Jaime Cevallos Interview
Before I start with the content of my interview with Jaime I would like to say that getting to talk to him was one of the coolest things I have ever done. He is one of the most revolutionary minds that baseball has to offer, and he works with the guys that we watch on television everyday. I was blown away with his willingness to take time out of his busy schedule to talk with me on the phone.
Jaime Cevallos
Professional Hitting Instructor/Author of Positional Hitting
http://theswingmechanic.com/
209-814-5415
General Responsibilities: Jaime has the luxury of being his own boss. However, with his recent success he is constantly being pursued by hundred of professional and amateur baseball players all over the country. His general responsibilities are video taping and analyzing the swing of hitters to improve their performance in games. He also has to do the "little things" such as maintenance at his complex and making sure he is available when his clients need him. He said his biggest responsibility of all however is his recently born baby girl.
Likes: "Everything" he laughed when I asked him. He said what he likes most is just being apart of the game and seeing athletic movements. He became obsessed with athletic movements in college and gave up his baseball career to study them. He also enjoys the "AHAH" moment when a hitter finally gets physically and mentally what he is trying to teach them.
Dislikes: He really doesn't like spending time away from his growing family. Also, since his ideas are different then what baseball minds believe is correct he doesn't like constantly defending his views when he believes that the evidence speaks for him.
Hours/Attire: His hours at the facility where he trains hitters very depending on the season. However, if you count travel, video analysis, working on his next book he said he dedicates at least 10 hours a day too. His attire is basically whatever he wants, but he tries to look "as professional as he can in athletic clothes."
Pay/Benefits/Perks: Right now Jaime lives "very comfortably", but it wasn't always that way. It took awhile for his ideas to be accepted in the baseball world, and until that point he was working at a golf range teaching golf swings for minimum wage. His benefits/perks is that he get to work with professional athletes almost on a daily basis, and that also opens doors for him to attend events where those athletes will be present.
Education: Jaime became "too obsessed" with his new ideas of athletics movements to finish college. He dropped out of college and worked non stop on developing his ideas. That risky move paid off.
Related Experience: He played two years of college baseball. His freshman year he hit horribly at the plate, and then he decided to analyze the swing of the best hitters ever to play. What he found were common positions in each of their swings, and when he mimicked those positions he turned himself into a first team all conference player as a sophomore.
Salary Range: He believes that the salary range of a hitting instructor is way too wide to put a figure on. He did say however obviously the higher level of athlete you are working with the more money you will make. He also said that he was very luck and is not the norm but the exception to the rule. When I asked again what he thought the absolute average range would be for a non professional baseball hitting instructor he said, "With all things being equal a person working exclusively as a hitting instructor would most likely be in the twenty to thirty thousand dollar range. But that is just a complete guess."
Turnover: "Dude I really have no idea on that one."
Opportunities for Advancement: He said that opportunities for advancement are based on who you know just as much as how good you are. He said once you get your foot in the door and the hitters you instruct do well more doors will open, but getting your foot in the door is harder than you think. When I asked why he responded, "Because every hitter out there has a Dad, Coach, or Idea that tells them how to a hit a baseball. It is very hard to get someone to believe that your idea is better than those other three. The baseball world is stubborn and hard to change people's minds, but if you get someone to listen you have a chance."
Tips Jaime had for Someone Aspiring to get into this Industry: "Teach what you believe and what you know. Don't waste your time trying to learn other methods of hitting instructors out there just because its the "right way". You have to get the hitter to believe what you are telling them is going to make them better, and that is impossible to do unless you believe it too."
Jaime Cevallos
Professional Hitting Instructor/Author of Positional Hitting
http://theswingmechanic.com/
209-814-5415
General Responsibilities: Jaime has the luxury of being his own boss. However, with his recent success he is constantly being pursued by hundred of professional and amateur baseball players all over the country. His general responsibilities are video taping and analyzing the swing of hitters to improve their performance in games. He also has to do the "little things" such as maintenance at his complex and making sure he is available when his clients need him. He said his biggest responsibility of all however is his recently born baby girl.
Likes: "Everything" he laughed when I asked him. He said what he likes most is just being apart of the game and seeing athletic movements. He became obsessed with athletic movements in college and gave up his baseball career to study them. He also enjoys the "AHAH" moment when a hitter finally gets physically and mentally what he is trying to teach them.
Dislikes: He really doesn't like spending time away from his growing family. Also, since his ideas are different then what baseball minds believe is correct he doesn't like constantly defending his views when he believes that the evidence speaks for him.
Hours/Attire: His hours at the facility where he trains hitters very depending on the season. However, if you count travel, video analysis, working on his next book he said he dedicates at least 10 hours a day too. His attire is basically whatever he wants, but he tries to look "as professional as he can in athletic clothes."
Pay/Benefits/Perks: Right now Jaime lives "very comfortably", but it wasn't always that way. It took awhile for his ideas to be accepted in the baseball world, and until that point he was working at a golf range teaching golf swings for minimum wage. His benefits/perks is that he get to work with professional athletes almost on a daily basis, and that also opens doors for him to attend events where those athletes will be present.
Education: Jaime became "too obsessed" with his new ideas of athletics movements to finish college. He dropped out of college and worked non stop on developing his ideas. That risky move paid off.
Related Experience: He played two years of college baseball. His freshman year he hit horribly at the plate, and then he decided to analyze the swing of the best hitters ever to play. What he found were common positions in each of their swings, and when he mimicked those positions he turned himself into a first team all conference player as a sophomore.
Salary Range: He believes that the salary range of a hitting instructor is way too wide to put a figure on. He did say however obviously the higher level of athlete you are working with the more money you will make. He also said that he was very luck and is not the norm but the exception to the rule. When I asked again what he thought the absolute average range would be for a non professional baseball hitting instructor he said, "With all things being equal a person working exclusively as a hitting instructor would most likely be in the twenty to thirty thousand dollar range. But that is just a complete guess."
Turnover: "Dude I really have no idea on that one."
Opportunities for Advancement: He said that opportunities for advancement are based on who you know just as much as how good you are. He said once you get your foot in the door and the hitters you instruct do well more doors will open, but getting your foot in the door is harder than you think. When I asked why he responded, "Because every hitter out there has a Dad, Coach, or Idea that tells them how to a hit a baseball. It is very hard to get someone to believe that your idea is better than those other three. The baseball world is stubborn and hard to change people's minds, but if you get someone to listen you have a chance."
Tips Jaime had for Someone Aspiring to get into this Industry: "Teach what you believe and what you know. Don't waste your time trying to learn other methods of hitting instructors out there just because its the "right way". You have to get the hitter to believe what you are telling them is going to make them better, and that is impossible to do unless you believe it too."