Softball Coaching Tips on Things Your Softball Team Should Always Focus On

Softball Coaching Tips on Things Your Softball Team Should Always Focus On
By Marc Dagenais

It's easy to get distracted when you're a softball coach. You have schedules to deal with, and you also need to train your players on top of that. And it can get even more confusing with the training part. What specific things should your team focus on? How do you measure your team's progress?

Don't get frustrated, though. If you feel like you're losing control over your team, let me show you how you can keep your players well-trained minus the stress. The secret: it's all about focusing on the basics. This softball coaching tip especially applies to coaches handling 16U teams.

What should the basics cover? Let me show you some of the important things your softball team should always focus on:

Hitting and pitching

Obviously, if you want to train your players with the basics, you need to start with hitting and pitching. With hitting, teach them how to hit the ball consistently. This involves teaching them the proper hitting mechanics, plus showing them how to track the ball, from the time it leaves the pitcher's hand to the time they already need to hit the ball.

Also teach your players how to bunt. Your team doesn't always need to aim for a homerun. Bunting is a useful skill if you want to have more runs, for example.

Then there's pitching. For one, you should help your players develop their core muscles, found at the trunk. Developing these muscles help them transfer power from their legs to their upper body, which translates to faster throws.

Running Bases

What most inexperienced softball players don't realize is that you don't just run like heck to another base and call it baserunning. To properly do that, you need to know when to do it, and when you shouldn't. Your players need to consider the overall situation of the team on the field before making a run.

Aside from that, they also need to develop their sliding skills along with this. Proper sliding enables your players to get to the base faster, while minimizing the chances of injury.

Decision making

This skill comes with experience. But building experience doesn't necessarily mean your team always has to play in competitions. You can improve their decision making skills by letting them play specific game situations during practice.

Showing them how to react during particular game situations enables your players to make decisions as soon as they recognize a similar situation in actual games.

Communication

Teaching your players how to make decisions quickly also involves helping them improve communication among their teammates. It may involve the use of signs, but whatever you do, show your players how they can elevate their communication to a level where they no longer need verbal communication just to get their message across.

Again, it all boils down to teaching your players the basics, especially if they're inexperienced. They need the basic skills in order to perform much more difficult skills required at the elite level. The basics should be the main thing your softball team should always focus on.

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!

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