Humans of Downey - Daniel and Isaiah

"I coached for 15 years and I won a championship almost every year. But the main thing is is to be able to see those little nuances that most people don't see. I describe it like this, it's kind of like Michelangelo the painter, you are born with the talent to draw or paint. It's the same thing in a ball player. I see things in sports, I see things that make an excellent athlete. It's hard to describe.

"For instance, I tell my grandson, Isaiah, there's very few American ballplayers in the pros as opposed to say Caribbean players. The number one detriment to the American player is the level swing. You see, when you have an object coming straight at you and your bat has to meet it straight, that's very hard to do. But if you do like the Caribbean players or some of the American players like Chris Bryant, you drop the bat down on the ball. It's like a tennis swing, You're not supposed to swing like this, level with the ground, you're supposed to drop the barrel and lift it.

"That's what the kids aren't doing. If you look at every kid out there, they're swinging level. I taught my grandson, 'Don't swing level. This is the swing you should have. The bat goes down and your hands come up. That way, your bat is doing the work.'

"They don't understand that here in America, very few ball players make it. Even though we have a collegiate system that turns out maybe 1,000 ball players each year, they still don't outperform the Caribbean players. And it's because of the level swing."
~ Daniel