Expert: Jack Elliott - 4/20/2009

Question
Hello,
  My name is Richard Padilla. My son is the reason I am looking for some help. He is a junior in high school here in san diego. He was injured his sophomore year and didnt get to play baseball till this season as a junior. The problem is that he is a left handed pitcher, but I can't find a good pitching coach. He needs help. His mechanics and movement are bad. Hes a big kid and has some potential but he needs guidance. The NPA was here which was founded by Tom House, but they seemed to go out of business. Randy Jones also lives here, but I don't know how to get ahold of him. Any suggestions? Thank You for your time.

Answer
Hi Richard,

Sorry to hear about your son's injury, but glad to hear you are taking an active interest in his baseball development.  I am not aware of any pitching coaches in that area, but I will give a few suggestions you can try.

1.  Consider contacting the home town major league baseball team, San Diego Padres and asking for their help on this.  Someone in the front office there should be able to let you know who the top pitching instructors are in the area or maybe have some contact information on how to reach Randy Jones.  You could send them a note on their website at:
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=sd         or write them a letter or give them a call at the following:

Write the Padres:
San Diego Padres
P. O. Box 122000
San Diego, CA 92112-2000

Call the Padres:
(619) 795-5000
(877) 374-2784 (order tickets)
(619) 795-5401 (lost and found)  

2.  I found a website called Find a Pitching Instructor at http://www.findapitchinginstructor.com .  When I did a search for San Diego, I found two results you could look into.  They both look like they are NPA certified.  If you go to the website and click on their links, you can also get their phone numbers and some other info about them:

Results: 2

   *
     A CERTIFIED PITCHING COACH
         o Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
     A CERTIFIED PITCHING COACH
     10520 Sunset Ridge Drive
     San Diego, California 92131
     United States
     CURRENT HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY PITCHING COACH
     CERTIFIED NFHS COACHES EDUCATION
     NPA CERTIFIED
     FORMER D1 COLLEGE AND PRO MINOR LEAGUE PIT
   *
     Certified NPA Pitching Coach
         o Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
     Certified NPA Pitching Coach
     6460 Convoy Court #280
     San Diego, California 92117
     United States
     I am a High School Coach here in San Diego and also the Head Coach of TEAM USA San Diego World Baseball.
     Contact me at 858-361-9344

3.  I also found from this website that there is a baseball facility in Wildomar, California.  This looks like it is about 50 to 100 miles from San Diego.  They may have some staff on hand that are good or know of some people in the area.  If distance is an issue here, I would discuss it with them and see if you can't meet them half way or have them come give the lessons at your son's high school field or other location.  Here, are the details for the facility:

Frozen Ropes Wildomar Baseball and Softball Training Center
24305 Prielipp Rd.
Suite 107
Wildomar, California 92595
United States
Welcome to Frozen Ropes Wildomar

As far as your son being left-handed, this will not make any difference with a good pitching instructor.  All the mechanics and techniques should be the same.  The only distinction would really come with pick-offs moves to first base which is of lesser importance.  I would instead focus on finding a good instructor who has experience preferably with high school, college, and pro players. This will help ensure you are getting good advice and that your son buys into it.

In addition, if cost for getting a pitching coach will be a problem at all, consider seeing if other pitchers on the team or area would be interested in group lessons.  Your son would not get as much individual attention, but he could still get a lot out of group lessons and get them at a reduced cost.

4.  One other thing you can consider if the above fails is contact some of the local high school coaches in your area and ask where there pitchers go for lessons.  They should know at least a couple of names.

The above should help generate at least a couple of leads for you.  I do hope you are able to find a good instructor as they can make quite a difference.  With this said, good luck to you and your son in the upcoming season.

Best,
Jack Elliott
http://www.baseballtrainingtechniques.com