Inspired by the success of earlier WebBall Challenges, in Feb. 2009, we invited hitting experts from across the USA to respond to a very specific question...

"What are the top 3 things you make sure to teach every hitter?"

Each of the selected authors was given the same writing time, the same question, and the same guidelines as to length. Very little editorial feedback was provided, though we have done some formatting to help the articles readability. In truth, we were thrilled with all the submission, getting something from each. But the important opinion is not ours, but yours...


We set it up as a "blind challenge" - not revealing the authors until after all the voting was in. We asked site visitors to read the essays and vote for the author(s) who did the best job of answering the challenge.

Results have been compiled and winner(s) announced!

For the first time our four challenge authors are revealed. Additional pages will be added with select voter comments. We hope you find great ideas in all the articles.

• Essay 1: Andy Collins
• Essay 2: Kevin Goodman
• Essay 3: Paul Niggebrugge
• Essay 4: Perry Husband
• The Voters

Who won? We asked 4 questions...

1. Which of the authors is (are) most in line with the approach you take now with hitters?
2. Which author(s) gave you the most new insights that might help your coaching/instruction?
3. Which approach(es) will you be using most from now on?
4. Which essay deserves to win the WebBall Hitting Challenge?

And the clear leader in all 4 was Andy Collins...

Current approach Most new insights Using from now on Who deserves to win << Chose from these graphed results.

Congratulations, Andy!

But we also noticed something else about the results - a real shift in voting when comparing the current approach coaches use now and the essay(s) which provided the most new insights. From the chart below, while Andy retains his overall % lead, Perry Husband showed the greatest shift in providing new insights and in acquiring converts...



In the end though, many voters gravitated back to their comfort levels and familiar approaches. That's okay, but we do hope that everyone will at least consider trying some of the unfamiliar techniques at some point - maybe not with every hitter, but with some. And that, really, is who the true winners need to be - the players helped by good advice. In fact, if you consider that every author and essay received no less than 21% of the vote on at least one question, there were insights and ideas from all the essays. So we have winner(s), but no losers.

WebBall expresses our deep appreciation to all 4 authors and everyone in the community who took the time to read and vote. These essays will continue to be a part of the WebBall instructional panoply.