Darold Ellison

Darold coaches hitting in both baseball and softball, from age 10 through high school — from players taking their first real lessons to high schoolers chasing a college roster spot.

Most players book a full hour. That is the length that actually changes a swing: time to watch a player hit, work out what is holding them back, make a change, and then get enough reps on the change that it is still there next week. A rushed session can show a player what is wrong without leaving time to fix it.

Buddy training is the other option worth knowing about: two players in one hour, baseball or softball. It suits a kid who would rather not be the only one in the cage, and two teammates pushing each other tends to get more out of the hour than either would alone. It also works out cheaper per player.

What he brings to it

Darold was drafted in the 8th round by Cleveland and spent more than twenty years as the hitting coach at Mount Hood Community College, where he became one of the better known hitting coaches in the Northwest. Players he has coached include three Oregon High School Players of the Year.

Why that matters for a younger player

Two decades of college hitting means he knows what a swing eventually needs to become. It also means he has spent twenty years unpicking habits that were learned early and never corrected. That is the argument for starting young rather than waiting: it is far easier to build a swing than to rebuild one.

Who he works with

Hitters from age 10 through high school, baseball or softball. Younger players are welcome.

What a first lesson looks like

The first session is as much conversation as hitting. Darold wants to know the player, meet the parents, and understand what they are actually after — what they want to work on now, and where they would like to be a season or two from now. From there he coaches the player in front of him, rather than the player a ten-year-old is supposed to be.

Booking with Darold

Hour-long individual sessions and buddy sessions for two, in baseball or softball. Current openings and prices are on the Camps and Clinics page, which reads straight from our booking system.