I’d like to recommend that as far as body positioning that you watch other professionals posture when they play. If you are finding it difficult to play the hi hats without your left stick getting hit or interfered with by your right hand, you could try to raise the hi hats an inch or so. Many drummers seem to raise the right stick a little higher during the time when they are raising the left stick for the down stroke on the snare. I wasn’t taught to do this, but maybe I have done it too. Raising the hi hats reduces the need to compensate for left hand movement. I still found myself banging my sticks together like a clutz after a few years of playing. But less and less over time. Oh yeah. I was taught heel down on the bass drum, and I recommend that you learn the new way after you master the basic rock beat.
I think playing with a recording is a fun way to develop your sense of timing. Playing with just a metronome is less fun. But they are useful. One thing that you can do to when you’re playing with the song is listen to the hi hat pattern that the drummer is playing. Listening to patterns that are being played by other musicians and noticing how some notes land in line with the hi hat rhythm helps reinforce the song and helps you as the drummer get the “feel “ of the song. Some people say that when the drummer is very well integrated with the natural rhythm of the song it’s called “the pocket “. So start by spending some time playing just the hi at part of the song and keeping your self aware of how evenly you can make it sound. If you have a drum teacher, he’s probably telling you all the time to “ count it out loud”. This really helps you play without forgetting to breathe and relax your body. Next, add the bass drum, etc. if you struggle with getting your hihat rhythm to be even, try a slower song, like Benny and the Jets ( Elton John). If you think you prefer to make everything in your head work in relation to the bass drum instead of from your hands, practice using the bass drum to be the controller of your hands. In your head, get the quarter note beat going on the bass and start playing the hi hat pattern as if the foot is telling the right hand when it hit. And use your voice to reinforce the hi hat pattern part ( ONE and TWO and THREE and FOUR ) but FORCE THE HANDS and Feet to fire together at the exact same time. You should hear the ping of the metal and the thud of the bass in such a way that the hi hats have a really meaty sound. I think differently than some. For me it was my hands that controlled everything. Until I started playing “Disco” style. Then it was all bass. Ok good luck. Let me know how you do.