool to the coaches, it will help.

 

[SuperBigFan]

No clue, but good luck to him! What HS? All I can say about hitting coaches is that my sons never had one. We just put up a cage in the basement and hit a million balls all year long. I knew guys that took their sons to a hitting coach for 30 minutes once or twice a week and I never understood what that could possibly accomplish. I've got one at a JUCO and one a sophomore in HS. Maybe email the Prospects and see who they recommend, their connections can't hurt.

So true...

In end...the only "extra" stuff that you MIGHT want to pay for is lifting/working out and maybe golf lessons.

Anything after that is just old dudes trying to take your cash.

Trust me, I ran football and basketball camps for years.

 

[mel mains]

So true...

In end...the only "extra" stuff that you MIGHT want to pay for is lifting/working out and maybe golf lessons.

Anything after that is just old dudes trying to take your cash.

Trust me, I ran football and basketball camps for years.

Then the point remains, find one who’s more than “just” that. My son as an eighth-grader took private lessons and improved remarkably, from the guy who’s now the Cubs’ Director of Hitting for the entire organization. Such talented instructors exist.

 

[drubendall]

No clue, but good luck to him! What HS? All I can say about hitting coaches is that my sons never had one. We just put up a cage in the basement and hit a million balls all year long. I knew guys that took their sons to a hitting coach for 30 minutes once or twice a week and I never understood what that could possibly accomplish. I've got one at a JUCO and one a sophomore in HS. Maybe email the Prospects and see who they recommend, their connections can't hurt.

I think the answer is both. Learn good hitting mechanics and form the right habits, then top that off with a lot of time in the cage.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

Then the point remains, find one who’s more than “just” that. My son as an eighth-grader took private lessons and improved remarkably, from the guy who’s now the Cubs’ Director of Hitting for the entire organization. Such talented instructors exist.

Agree, I think it depends on the kid's baseball ambitions. If this is just to make a 9th grade baseball team, and the kid doesn't dream of playing after high school, then don't waste your money. If your kid has ambitions to play post high school, then getting with a good hitting instructor can help find and fix the holes in their swings.

 

[SuperBigFan]

Agree, I think it depends on the kid's baseball ambitions. If this is just to make a 9th grade baseball team, and the kid doesn't dream of playing after high school, then don't waste your money. If your kid has ambitions to play post high school, then getting with a good hitting instructor can help find and fix the holes in their swings.

Yep, and especially at that age.

We all knew the "freak" at 14 who crushed it in every sport and then never grew again and ended up not playing.

I would also add, to the OP, depending on the school, that team tryout might be nothing more than a dog and pony show. As in, that team might already be picked.

 

[SuperBigFan]

Then the point remains, find one who’s more than “just” that. My son as an eighth-grader took private lessons and improved remarkably, from the guy who’s now the Cubs’ Director of Hitting for the entire organization. Such talented instructors exist.

Sure, it can always help!

 

[mgbreis]

Edit: I deleted what I posted. It wasn't helpful and didn't respond to OP's question. Too much based on my own experiences. T...Chafes gives all the advice you need.

 

[T...Chafes]

Jeff Leise is one of the best hitting instructors in Omaha. At last check, he was $50/half an hour. ETC, StikeZone or UBA all have instructors that should be more affordable than Leise. Some better than others obviously. But they should all have the basics on correcting major flaws in swings. If you do take your son, please encourage him to go with an open mind. And most instructors are open to the fact that every players has variations in their swing. One size fits all does not work with a baseball swing!

Otherwise, I do NOT recommend hitting endless amounts of balls into the nets in the offseason, unless you know the swing is good to go. All BP does with a bad swing is reinforce bad habits. One of the players on our team has been hitting endlessly in the off seasons, way more than others on our team, yet he still has the worst swing on the team....

 

[drubendall]

Ooh, almost forgot. YouTube university!

Watch
Apply
Evaluate

Don't cost nothin'.

 

[T...Chafes]

Dwayne Hosey operates out of Play it Again Sports. Seems you could do worse than a former big leaguer.

I've heard reports of Hosey more interested in surfing his phone during lessons, than actually giving lessons. I'd say "no go" on Hosey. (he is good if you have his full attention however)

 

[Charlie Marlow]

Elbows up

What else is there?

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

Elbows up

What else is there?

Squash the bug.

 

[T...Chafes]

Ooh, almost forgot. YouTube university!

Watch
Apply
Evaluate

Don't cost nothin'.

This guy has been my "go to" YouTube hitting instructor the last two years or so. He's got great stuff, not too technical:

Antonelli Baseball link

 

[mgbreis]

Jeff Leise - Nebraska Baseball Hall of Fame 2022 inductee!

 

[njw30]

trevor cissell at strikezone.

Im a former HS coach and had players who couldn't even hit a beach ball at the beginning of the year see trevor and by the end were one of our top hitters.

Im a pitcher so hitter was never my strong suit

 

[SuperBigFan]

Anyone know a fun golf coach? For kids?

 

[PeliniTheCrutch]

Anyone know a fun golf coach? For kids?

Dorf

 

[SuperBigFan]

Dorf

Man, I still remember renting those videos!

 

[CornHusker_635]

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!

I grew up with parents that would consistenly pay for hitting lessons and hitting coaches. Made baseball miserable for me. I actually got in my own head and thought of hitting as a step by step process and it messed me up for years.

I was lucky enough to make the high school team (Class A school in Millard) and play varsity. I say i was lucky because i really made the team because of my work ethic and potential rather than my current skill.

I started to succeed at a very high level after not listening to hitting coaches. In fact, I simplified it. Sweet spot of the bat to the ball. Ball off the center of the back net in the batting cage....repeat...repeat...repeat.

I did lots of tee work. Put the ball on the Tee...get in a stance that is comfortable for you and natural. Hands to the ball....make solid contact...and hit the ball hard against the back net....thats all i focused on. And just do it over and over and over again.

Next thing you know i was batting for an average of .400+ for 2 years at Class A varsity level.

SIMPLIFY IT. BE NATURAL. LOAD. HANDS TO THE BALL. SWEET SPOT HIT BALL. BALL UP THE MIDDLE ON A LINE. DONT WORRY ABOUT HOMERUNS. JUST NEED TO HIT THE BALL OVER THE SECOND BASEMENS HEAD EVERY TIME TO BE THE BEST PLAYER IN THE STATE

 

[CornHusker_635]

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!

I grew up with parents that would consistenly pay for hitting lessons and hitting coaches. Made baseball miserable for me. I actually got in my own head and thought of hitting as a step by step process and it messed me up for years.

I was lucky enough to make the high school team (Class A school in Millard) and play varsity. I say i was lucky because i really made the team because of my work ethic and potential rather than my current skill.

I started to succeed at a very high level after not listening to hitting coaches. In fact, I simplified it. Sweet spot of the bat to the ball. Ball off the center of the back net in the batting cage....repeat...repeat...repeat.

I did lots of tee work. Put the ball on the Tee...get in a stance that is comfortable for you and natural. Hands to the ball....make solid contact...and hit the ball hard against the back net....thats all i focused on. And just do it over and over and over again.

Next thing you know i was batting for an average of .400+ for 2 years at Class A varsity level.

SIMPLIFY IT. BE NATURAL. LOAD. HANDS TO THE BALL. SWEET SPOT HIT BALL. BALL UP THE MIDDLE ON A LINE. DONT WORRY ABOUT HOMERUNS. JUST NEED TO HIT THE BALL OVER THE SECOND BASEMENS HEAD EVERY TIME TO BE THE BEST PLAYER IN THE STATE

During college i was asked to go back and coach my alma mater during the summer. The freshman/JV team.
This is what i instructed my players. They loved me. It was so simple. You make contact and hit the ball hard? You will be succesful at this level. Until you are facing Justin Verlander then you can look at the science behind your swing.
Of course there are basic essentials to a swing like a proper weight distribution, proper load, proper swing path. I would correct this if there was a glaring issue. But if the player is consistently hitting the ball hard to all areas of the field. Let em keep doing it. They need to find their swing first before you can possibly break their swing down step by step into a science. We won 2 back to back state championships at this level while i was coach FYI

 

[baseball31ne]

trevor cissell at strikezone.

Im a former HS coach and had players who couldn't even hit a beach ball at the beginning of the year see trevor and by the end were one of our top hitters.

Im a pitcher so hitter was never my strong suit

Would recommend him as well.

 

[beaglehusker]

This guy has been my "go to" YouTube hitting instructor the last two years or so. He's got great stuff, not too technical:

Antonelli Baseball link

Antonelli is a great watch to learn the fundamentals of the swing. Really depends on his goals on how technical you want to get.

Learning how to get loaded into your back hip and getting to a good launch position is important to learn before you start hitting a ton of balls.

Learning to tilt and get the barrel on plane early will help tremendously. Or like someone else said just see it and hit it, keep it simple. Still want to learn proper mechanics and always be in yes mindset. Yes,yes, yes or yes, yes, no.

DM if you want more info on someone to work with. If you don’t mind hitting with 2 other kids, we'll just charge you $15 for the price of the tunnel for an hour.

 

[Wyldcard]

Ultimate Baseball Academy

UBA Baseball Instructors — Ultimate Baseball Academy

The perfect team - book lessons with UBA instructors

www.ubanebraska.com

My old HS coach owns it.

 

[PeliniTheCrutch]

Biggest thing I hate about “hitting coaches”:

Sometimes when you strikeout, it wasn’t about your swing, it was because you are weak-minded and afraid of competing one-one-one and arelooking for something to blame.

Swing coaches enable those kids.

Hey kiddo, you didn’t strikeout because of your swing, you struck out because you took one down the cock on strike one, swung at a breaking ball in the dirt for strike two, and then blamed the umpire when you couldn’t hit the fastball on the black for strike 3 because the first two strikes were still in your head.

 

[TruHusker]

Elbows up

What else is there?

I coached several little league teams and this one came from the stands constantly. Kids would lift one elbow, then the other until they couldn't even move, much less swing. If you watch pros, you often see the elbows actually down close to the body. I give up.

 

[PeliniTheCrutch]

I coached several little league teams and this one came from the standa constantly. Kids would lift one elbow, then the other until they couldn't even move, much less swing. If you watch pros, you often see the elbows actually down close to the body. I give up..

It is a “great” grandpa strategy that literally goes against everything currently taught. Just think about where one’s elbow has to go after it starts up that high, and then what that does to the rest of the swing/body.

 

[itseasyas1-2-3]

I coached several little league teams and this one came from the stands constantly. Kids would lift one elbow, then the other until they couldn't even move, much less swing. If you watch pros, you often see the elbows actually down close to the body. I give up.

For a right-handed hitter. My suggestions are reversed for a left-handed hitter.

Grab a bat, and get into your stance. Then let go of the bat with your left hand and see what happens with when you see the track your right elbow has to take to get to the ball. Major league hitters start from every position imaginable, yet, all the good ones are at the same spot when the bat is meeting the ball.

Doing that will automatically guarantee you have an A-B-C swing instead of an A-C swing. Are you gonna have a loop, or are you gonna have a chop down to the ball? A good coach will teach you a good A-C swing. A-B-C means you are going around an arc with the bat, rather than top to launch.

If you don't have a swing that begins with getting the knob of the bat to your left hip before the barrel drops, you aren't gonna hit the ball very well.

Something that is REALLY IMPORTANT. Keep their eyes LEVEL. So many kids tilt their heads and they only see the ball with their left eye and the right eye is partially unable to see the full flight of the ball because of your nose. Make sure your son is SEEING the ball with both eyes.

If you want to experiment, have your son get in his hitting stance, then have him freeze, then take your left hand and cover his left eye, and ask him to tell you how much of a baseball he could ACTUALLY see. Try it yourself.

The left-hand pulls the bat, and the right-hand guides the bat. As soon as you straighten out the left arm you have reached zero acceleration.

Any good hitting coach should start at the feet and go up. If the waist to the eyes is good, and the feet to the waist are bad, there will be a problem.

Swinging more than 12 times in succession is not a good idea. Even if you have to break up the lesson and use a cut-down-to-size broom handle, it will give your muscles a breather between the exertion of full swings.

Find a coach that will teach you a major league swing. Your son doesn't have to be a major leaguer to have a major league swing. If a coach isn't able to give your son his undivided attention, that coach is not the right one for you.

 

[mgbreis]

Biggest thing I hate about “hitting coaches”:

Sometimes when you strikeout, it wasn’t about your swing, it was because you are weak-minded and afraid of competing one-one-one and arelooking for something to blame.

Swing coaches enable those kids.

Hey kiddo, you didn’t strikeout because of your swing, you struck out because you took one down the cock on strike one, swung at a breaking ball in the dirt for strike two, and then blamed the umpire when you couldn’t hit the fastball on the black for strike 3 because the first two strikes were still in your head.

The swing is both mental and physical. A good coach would be working on both aspects.

 

[anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi]

This guy has been my "go to" YouTube hitting instructor the last two years or so. He's got great stuff, not too technical:

Antonelli Baseball link

Watched him since around ‘17. I like him, but absolutely despise the guy he based his teachings off of (Donaldson)

 

[4norsemen]

I’m wondering if anyone who post on here knows of a good hitting coach in the Omaha area I could take my 14 year old son who has high school tryouts coming at the end of February to for some lessons. While I would preferably keep it as cheap as I can, I do realize quality comes at a price, so I am willing to shell out the dough for a great coach. Anyways anybody got ideas/connections?

The best is Mark Wetzel right here in Omaha.

 

[itseasyas1-2-3]

It is a “great” grandpa strategy that literally goes against everything currently taught. Just think about where one’s elbow has to go after it starts up that high, and then what that does to the rest of the swing/body.

Agree, and I elaborate in my post. I've been teaching the "raising the elbow" theory is wrong since 1972.

BTW, I have a great-granddaughter, so I may be an exception to your comment.

 

[cubsker]

I've heard reports of Hosey more interested in surfing his phone during lessons, than actually giving lessons. I'd say "no go" on Hosey. (he is good if you have his full attention however)

I watched him give a lesson to a high school softball player. He was very engaged.

 

[SuperBigFan]

I watched him give a lesson to a high school softball player. He was very engaged.

I am guessing that parents of kids that went to him and DID not make the HS team or become All State, hated the guy and said he was on his phone the entire time.

 

[beaglehusker]

I watched him give a lesson to a high school softball player. He was very engaged.

Hosey is a good dude.

 

[T...Chafes]

I am guessing that parents of kids that went to him and DID not make the HS team or become All State, hated the guy and said he was on his phone the entire time.

Nope. His parents paid $3,000 (ish) to play on his Hosey's Heroes youth baseball team. The team was a mid-level AAA team at the time. Hosey was not a coach however but would offer access to his lessons for more money. It was during those lessons Hosey was not very engaged.

Same kid left Hosey's team and is now one of the top hitters in the state in 8th grade (I know, I know- it's 8th grade 😀) playing on one of the top Majors teams paying about half as much money. So I'm predicting same kid will be playing JV (instead of Reserve) as a freshman for one of the top HS programs in the metro next spring.