Coach, Be Consistent

When you learn about raising children, you hear about consistency. When you learn about working with animals and training animals, you hear about consistency. This key of consistency also applies to coaching softball as well.

It's only fair to your players, not to mention vital for you, that you be consistent in your actions, words, rules, and discipline as a coach. Ground rules should always be laid out at the beginning of the season.

By Stacie Mahoe

These ground rules should also include potential disciplinary actions for when those rules are broken. Be sure that you do NOT set a consequence that you will not enforce. This carries the same effect as "empty threats" in parenting. When you fall into the trap of using "empty threats" the following things happen:

1. Your players know that you won't follow through and will push the envelope as far as possible
2. You are undermining your own credibility and believability because you haven't kept your word
3. Chances are, you'll respect or make it harder to gain the respect of your players.

Whenever you give your word as a coach, be it in speech or in writing, ALWAYS do your best to stick with it. If for whatever reason, you can't follow through, let your players know before hand and figure out what you need to do to make things right. If you don't make it a point to keep your word, players will begin taking what you say "with a grain of salt" because they won't know when you actually mean what you say and when you're just talking the talk without walking the walk. This is not a good situation for you to be in as a coach. If you're players don't believe you, how can you lead them?

Avoid making up rules and consequences as you go along. Clear guidelines and boundaries from the start make life much simpler for players, parents, and coaches. Be up front about what your expectations, your rules, your guidelines, and your consequences and follow through. Choosing to follow through only *sometimes* is only asking for trouble as a coach. Make sure your rules, guidelines, and consequences are reasonable enough for everyone, including you and your staff, to follow and abide by throughout the season. Be consistent. Consistency will save you and your team a lot of heartache and frustration.

by Stacie Mahoe
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First Time to Coach? Discover These Softball Coaching Techniques

Softball coaching always needs demonstration and presentation of skills. In the softball world, a coach cannot just sit on the bench and basically tell the softball players what to do now, what to do next and what to do after. It is not only about you as a coach in words. You should not always be a man of words but also a man of action. This means that you have to get going and become the best standard that the players should look up to as their best example.

By Marc Dagenais


Indeed, the softball coaching needs a lot of hard work and preparation. It requires every coach to become an encouragement to the young and budding professional softball players. It is a must that you set a customary diagnosis on the players' daily performance so that you will have a just performance evaluation. This may serve as your guiding vision towards achieving the next success of your softball game.

In a world where every individual competes, coaching needs to become adaptable to change. This means that every coach has to revolutionize the ideas and practice drills so that the players have a greater chance of performing in a modified yet powerful way. Coaching strategies should also be developed in order to keep up with the increasing demand of a more competitive and a more ready for action players.

The question now is how a softball coach can start with the customized way or method of developing himself as a better coach as well as developing his individual players.

Coaching starts when you have seen the performance of your players. The exchange of observational analysis starts when you have seen how the players demonstrate their softball ability. After the keen observation, you can now begin with the swapping of expositions in the softball training drills. You can introduce a new skill during the drill but make sure that you teach it to the players using yourself as the presenter. Always coach the players how to perform the skill. The ability to demonstrate a skill is a must in each coach. Never expect too much also from them.

Start with a simple practice drill. The undemanding kick off of the practice drills will cause less pressure in you and the players. Coaching is not always about how fast you teach a skill. It is about how progressive you can lead the team. Starting with the basics is a great way in moving forward to a more competitive softball skill. They may not learn the new skill in an instant but they will eventually if you show encouragement and perseverance to them.

After all, each skill you teach can be progressive only if you have the patience in the training method. In this way, you will achieve a smooth flow of development among your players.

It is also very much valuable that a coach learns how to communicate well with his players. It is not always you who should talk. Players also have their thoughts and skills. Develop an open forum after each practice drill. Ask them questions like, "Who has another idea on softball hitting? Or who has another idea of the defensive style?" Things like these should be constantly done so that they will have an idea that you are coaching because you want to hone their innate skills, too. This practice would also develop a strong camaraderie among you and your players.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

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Softball Pitching Tips to Win Every Game

By Marc Dagenais

The role of a pitcher and his or her skills is quite vital in determining the number of wins a softball team can gather during a whole season. That is why the proper softball training, drills, and tactics should be employed by both the coach and the softball pitcher in order to optimize and own each and every game.

Provided below are some of the softball pitching tips to help you and your team win every game:

Softball Pitching Tip #1 - Why not try a FASTPITCH DROP?

Fastpitch drop pitching really heightens your pitching and throwing speed, strength, and technique. To do such, try taking shorter strides to further elevate your discharge or release point

Softball Pitching Tip #2 - Regulate the THROW

One of the most common causes of easy to hit and error-filled pitches are that the ball is thrown a little too high in the striking zone. To prevent this, coaches should instruct their pitchers to regulate the throw by holding the ball in a split-longer time during the wind-up before release.

Softball Pitching Tip #3 - RELAX the ARM

Make sure to always relax the pitching arm every pitches thrown. It is one of the best softball pitching tips to remember as it helps in prolonging your career as a pitcher. Relaxing the arm reduces inflammation caused by the strain and effort put into the pitch. So be wise and rest for a while.

Softball Pitching Tip #4 - ANALYZE the HITTERS

Try to survey and study how the hitter stands, hits, her strengths, her weaknesses, etc. Use the information you have gathered to your advantage. Hitters who usually lunge at the ball may be thrashed through the use of fastballs whether under or in hands. In other words, optimize a game plan to use the opponent's weaknesses.

Softball Pitching Tip #5 - SEARCH for STYLES

When it comes to pitching in the sport of softball, it is a well known fact that several pitching styles and techniques exist. All famous and expert softball pitchers have at least one pitching style that they employ in both practices and tournaments. Having a style for pitching is extremely vital if you want to have at least a sixty percent chance of delivering a powerful and very hard to hit pitches especially against experienced softball hitters. There are a lot of pitching styles for softball at your disposal. You can find them from softball coaches, fellow softball players, softball books and magazines, and of course, the ever reliable internet. It is best however to practice one at a time. Always emphasize on quality and time rather then quantity. Most experienced softball pitchers have around two to three pitching styles in softball although there are records that show that some may have up to six pitching styles. You do not have to master them all, all you need to do is find what pitching style you are most comfortable at and practice them constantly until you have mastered it. Always keep in mind that different styles are used for different occasions, situations, and opponents. So think first before unleashing a powerful and extremely hard to hit softball pitch.

So, why not try out these very useful softball pitching tips to most definitely help you win every single game that comes in your way and to help you achieve the gold.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

Dugout Organization - 3 Benefits to Your Baseball Or Softball Team

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By Drue Carney

If you have a son or daughter playing baseball or softball then you probably have noticed the chaos that ensues in the team's dugout. Most ball field complexes consist mainly of fences and benches. The few types of dugout organizers that exist are easily damaged or just hold one equipment item such as bats. So there often is no place for the players to put their equipment. A lot of young players carry very simple bat bags to their games and hang them on the fence but once the players take their stuff out of their bags it doesn't go back in until the end of the game. In these instances, players typically just toss their gloves and hats about the dugout and they often end up on the ground where they can get stepped on. As well, bats are leaned up against the fence and regularly also end up on the ground where they get kicked and stepped on.

When a dugout is unorganized, the players spend a lot of time trying to find their things. In the absence of any type of dugout organizer equipment, a coach should take the time to teach his players how to keep their team's dugout organized. Coaches should explain to the players that they should put their gloves, hats and helmets in the same place all the time. If players do this then they will know where their things are and can then focus more on the game and the coaching and strategy being provided by the coaches.

If players are taught how to keep the dugout organized then the end result is that their equipment will be treated better. Players will respect one another's equipment if it is placed in the same spot all the time in the dugout. An organized dugout enables the players to help each other at the end of an inning by finding the player's hat and glove to bring out to him or her on the field - otherwise referred to as "picking him/her up."

The third benefit of an organized dugout is that it minimizes risk. The risk of injury is minimized by fewer things being thrown around on the ground where a player can easily trip on something like a bat. The risk of a player losing equipment is also reduced because if a team is taught how to keep their dugout organized then they are more likely to know where each other's things are located.

It is challenging to teach young boys and girls how to take care of their baseball or softball equipment. Their mindset is that they are there to play a game and have fun. Unfortunately this results in a dugout that is not organized and the wasting of a lot of time by players looking for their hat, gloves and helmets. To help make their team run smoothly, baseball and softball coaches should spend some practice time teaching their players about keeping their dugout organized.

Drue is a parent of kids playing youth baseball and softball. Like many parents, he could not stand the sight of a messy dugout, especially seeing all of the expensive gloves, helmets and bats parents had bought for their kids being stepped on and kicked around as well as kids wasting game time by not being able to find their equipment before going on to the field. In order to solve this problem, he designed The Bench Coach, a portable dugout organizer. Take a moment to see how easy it now is to have an organized dugout at http://www.thebenchcoach.com

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Softball Gear

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There are various sports games that people enjoy playing. In these games you will need to have some type of protective clothing worn. For softball you will find that there are various types of softball gear that you can buy. The gear that you can choose from will include bats, gloves, helmets, uniforms, knee guards and anything that you can find. In order to get the best equipment that you can buy you should look at the different places where you can buy these items.

As most people play for fun they will only buy the bare necessities of softball gear. In this case you will find that these are the bats and the gloves that you need. When you are looking at these items you will find that the tools come in the high quality to low quality range. When you want to think about buying these items you should think about the price range that you can afford.You have two options when you are looking into buying the softball gear that you need. In the first option you can look to the different sports stores. These places will have a large selection of products that you can think about buying. The other option is that of the internet. Here you will find that you can buy the products that you want from a number of different stores which are located in a variety of countries and cities around the world. In both of these options you will find softball gear which comes from some of the leading name brand goods as well as those which dont have any known brand names. The price difference that you will see in these products is mainly based on the name that the gear is bearing.Regardless of this name or lack of name, when you are looking into buying one of these softball gear items you should look for one very important item. This is the state of quality that you will see these products having. Since these items will need to last through the rough and tumble of softball it is important that you buy products which are well made.For this reason when you are thinking about buying any type of softball gear you will need to consider spending more money than you have originally budgeted for. In the long run this will be well worth the money that is spent. You can then be assured that your softball gear will last for many seasons to come.
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Everything you want to know about Softball you'll find at our Softball Guide! We will be really glad to see you among our visitors!

Powerful Softball Drills that Every Coach and Player Must Know

Powerful softball drill is really a great key for a team to achieve their goal of winning. These drills are very essential because this are the adequate time for every player to learn the ins and outs of the game and for every coach to teach all the necessary skills like the proper hitting, fielding, and pitching. If you are a coach then it will be up for you to decide which drills are appropriate and which will be best for your team. This is because you are the only who knows what they truly needed. You feel what they are feeling and you empathize with their emotions.

Here are some of the best and powerful softball drills that you need to know:

Yes, the main reason why your team is having softball drills is to practice but then try to incorporate some fun during these times. One of the most famous drills is called the Knockout. This type of drill will test your player’s capability when it comes to throwing and catching. The first thing to do is dividing your team into two groups. And then command them to go on the opposite direction of the field. You and your assistant can be the pitcher for each group. You must make sure that the drill is going to be fast. You will throw the ball to the first person. After catching it he will now throw it to the next one. There will be successive throws until the ball comes back to you. The team will get a point each time they have completed this. If anyone in the team doesn’t catch the ball there will no point for them. To make this softball drill a lot more fun, give some incentives to the winning team. For example, let them rest while the losing team is having a warm-up. They will surely like this.

Another softball drill that is done by many is called Stepping Stones. This drill will teach your team the significance of cooperation and oneness. You will need pieces of cardboard. You are going to lay out seven pieces of these cardboard after you formed six groups. The middle must be empty. Give one of them a softball. Tell them that anyone of them who desire to move must be holding the ball so there is really a need for them to toss the ball to each other and catch it and that will be the only time that they can move. This drill will certainly involve team building. And they also practice catching and throwing at the same time. See how fun softball drills can be. It can actually become stressful only if you know how to handle the moments well. The fun starts when everybody is participating so always make sure that you have the ability to include team-building strategies on every practice and softball drill that you have in your plan. The more challenging they are, the more energetic the players will become.

Marc Dagenais, MHK, CSCS, is a softball peak performance coach that helps players and teams hit with more power, run faster, throw harder, become mentally tougher, and be more dominant on the softball field. Visit us to get tons of great FREE softball drills to boost your game!

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Softball Throwing Drills

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Softball Throwing Drills
By Marc Dagenais

Learning how to throw a softball is really important if you play the game. It's one of the basic skills of the sport and something that all good defensive players know how to do very well. Throwing a softball occurs in many different game situations and so the better you know how to throw the ball then you are much more likely to help your team get out of a possible tough jam. This article has some softball throwing drills that will help you with throwing a softball the correct way. Take the time to practice these fastpitch softball drills because you're defensive game will greatly benefit as a result:


Drill 1 - Bent Knee

Purpose: To isolate the arms to focus on the proper use of both arms and the arms working in opposition.

Procedure: Partners take positions 15 feet apart and kneel on the leg of the throwing-arm side. The other leg is bent with the foot flat on the ground. The thrower points her glove at the target and throws using proper arm action. The receiver catches the ball and repeats the action.

Drill 2 - Dead-Ball Backhand Flips

Purpose: To practice backhand flip to bases.

Procedure: Place three balls on the ground on the first-base side of second about 10 feet from second base. A player runs in and executes backhand flips to the shortstop standing at second base. The player flips all three balls, approaching each ball with a short run.

Drill 3 - Release and Spin

Purpose: To develop proper release and spin.

Procedure: Partners face each other from about six feet away. One player holds the ball in her throwing hand with proper grip and puts the throwing-arm elbow in her glove at about chest height. Partners throw the ball back and forth at least 25 times. This exercise isolates the wrist action so that the players can feel this particular component. They should feel the wrist action, emphasize proper release, and check the vertical spin.

Drill 4 - Around the Horn

Purpose: To develop quick hands, quick feet, and throwing accuracy.

Procedure: Start with one or more players at each base. The player at home begins with the ball. The player at first base faces the plate and calls for the ball, yelling, "One, one, one!" and the player at home throws the ball to first base. If the ball is thrown to the inside of the base, the right-handed receiver does a 180-degree quick hop, turning toward the inside of the infield and setting up to throw to second base. If the ball is thrown toward the outside of the base, the receiver should turn her back toward the infield and set up to throw to second. The ball is thrown around the bases. Players should pivot based on where the ball is thrown. When the ball gets back to home plate, continue around or switch directions. Throw the ball around the bases for 4-8 minutes.

Drill 5 - Hit the Cutoff

Purpose: To teach outfields to hit the cutoff or relay person for all balls hit past them and to give the middle infielders practice serving as the relay person.

Procedure: Begin with at least one outfielder in right, center, and left fields. Spread three balls out behind each fielder close to the fence line. A shortstop and second baseman are needed in the infield. Starting with the right fielder and taking turns, each outfielder starts in ready position at her normal depth. The coach says "Go," and the first fielder sprints to the ball, picks it up on her back foot, and throws to the relay person, who comes out to get the ball. The outfielder should be required to throw 60 percent of the distance between where the ball lies and home plate. If the ball is hit on the left side, the shortstop goes out and is the relay person while the second baseman covers second. If it is hit on the right side, the second baseman goes out and the shortstop covers second. If it is hit up the middle, the two middle infielders communicate and decide for themselves. It's best that the player with the stronger arm take as many relay throws as possible. When that play is complete the middle infielders rest, and the center fielder, then the left fielder, go back for a ball and make the same play. Continue until each outfielder has thrown at least three balls.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that provides softball tips, softball drills, and information on techniques for hitting, pitching, coaching, and training through his blog at http://www.softballperformance.com/blog.

He also helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. You can sign-up to get his FREE Softball Tips at http://www.softballperformance.com/softball-tips.html. Go Sign-up Now!

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Effective Tips for Softball Coaches and Players: Read and be Competitive

There are a lot of people who are involved in this popular game called softball. They can either be coaches or players. Even though they already seem to master the game, they still want to learn some more and add their knowledge regarding this game because they think that this would benefit them. They considered all the tips that they have read to be very valuable and precious because these tips help them in many ways. These softball tips serve as their weapon in order for them to be more competitive.

If you are one of those people who are involve in this game then you can add the following tips to your list:

Do not be frustrated. If you are a coach, do not be frustrated if your players don't get the skills that you are demonstrating and if the result of the game is not what you expected it to be. If you are a player, don't be upset if you didn't get all the instructions of your coach at once or if you didn't acquire the much needed skills instantly. Instead of putting down yourself, just continue to work hard.

Do not turn your back with your player and team. If you are a coach, don't turn your back on a player that seems to be not as good as others. Now is the time for you to be a REAL coach. If you are a player, don't turn your back on your team just because another team with magnificent team members told you to join them. You should be beside your team through good times and bad times especially if you are with them for years and you have already established a great camaraderie.

Give importance to your health. If you are a coach, don't overdo trainings for your players. Like you, they also need to rest in order for them to recover. If you are a player, take time to rejuvenate yourself. You need to recharge after a hard training or competition.

Choose the right glove. If you are a coach, you must introduce your players with variety of quality gloves that will suit them. If you are a player, you must choose a glove that will fit your hand. It doesn't necessarily mean that if you wear a bigger glove you will have a bigger chance to catch the ball. It doesn't depend on that.

Softball is one of the most difficult sport but if you will continue to read softball tips and follow all this then playing softball will be easier and enjoyable for you.

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About The Author:

Marc Dagenais, MHK, CSCS, is a softball peak performance coach that helps players and teams hit with more power, run faster, throw harder, become mentally tougher, and be more dominant on the softball field. To get tons of great FREE softball tips to boost your game, visit us: http://www.softballperformance.com

5 Softball Pitching Drills

By Marc Dagenais

Drill 1: Fast and Slow

Purpose: To practice changing speeds.

Procedure: Working with her catcher, the pitcher alternates fast and off-speed pitches. The goal is to keep the delivery the same.

Drill 2: Football Toss

Purpose: To develop correct rise-ball release.

Procedure: The pitcher throws a junior-sized football underhand to a partner. Grip it along the seam with all the fingers and with the thumb on the opposite side. The ball should spiral. If it wobbles in flight, the palm has turned toward the catcher at release.

Drill 3: Four-Corner Control

Purpose: To develop control and accuracy.

Procedure: The pitcher throws to the extreme four corners of the strike zone. When she achieves accuracy at one spot, she moves the target to the next corner. A catcher or a target on the wall can be used. To adjust for the in and out targets, the pitcher must adjust her body angle from her normal stance. She turns the toe on the rubber about a half inch in or out from the position she used to throw to the middle of the plate.

Drill 4: Wrist Snap Behind Back

Purpose: To develop the wrist snap by isolating the wrist, which prevents the pitcher from using the elbow to snap the ball.

Procedure: The pitcher stands sideways 5 to 10 feet from the catcher or a wall. The glove side faces the target, and the ball is behind the back. The pitcher flips the ball by snapping the wrist.

Drill 5: Oversized and Undersized Ball Spins

Purpose: To make the pitcher practice throwing a riseball.

Procedure: Using a baseball or an 11-inch ball may help the pitcher make the correct movements to get underneath the ball. The smaller the size of the ball allows the fingers to be more flexible and allows the correct movements to occur with less effort. A pitcher can use an undersized ball when initially trying to create muscle memory for the correct spin movements. An oversized ball is helpful in speeding up the wrist snap because the hand must pass under more area in the same amount of time. The oversized ball can also illustrate the spin to a pitcher who may be struggling with the backward concept. A 14-inch ball seems to be the perfect size because the pitcher can hold on to it comfortably throughout the circle before snapping the wrist at release. The routine used with these balls can mirror the routing used with the Spinner-starting close up without the circle and adding distance as well as the full circle.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that provides softball tips, softball drills, and information on techniques for hitting, pitching, coaching, and training through his blog at http://www.softballperformance.com/blog

He also helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. You can sign-up to get his FREE Softball Tips at http://www.softballperformance.com/softball-tips.html Go Sign-up Now!

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Ways to Execute Softball Hitting Perfectly

By Marc Dagenais

Every individual is born different. The same is true with softball players. They do not have the same skills and playing capabilities. Only few are given the said God-given talents. But this doesn’t mean that you can no longer be a good softball player. You can still be one of the famous and best softball players in your own ways. All you have to do is to be persistent in learning the basic skills. One of the skills that a player must learn is the softball hitting.

Remember softball hitting is something that you have to work on. The three important keys to hitting are repetition, discipline and confidence. Mental aspect is also needed and you need to have a strong mental aspect to be a best hitter. You must also have great handouts that will help you in your workouts.

You really need to know the fundamentals of softball hitting. Coaches should have some feedbacks on how their players hit so that they would know the standing of their performance. By doing so, they will be challenged to play better in order for them to be recognized.

You want to land the perfect softball hit? You need to have the proper and balanced batting stance, adequate bat swing, and the right weight position. Always keep your focus. Watch the ball and keep the right batting stance before, during, and after the hitting. You must use your lower body for support, bring your arms across the body and deliver a compact and accurate swing.

To further enhance your softball hitting skills, this article will give you some helpful tips that will surely improve your hitting performance and will make you a great hitter.

First, you must find and use the right bat. The basic states that an athlete must choose the heaviest bat that he could swing around without losing speed, power, precision, and batting form.

Next, you must consider the hitting/ batting stance. The back of the foot should be equal to the plate’s back corner but both feet should be pointed in the same direction while the batter should be looking directly at the pitcher. The softball hitter is in a sideways position while the bat is parallel with the ground and side body alignment.

After that you should practice hitting drills or games. Search on some softball hitting drills on the internet and softball specific books and manuals that will suit your abilities and downsides best. These games will not only enhance your hitting skills but also your mental toughness.

After everything else, you should make yourself mentally tough. Muscles and skills are not the only important thing in softball hitting. It requires a lot of mental prowess as well. One of the kept secrets of best softball players worldwide is having total or complete mental toughness skills. There are many ways to enhance one’s mental faculties. One will most certainly increase his softball hitting skills by being both mentally tough and physically fit.

Marc Dagenais, MHK, CSCS, is a softball peak performance coach that helps players and teams hit with more power, run faster, throw harder, become mentally tougher, and be more dominant on the softball field. Visit us and sign-up to get tons of great FREE softball hitting tips to boost your game!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/ways-to-execute-softball-hitting-perfectly-991261.html

Fastpitch Softball Pitching Drills

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By Marc Dagenais

Softball pitchers should really take the time to improve their game by going over fastpitch softball pitching drills that work on different areas of the all important position and will help them become an all-star player. The following softball pitching drills are a great start for pitchers to reach an elite level and become very solid at their position.

Drill 1 - Wall Pitching (Softball Pitching)

Purpose: To develop speed without worrying about accuracy.

Procedure: The pitcher stands 10 to 15 feet from a wall and throws hard, focusing on mechanics and the feeling of throwing the ball hard. The repeated impact will soften a ball before long, so the pitcher should use the same ball. Don't use a rubber ball that lacks seams because the pitcher must be able to grip the ball properly. An advantage of this kind of practice is that pitchers can do it on their own at any time.

Drill 2 - Speed Pitching

Purpose: To develop speed while throwing to a catcher.

Procedure: The pitcher works with a catcher, concentrating on exploding off the mound and attempting to throw each pitch a little harder.

Drill 3 - Basket Throws

Purpose: To focus on making the ball drop by using a visual target.

Procedure: The pitcher throws from regular distance and attempts to pitch the ball into a laundry basket at home plate. This drill helps imprint the image the pitcher should see before every drop pitch. The pitch can be thrown to a bucket, but the ball will not ricochet as much off the softer basket.

Drill 4 - Long Toss

Purpose: To practice getting under the ball for rise-ball release. The drill also develops body and arm strength.

Procedure: The pitcher pitches to a catcher from second base or farther, lobbing the ball up as if she is throwing it over a telephone pole. This action forces the pitcher to get under the ball. To develop strength, the pitcher keeps backing up (from second base, to center field, to the fence) to see how far she can throw it.

Drill 5 - Play a Game

Purpose: To experience gamelike pressure during pitching practice.

Procedure: The pitcher pitches a specific number of innings with the catcher calling balls and strikes. If you have a batter standing at the plate, she should assume different positions in the box and stand in as both a left-handed batter and a right-handed batter.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that provides softball tips, softball drills, and information on techniques for hitting, pitching, coaching, and training through his blog at http://www.softballperformance.com/blog

He also helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. You can sign-up to get his FREE Softball Tips at http://www.softballperformance.com/softball-tips.html - Go Sign-up Now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

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First Time to Coach? Discover These Softball Coaching Techniques

By Marc Dagenais

Softball coaching always needs demonstration and presentation of skills. In the softball world, a coach cannot just sit on the bench and basically tell the softball players what to do now, what to do next and what to do after. It is not only about you as a coach in words. You should not always be a man of words but also a man of action. This means that you have to get going and become the best standard that the players should look up to as their best example.

Indeed, the softball coaching needs a lot of hard work and preparation. It requires every coach to become an encouragement to the young and budding professional softball players. It is a must that you set a customary diagnosis on the players' daily performance so that you will have a just performance evaluation. This may serve as your guiding vision towards achieving the next success of your softball game.

In a world where every individual competes, coaching needs to become adaptable to change. This means that every coach has to revolutionize the ideas and practice drills so that the players have a greater chance of performing in a modified yet powerful way. Coaching strategies should also be developed in order to keep up with the increasing demand of a more competitive and a more ready for action players.

The question now is how a softball coach can start with the customized way or method of developing himself as a better coach as well as developing his individual players.

Coaching starts when you have seen the performance of your players. The exchange of observational analysis starts when you have seen how the players demonstrate their softball ability. After the keen observation, you can now begin with the swapping of expositions in the softball training drills. You can introduce a new skill during the drill but make sure that you teach it to the players using yourself as the presenter. Always coach the players how to perform the skill. The ability to demonstrate a skill is a must in each coach. Never expect too much also from them.

Start with a simple practice drill. The undemanding kick off of the practice drills will cause less pressure in you and the players. Coaching is not always about how fast you teach a skill. It is about how progressive you can lead the team. Starting with the basics is a great way in moving forward to a more competitive softball skill. They may not learn the new skill in an instant but they will eventually if you show encouragement and perseverance to them.

After all, each skill you teach can be progressive only if you have the patience in the training method. In this way, you will achieve a smooth flow of development among your players.

It is also very much valuable that a coach learns how to communicate well with his players. It is not always you who should talk. Players also have their thoughts and skills. Develop an open forum after each practice drill. Ask them questions like, "Who has another idea on softball hitting? Or who has another idea of the defensive style?" Things like these should be constantly done so that they will have an idea that you are coaching because you want to hone their innate skills, too. This practice would also develop a strong camaraderie among you and your players.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais




Recommended Websites for Softball Coaches
The Softball 2Day Coaching Journal
The Fastpitch Softball Directory
BatAction Hitting Machines
Derek Jeter Hurricane Machines
Joe Mauer Quick Swing Trainer
Advanced Skills Tee
BattingCagesDirect.com
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Coaching Girls Softball - Coach Pitching

This season I had the benefit of coaching my oldest daughter's Coach Pitch softball team. Coach Pitch is the league for girls aged 6-8 and as the name suggests, there is a coach pitcher with girls filling all other positions. This is the next step up from T-ball in our Parks and Recreation league.

The leagues are ran completely by volunteers, most often the parents of the children who play and it's a much more difficult task than some might think before they have tried it for themselves. However, it can also be a very rewarding experience if you take the time and energy to learn from it.

The first thing to know about coaching this age group is that many of the girls will be playing for the first time. Even those who have played in the past are likely going to forget many of the rules and regulations. Even when you tell them, they have short attention spans and short memories. You may have to tell them again and again.

Patiently and politely recite the rules that you expect them to remember over and over with each practice and game. There is also a lot of hands-on coaching happening during the games. Girls are going to look to you in the middle of a play to tell them what to do. You need to be loud enough to be heard over the crowd and be sure to use their names loudly and clearly so they know what you're asking them to do.

At this age, there will often be a lot of tears. Bumps, scrapes, disappointments, hurt feelings and sometimes teasing will all come into play. Try to treat each girl equally and always be sensitive to their emotions. There's a time to tell them to be tough and keep playing and there are times when a girl may just need to sit out for a break. You can't push them too hard at this age or they will give up and become discouraged.

Remember that it's all about fun. Some parents and coaches push so hard for wins and being "top" of the league that they forget that it's about fun for the girls. At 6-8 years old, few girls will be thinking about going pro. They just want to have a good time and as parents and coaches, it's our job to ensure they have a safe environment in which to do so.

Lisa Mason is a freelance writer with a specialty in Internet content and SEO articles. She has written thousands of articles, hundreds of ebooks and thousands of website pages and related content. She has also authored her own books and works as a consultant to other writers, Internet marketers and Internet businesses.

Lisa Mason, Professional wordsmith for hire: gamer, wife, mother, entrepreneur, published poet, co-owner of game guides company (http://www.liti4.com), public speaker and Internet business consultant. You can learn more or follow Lisa's blog from her website: http://www.freelancewriter4hire.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_A_Mason

Recommended Websites for Softball Coaches
The Softball 2Day Coaching Journal
The Fastpitch Softball Directory
BatAction Hitting Machines
Derek Jeter Hurricane Machines
Joe Mauer Quick Swing Trainer
Advanced Skills Tee
BattingCagesDirect.com
HomeBattingCages.com
BattingCagesrUs.com
BattingCageBuilder.com
Hands Back Hitter Swing Trainer
Stay Back Tee Baseball Swing Trainer

Softball Hitting Techniques

By Marc Dagenais

Hitting is one of the most important skills you have to learn in playing softball. It is not easy to train for this skill, but it will surely keep you in your team and on the game. In hitting, your choice of the bat you will use is very important. Some choose bats that are too big or too heavy for them. As a result, they are having a hard time using it. Having a big bat will definitely hinder you from giving the ball a good, high speed shot.

There are techniques you have to learn to keep yourself running and playing for your team.

Your stance. Different players make use of different stance. There is no absolute stance to follow anyway. When you stand, make sure that you are in a comfortable stance. Bend your knees at ease. Your feet should carry the weight of your body. Do not keep your feet too far or too near each other. Their distance should be more than your shoulders breadth. Keeping this distance will ensure a good stance. But then you have the prerogative to adapt your own comfortable stance.

Your grip. When you grip the bat, make sure it is not too loose or too tight. You should hold it comfortably without being lax. For right-handed players, they place their left hand at the bottom part of the bat; and their right hand right exactly above the left. Your left hand balances the balances and your right supports it. Correct positioning of your hands will help you hold the bat properly and have more power to swing it.

Your stride. Proper timing is very important in taking your step when softball hitting. Striding ahead of time or behind time means a lot. Keeping focus on the movement of the ball facilitates proper timing. When the pitcher starts to throw the ball, you should evaluate your stance and stride accurately. To develop a good stride, proper discipline and coordination is necessary during your training.

Your swing. When you prepare yourself to hit the ball, you should swing not just your hand but also your shoulder, arms, hips and trunk. These movements create body coordination and help you to give more power to your hit. Again, proper timing is necessary to produce a good swing. You should not swing your arms too early; this might cause lesser power hit. Perfect timing brings your all your energy together to give a hit full of speed and power.

Every softball player has his own ability to develop these techniques. Just remember to keep yourself on focus and train with discipline.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais



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Drills For Softball Pitching Machines

By Eugene Rischall

Softball pitching machines are a great way of improving your softball hitting. Softball pitching machines can be used for fastballs, slow pitch, curveballs, sliders, knuckleballs, risers and dropballs. You can adjust the speed of the pitches to as slow as 15 mph. Drills can be used in different count situations, as well as how many outs, and also which bases the runners occupy.

A contact drill is just to try to hit the ball and keep it in play. Try to hit the ball to the outfield. In line drive drills try to hit the ball to short outfield. Hit the gap drill to the gap as many times as possible. Pitching machines are also good for hitting behind the runner. A slow pitch of 15 mph is good for hitting both high and low balls. Another good slow pitch drill is use one hand to notice the difference in strength with each hand. If you have a pitching machine that throws both fastballs and breaking pitches, you can try to guess which pitch is coming out of your pitching machine. This will help you to focus better when you are at bat.

Trying these different drills will give you a more comfortable feeling at the plate. Some of these drills can be used for baseball pitching machines. The drills discussed in this article are are just a few of the different drills you can use with your softball pitching machine. The drills are there to improve your game if you are willing to work hard.

Author-Eugene Rischall, Owner, Baseball Training Emporium http://www.baseballtrainingemporium.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eugene_Rischall

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Coaching Youth Softball - How to Teach Softball Skills Quickly and Efficiently

By Marc Dagenais

Coaching youth softball is no easy task. Coaching involves multiple responsibilities and one of them is to teach the fundamentals of the game - hitting, pitching, throwing, fielding, and so on.

However, teaching is itself a skill and not as easy as most people would like to believe. Knowing the game is the easy part; teaching it is the hard part. Coaching youth softball involves a lot of teaching.

To make practices fun and enjoyable, youth softball coaches must be able to teach softball skills quickly and effectively using a sound pedagogical approach that takes into account the various types of learners.

Here is a sound approach that involves 6 steps:

Step #1 - What and Why

Kids today need to know why you are doing things. They are critical thinkers. So, when you introduce the new technical element (the ''what''), explain them why it is important. No need for a long speech or justification, just give a reason why so that they can more easily buy into it.

Step #2 - Demonstrate without instruction

This is crucial yet 95% of those coaching youth softball don't it. Most kids have no idea what the skill looks like. So, even before you start giving instructions, you must give them a visual picture or visual reference of what you are talking about. Someone once said that a picture is worth a thousand words and they were right.

Step #3 - Demonstrate with instruction using simple cues

Once the kids have a clear picture of what you are talking about, then you can provide instructions using only a few simple cues to emphasize key technical elements. Don't overload them with technical information, you will lose them.

Step #4 - Get them to try the skill

At this point, you get them to try what you just demonstrated so that they can ''feel'' what you are talking about. By nature, most athletes love to learn by doing.

Step #5 - Give them feedback

At this point, you want to give constructive feedback on what needs to be improved and what they should focus on.

Step #6 - Verify learning and let them ask questions

The worst question to ask to a kid is whether or not they understand. They will always say ''yes'' either because they think they understand (even if they might not) or they don't want to look like they are stupid. So, you want to quiz them asking them questions like what are the key points to verify their learning. Also provide them with a chance to ask their own questions so that they can make sure they clearly understand what was taught.

This 6-step approach is quick and efficient as it respects the fundamental principles of pedagogy. I strongly encourage you to use it with your athletes.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that provides softball tips, softball drills, and information on techniques for hitting, pitching, coaching, and training through his blog at http://www.softballperformance.com/blog

He also helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. You can sign-up to get his FREE Softball Tips at http://www.softballperformance.com/softball-tips.html Go Sign-up Now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais
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