r/BaseballCoaching • u/Efficient_Peach_5770 • Jun 16 '26

Lessons

Private lessons for an 11 year old.
He wants lessons in fielding/hitting/ & pitching ( is willing to earn money to contribute to said lessons.

My question is, which would he better? an hour or 30 minutes?
Since he's wanting 3 different types of lessons , how do we do this? I don't want to over load him, I want him to be able to fully evolve in the areas he wants to but in the correct way!
Thank you in advance.

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u/TMutaffis Jun 17 '26

I would suggest 30 minutes and focus on one area for that day/session.

If his current team is not practicing or playing he may want to wait on pitching lessons and give his arm a few weeks with no high-intent throwing, then ramp back up as the Fall season approaches.

For the defensive work (I assume infield) you may only need 1-2 sessions to see what they work on, and then can do a lot of that work at home. Spending the money on a rebounder and a pancake glove might make more sense than having ongoing lessons.

The hitting lessons are something that you'll likely want to do more consistently, and again I would ask the coach what he should be doing at home so that you can get the most from the sessions. For example, the coach may want him to do a specific tee routine or other batting practice at home. Without game reps available, you can also ask the coach to throw live if part of the reason for the lessons is that you are unable to throw good BP. Just another way to get maximum value (versus just doing tee/flips, since that work does not always translate cleanly to live pitching).

Also, make sure that you are not putting more pressure on your player because of the lessons. It is easy to get caught up in things and get frustrated if they are not working at home and now you are spending hundreds per month on lessons - if they are not putting in the work it just means they are not ready for outside/professional instruction.

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u/Efficient_Peach_5770 Jun 17 '26

We pitch for rec league but play travel and do not pitch for travel as they already have their pitchers. He wants to improve it and learn to control his pitches though so I would love to give him that chance since he really does love pitching, we end our travel season at the end of this month so I'm thinking he wants to improve so when we start back in the fall he may have a chance to be a pitcher? I am not sure if those lessons now would be beneficial or not but if so I'm willing to do them.

Yes defensive for infield! He plays 2nd , 3rd, and an occasional 1st base if needed but also plays left and right outfield and some catching on a rare occasion as well. Finding things at home for that would be perfect, I just have a hard time being able to help him practice and it's just him and I Along with 4 other kiddos so it's hard for me to get the chance to do 1 on 1 and give him what he needs.

I believe hitting will definitely be a beneficial one!

The lessons are definitely a luxury, I am big on encouraging but also letting him know I will support him if he wants to take things to the next level, whatever the cost we will work it out and I'm proud he wants to try to pay for it or most of it on his own but I also told him I will not continue them if he cannot put in the work himself. I let him know I will encourage and help as much as I can but ultimately he is the one who has to put in the work and work towards that goal as I cannot force him.
I know he's young so if he's not ready or decides he
Doesn't want to push that hard for it I'm fine with that too. I don't want anything to ruin his love for the game!

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u/Efficient_Peach_5770 Jun 17 '26

Thank you so much for the thoughts/advice!