Looking to find a pitching coach over the winter to work with my 14 yr old son. Was curious as to what the average cost was to work with a pitching coach?

To work with a pitching instructor that spent many years pitching at the AAA level, $40 per half hour session.

We work with a pitching coach in the off season who is a pitching coach for a MiLB AA team. We pay $50 per half hour. Before he got in the MiLB system, he was about $35 per half hour.

$25-$100 per lesson, depending on time and if there is an extensive video session. Ave $35-$50.

Bum Jr. got 3 years of absolutely GREAT pitching instruction from a D1 pitching coach by purchasing a package deal where he grouped up with 2-3 other kids. The best package deals were in the Spring and Fall and it averaged less than $20 per session. Video and one-on-one feedback was part of the deal.

I would recommend such instruction starting about age 14 and not year-round but in increments perhaps twice per year, in 10 session packages, ideally. It's all about the quality of the instruction. You can pay $100 per session for terrible instruction or $15 per session for fantastic instruction, or vice-versa.. it's all about networking and finding the best deal. There's not necessarily any correlation between quality and price, so do some shopping.

Importantly, by doing it in increments twice per year, it provided affordability but also helped Bum, Jr. "fine tune" periodically to avoid bad habits.

Bum,

That is good advice IMO

Actually I think if a kid is pitching (at whatever age) he could use a "GOOD" instructor.

Even if you don't know who is good or bad, there are ways to find out. I would ask who some of the pitchers are that he has worked with. Then I would check to see how they did or are doing and try to contact them or their parents.

Warning... Beware of those who claim they worked with top pitchers. Sometimes, that was just a quick talk with that pitcher, while someone else was much more responsible for the success. Then sometimes the instructor is the real deal. If so... Sign up for instruction, it is going to make a big difference!

There are both GREAT and WORTHLESS instruction out there. It's your own fault if you end up paying without knowing the difference.

Thanks for the info. Most of the pitching coaches I have found in my area are ex college and milb pitchers. A few may have pitched a bit in the big leagues. It would seem that the number I had in my head for a lesson is the normal price out there. Living here in NH they will obviously be indoor lessons and there are some multi-player options like Bum was discussing as well. I figured I'd go meet with a few of them and see what they have in mind as far as instruction etc. Get a good feel for what they have in mind in regards to helping my son improve.

Also ask them how long they'll be around. A lot of the college and pro guys go home during the off-season and offer lessons while they're home. But once the next season starts up, they're gone. Depending on when you hook up with one of them, you may not be able to receive instruction from them for long. I think there's something to be said for sticking with an instructor long enough to get consistent instruction over a period of time.

Roger, I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing. Bum, Jr. has had over 40 coaches in his career and at least 20 pitching coaches in that span. From each he learned a new aspect of pitching.. absorbing the best and at least listening to the worst. (Fortunately, there were not many of those.) Like I mentioned earlier, the best instructor he had was over a 3-4 year span, but his advanced knowledge of pitching has been the assimiliation of all the rest.

Like PG said, even the younger kids can benefit from pitching instruction.. to at least avoid the possibility of injury.. but don't go overboard at the younger ages. This has the potential to burn a kid out or reinforce bad habits. Very few younger pitchers can ever possibly perfect their mechanics.

Redsox, you know what I think...

www.nhbaseball.org/winter.html

As about everyone else has stated in this thread, be careful who you select to work with your son. Just because they played collegiate or professional baseball does not mean that they can teach pitching. It could have been that they were just very talented. An example would be a guy that makes alot of videos and named Dick Mills. He played professionally, but if you look up his history he and his had alot of arm surgeries.

As for the price, here are two examples of what you are looking at. I played college baseball and charge $50/hour. Kal Daniels, former LA Dodger, who lives in the same city as me charges $90/hour. You are going to be looking anywhere from $35-100/hour.

I think you need a guy with a strong emphasis on throwing. You can jump on a mound and get caught up in location before you've addressed timing and feel. We all say about the same thing but if it is results driven from the beginning you stand the chance to lose the development. I charge 35/hr and split pitching and hitting. Major emphasis on mental part of game.