The Youth Softball Coaching Clinic Blog is your free online source for youth softball and little league softball coaching tips and drills. Our articles and daily post covers all aspects of coaching girls softball and girls softball teams.
Showing posts with label coaching youth fastpitch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coaching youth fastpitch. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

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!

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

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3095484

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Hit2win.com - Free drills, tips, videos & articles

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Kids Softball Drills - Fun Drills for Beginning Players

Kids Softball Drills - Fun Drills for Beginning Players
By Becky Wittenburg
Start with the Basics

These kids softball drills teach the basics -- hitting, running, throwing, and catching -- in fun, simple ways that beginners will understand and enjoy!

Don't Miss

This hitting drill emphasizes making contact with the ball and correct placement of the bat once the batter has hit the ball. You will need a tee, a ball, a bat, gloves for each player, and a hula hoop.

Divide the team into two sides. Fielders will play as usual. Batters take turns hitting from the tee, focusing on making solid contact with the ball. Once they have hit the ball, they must toss their bat into the hula hoop on the ground next to home base before they can run to first. If the player misses the ball or knocks the tee over, it's a strike. After three strikes, the player is out. The player is also out if they don't place their bat in the hula hoop before running to first.

Red Light/Green Light

This kids softball helps beginners get used to running with a glove and ball in their hands. Each player will need a glove with a ball in it. Have the players form a line facing the coach, who is about 60 to 90 feet away.

The drill begins when the coach turns away from the players and yells "green light." The kids run toward him/her as fast as they can, making sure to hold on to their balls. Periodically the coach will yell "red light" and spin around. If the coach sees any of the players moving after he/she has called "red light," those players are out. The first player to get close and tag the coach out wins.

Hit the Coach

This is a fun beginning softball drill to teach throwing accuracy. The kids form a line facing the coach, each one holding a small foam ball or other type of soft ball.

When the coach says to begin, the kids all try to hit him/her with their balls while the coach tries to avoid getting hit. The kids can run to retrieve their balls after they have thrown them, but they must throw from the starting line. Once the coach has been hit three times, the kids get to make him/her do something silly, like a dance or animal noise.

Look Up

This softball drill for kids teaches beginning players to catch fly balls in the outfield. When first learning softball, many kids are afraid of looking up to catch the ball. This drill will ease them into feeling comfortable catching from below.

This drill requires small foam balls and as many tall people (coaches, assistants, or parents) as possible to stand next to the kids and drop the balls over their heads. The kids look up with their hands raised and try to catch the balls. At first they should use both hands and no glove to get used to catching with both hands. Eventually they can move on to using gloves.

And if you'd like to see more free softball drills and coaching tips, go here to watch a free video:

http://www.softball-spot.com/vid/
Becky Wittenburg is a kids softball coach, and the owner and publisher of Softball-Spot.com, the web's #1 resource for kids softball drills, tips, and practice ideas for youth and high school coaches.

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

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SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Monday, August 9, 2010

Youth Softball - Things You Should Know

Youth Fastpitch Softball - Things You Should Know as a Parent
By Guest Author Blaine F Johnston

People who love softball often take their family to play this sport, including their children. This activity can enhance their skills, especially if the parents want the children to be professional players. However, there are several things that parents should know before starting to do efforts to make the children like softball superstars.

For you who do not have any idea about this sport, you can try to understand that softball is sport game played by nine players in a team. The game needs two teams that alternate between offense and defense. The team who makes more runs than the opponent team will be the winner. In addition, it can be played for both girls and boys, so it eliminates your worries that your kids will be rejected.

This game requires several skills that include strength, teamwork and craftsmanship, eye-hand coordination, and also some position-specific skills like running, pitching, and fielding. That is why the minimum age to play this game is 4 or 5 for tee ball and 7 or 8 for player-pitch teams. A kid needs to be patient and attentive enough to deal with the slower pace of baseball. In addition, the kid should be team-oriented, as the game requires team coordination to win.

If you put your kids to a softball course, you will find that they spend a lot of time lingering in the outfield. Physical activities are not done too often, but the play will become more athletic and aggressive depending on their growth. You should provide the suitable equipment that fit their body well. You can go to stores and ask the shopkeepers or even go there with your kids to know which ones that fit them perfectly. Things you must buy are uniform, gloves, cleats, batting gloves, and batting helmets. The price may vary, but the equipment for beginning players is mostly cheap.

Then, you need to consider the potential injuries that possibly happen during the game. That is why you should know the tricks to prevent injuries, such as using softer balls to reduce injury factors. This kind of ball is often used by younger places as it is well known for the ability to reduce the risk and severity of head injuries. Then, you can also reduce the risk of ankle sprains and other injuries by giving your kids breakaway bases, or also called safety-release bases.

There are several conditions you may find after certain periods of play. If your kids throw too many pitches, they can experience an overuse injury. In a response to this, you can make sure that the kids get plenty of rest for their arms. The coach may even ask you to do this. Further, you can get some tips to prevent the injuries by contacting the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

You can buy a baseball softball pitching machine to enhance your kids' skill of hitting. However, there are also other types of softball pitching machines available on markets that you can choose base on the kids' needs.

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

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SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!

Check out these coaching articles at the Softball Coaching Digest:
SoftballCoachingDigest.com
• Articles from the Youth Softball Coaching Clinic Blog
• Articles from the Coaching Fastpitch Softball Pitchers Blog
• Articles from the Coaching Fastpitch Softball Hitters Blog

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Fastpitch Softball Tips: How to Run a Youth Softball Practice



Fastpitch Softball Overview : How to Run a Youth Softball

Posted on YouTube by expertvillage

Running a youth softball practice involves understanding the competitive level of the team, constantly changing things up and offering frequent water breaks. Coach a youth softball practice with tips from a former collegiate All-American softball player in this free video on softball.

Expert: Jill Weiss
Contact: www.ShowtimeSportsAcademy.com
Bio: Jill Weiss was a Division 1 All American Softball player at Indiana State University. She is currently coaching softball and soccer athletes at Showtime Sports Academy in Franklin, Tenn.
Filmmaker: Tim Brown

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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Frozen Ropes: Fast Pitch With Kaci Clark - Torso Track



Frozen Ropes: Fast Pitch With Kaci Clark - Torso Track.

Kaci demonstrates pitching techniques

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Time-Saving Softball Training Tips


Softball Pitching Trainer

By Marc Dagenais

Doing softball training for extended periods can burn you out easily, especially if you're doing the same things over and over again. And that fact is made even worse if you're doing just any type of training that don't really add anything to your game.

That's why I'm going to share with you time-saving softball training tips that will help cut the time you spend training in the gym or on the field. And with more time on your hands, you'll have more time to do other things, including time to relax and relax after having intense softball training sessions.

Once again, save time with the following softball training tips:

Train several muscle groups at one time

Training a specific muscle group is good if you want to really focus on developing just that for the game. But the truth is that you don't have that much time to do that. Also, you also have other muscle groups to focus on to give you a total body workout.

So what do you do then? Combine several muscle groups at one time and train them! This saves you a lot of time, while ensuring that you don't neglect any of the muscle groups you need to play softball.

Line out specific training goals

You need to come up with training goals if you want to save time in your training. Why? Because having specific training goals tells you immediately what you need to do even before you hit the gym or step on the field. Aside from that, having these goals makes it easier for you to track your progress, which also prevents you from doing any other unnecessary forms of training.

Perform Softball-Specific Training

Nothing wastes your time in training than performing stuff that you just picked up on a fitness magazine. While these exercises help you become fitter and healthier, they don't necessarily add anything to your softball game.

What you should aim for then, is do softball-specific training. This is the type of training that focuses on the actual things you do on the field, and develop the muscles that you need to perform them.

Some examples of softball-specific training include lifting weights that develop muscles on your wrist and shoulders. Another one is core training which helps a lot in enabling you to throw the ball harder, spin more quickly, and pitch the ball faster.

All in all, these time-saving softball training tips are just about knowing what to do. That's because if you know what to do, you don't waste any of your time fumbling around about what to do next. Aside from that, you'll just do things that will truly benefit your softball game. And even if you perform other types of training, you don't allow them to eat up your softball-specific training time.

But how to do you come up with this kind of knowledge? Devour as many softball training tips as you can, and just keep on playing softball. Your knowledge of the game is a knowledge that comes mostly with experience.

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


Softball Pitching Trainer

Friday, January 29, 2010

Thinking About Coaching Youth Sports Like Baseball Or Softball? Go For It! You Won't Regret It


SoftballrUs.com

By Bob Langys

You've been on the sidelines, watching your child play for the softball, baseball, soccer, football, or any other team. You'd like to get involved, but you don't know enough about the sport or about coaching.

Here is the deal: As long as you know a little more about the game than the players, you know enough. As long as you take some time along the way to attend a clinic or two, or even to research drills on the internet, you can stay ahead of the kids and provide value to them. If you can bring some enthusiasm and have a genuine desire to help the players progress, you can learn to coach them!

My Experience

My children started to play baseball and softball at a young age. I've never played any kind of organized sport, nor have I followed any professional sports. When my son joined the t-ball team, I initially sat on the sidelines and watched. As I saw what the drills were, it was quickly realized that they coach could use some help by breaking this team down to smaller, more interactive, groups. My offer to help with immediately accepted and my coaching career began.

As my children moved up through the levels of baseball and softball I studied along with them. My best gains in learning were had through the coordination with other coaches and with clinics that our league sponsored. The clinics were great in that they broke down individual skills down into a repeatable, numbered process. I've never pitched, but I can now get players started pitching. I've never been a catcher, but I can help kids be catchers.

Other considerations

The relationship with your child will change a little on the field and in practices. They are one of the team so you have to treat them like you do their teammates. That is often hard for the child, as they can't understand why you won't just be their mom/dad instead of the coach. A helpful technique for getting past this issue is to team up with another coach, and to have them responsible for coaching your child. It works well to tell the other coach the points that you want to get across to your child and let them do the work. Your other coaches will need the same from you.

Get Involved!

Go to the practices. Insert yourself into the process by helping with some drills. The coach may not know how to ask for help but most will not turn it down. Not sure what you are doing? Have the coach break down a drill for you. Start out as an assistant, but when you are ready make sure the league knows that you want to coach a team. Often times, they are short coaches and are looking for people who want to step up.

Assistant Coaches - the "Volunteering" of help.

Just like you have may have been a little hesitant to get involved many of the other parents are in the same boat. If a parent is at the practices and has not clearly indicated that they are not interested - they are a potential assistant coach. Learn some names, call them coach, and give them a drill to run. Believe me, more often than not that parent will be happy that they were able to help.

The Payoff

Coaching is very rewarding. Most coaches find that he benefits received consistently outweigh the time and energy put in. You will know that you have done it right when your players return for the following season and parents inquire as to your plans for next year. Over the years you will gain many relationships with parents, other coaches, and the players. When you get a chance to see the player - who has never made a play before - make the play for the first time you will never again wonder if you should have been a coach.

Bob Langys is an experienced telephone systems engineer and sales professional who has been in the industry for over 15 years. His interest in the technology and applications combined with his love of coaching / sharing the knowledge has served him well throughout his career. Bob works with Medlin Communications, in the Chicago Suburbs, and has the pleasure of working with a team of can-do people. Find out more about the information in this article at:

Find out more about Bob at:

http://www.langys.com

Find our more about Medlin Communications at:

http://www.supportdocs.net

Bob routinely works with a variety of systems including Asterisk, Elastix, Toshiba, Cisco, and Avaya. Whatever the communications need, Bob will put his experience to find the best solution for you. Call Centers, Call Recording, ACD (automatic Call Distribution), and general office telephone solutions are all in his core area of expertise. Single sites or multiple locations. Located in northern Illinois ( Chicago area ) or across the nation, Bob can help.

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

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SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

SoftballCoachingDigest.com
Coach, Be Consistent


By Stacie Mahoe

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. 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
Get Stacie's Free Fastpitch Tips
Join Stacie's Coach of Action Academy at CoachOfAction.com for help with reaching your BIG coaching goals.

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

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SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Fastpitch Softball - Shortstop Positioning

By Jim Moyer

Situational positioning of the Shortstop may be the most common coaching oversight in Fastpitch Softball. My guess would be 95% of the teams put the shortstop in the middle of 2nd and 3rd and never move her. Okay, that's great with no runners on base, but what about all the other situations.

Runner on 1st Base

In 10U & 12U it's almost a given the runner is going to steal. In 14U and up, the odds are still pretty strong that at some point the runner will try to advance, either on a straight steal or on a bobbled pitch. We KNOW this is going to happen a very high percentage of the time.

So why is your shortstop still in the hole? How many times have you seen the shortstop have to cut the corner to get to the throw in time, and therefore be two or three feet in front of 2B and unable to make a tag? Aaaaggghhh!!! I hate that! And there is no reason for it to happen.

When there is a runner on 1st base, move your shortstop about 5 feet towards 2B. More if need be. Depending on your age group, the odds are probably between 50% up to 95% that there will be a play at 2B. On the other hand, the odds of the ball being hit to SS are much lower. You might even get lucky and have a ball hit up the middle which the SS can field and tag 2B or even turn a double play.

Lead Runner on 2nd Base

If you use SS to cover 3B on steals, the same philosophy applies. Move her about 5 feet from the hole towards 3B. It's a very tough play for SS to cover 3B on steals. She has to get their, find the base, catch the ball, and make a tag. How many throws to 3B have you seen wind up in the outfield because the runner and SS got tangled up at 3B? Too many. Take the precision timing out of the play by getting her in a better position before the play starts.

By placing her in the optimal position before the pitch is thrown, you also avoid her breaking to the bag while the pitch is on the way. Huh? I'm sure you have seen shortstops break to the base as soon as the pitch is thrown, and then have a ball hit right where she should have been standing. Since she is breaking on the pitch, her momentum increases the size of the hole immensely. Whereas, if she is positioned correctly before the pitch, she can hold her position longer before making her break to cover the steal.

The Hardest Play for a Shortstop Runner on 1st and the batter shows bunt

I will cover this play based on age in more detail at a later date, but for now lets get the basics down. This play requires extreme discipline by the shortstop. First, you need to understand that if the player does bunt the out should be made at 1B. Don't even think about going to 2B to get the lead runner! So if the ball is bunted where does your shortstop go? Third base. Otherwise, the base is uncovered and the runner on 1B can make the turn at second and keep going to third. Oh, how you are going to hate that when it happens to you. So if the ball is bunted, make the out at one, be looking to throw across the field to third, and cover 3B.

What if the batter misses the bunt or fake bunts and takes the pitch? Here is where the extreme discipline comes in. Shortstop has to cover 2B on the steal. Therefore, the correct positioning is the same as protecting against a straight steal. Before the pitch, move her approximately 5 feet towards 2B. This puts her in position to cover 2B on a steal and should the ball be bunted successfully, she should have ample time to beat the runner coming from 1B to 3B.

Make a mental note to yourself, after each batter look at your shortstops positioning. This is a chess game. Think about what you expect your opponent to do in this given situation, and position your shortstop appropriately.

Jim Moyer is the author of http://www.mysoftballcoach.com. Having coached over 600 youth fastpitch softball games, Jim decided to put his knowledge online to allow parent/coaches to draw on his unique experience.

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

Friday, January 22, 2010

5 Core Mechanics to a Good Baseball and Softball Swing


www.Baseball2u.com

By Todd Thomas

In hitting there are 5 core principles that as a hitter you hope to execute on every swing. No thanks to pitchers constantly attempting to mess up a hitter's timing and balance, these core movements aren't always present in every swing. These core mechanics are dependent upon each other for a player to really execute their best swing. In order to successfully execute one's best swing, these "parts" need to work together to maximize the hitting process. These five core principles are the "blueprint" of a hitters basic mechanics. They are:

1. Weight Transfer
2. Hips lead the hands
3. Matching the swing plane to the pitch plane or "leveling"*
*(this involves the shoulder dip, tilting, & getting the bat level to the ball)
4. Ideal contact
5. Staying inside the ball

These principles of hitting are the foundation and are present in every good swing but they are not all always present in EVERY swing from the same player. A player cannot, and will not, be consistently successful if they are regularly lacking in any one of these areas in the hitting process. This is why Ted William's said that hitting a baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in any sport. Although, I tend to disagree with Ted on this thought. Hitting a baseball(or softball) may be the second most difficult thing. I believe TEACHING someone to hit a baseball/softball may be the most difficult thing to do in sports!

Do great hitters always look great or even good at the plate? The simple obvious answer is NO. If the pitcher is successful as they often are, their pitch will take one of the core elements away from the hitter. When this happens take a look at what happens to their swing. The result are often less than favorable in these cases.

Oftentimes, a player who has excellent core hitting mechanics can be struggling at the plate and even look awkward. If you regularly watch a lot of games and hitters as I do, you will clearly recognize when a hitter gets into advantageous hitting positions and when they obviously did not. In the situations when their swing looked "bad", that doesn't mean that the hitter has poor hitting mechanics. Rather, something in the process was slightly off. One(or more) of the core mechanics was out of whack for whatever reason. A lot of times it's a hitter's rhythm, timing and tempo that are off and they are "chasing" a pitch the pitcher fooled them with. Whatever the pitcher has done, it has worked in that the hitters core mechanics are thrown off. As well all know, this doesn't always mean the hitter doesn't get a hit. We've all seen the crazy off-balance swing where the hitter drops one in for a base hit. As well as, we have all seen the "perfect" swing where the hitter smokes the ball only to have it fielded for an out by the defense.

One thing to add here is two-strike situation. A hitter should be less concerned with staying perfect with their mechanics and should be simply focusing on doing whatever it takes to make contact and put the ball in play. There is typically not much a hitter can do when they have two strikes on them except let the ball travel as deep as possible and simply put the bat in the path of the ball. Any thoughts of putting the perfect swing on a pitch when a hitter has two strikes must be out the window and he/she should focus on making the adjustments necessary to put the ball in play.

What is the perfect swing anyway? It's the adjustments a hitter makes appropriate to the pitch they get. This is the reason why a lot of times no two swings look very similar. It all starts with the core mechanics and then expands from there. Every element is necessary to maximize the swing process to a consistently high level. When a player is taught improper core mechanics or if core mechanics are not firmly established, hitting problems are exacerbated greatly and hitting frustration is escalated. Learning the core mechanics and learning them correctly while continually working on them is crucial to all hitters.

Todd Thomas is a Baseball Coach and Professional Hitting Instructor for Mike Epstein Hitting. Coach Todd's personal hitting website is http://www.HitItHere.net. Coach Todd also enthusiastically endorses http://PlayMyBestBaseball.com as a place where baseball and softball hitters can master the Confidence, Composure, Focus and Consistency of their game so they can reach their full potential.

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

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Working on Softball Hitting Tips - Your Line of Attack to Win!

SoftballrUs.com



All games require energy, concentration, alertness and staying power in order to achieve one goal - to win! In softball game, these behaviors must be in attendance to every player of a team. When you engage into this game or kind of sport, there are certain things that you need to take serious of and to consider. And, softball hitting is one of those many things which you are required to make focus on because hitting is the best way in order to win in the game.


Here are some strategies for you to be able to deal with softball hitting:
· The first important thing in hitting is the weapon that you are using in striking or hitting a softball - the bat! It is very essential for a player to have a good bat and when we say well, it involves the features of it, for instance the size. You should consider the size of the bat when buying one. And, you should be able to get used to it or go well with your bat; it is like you have the connection from both of you. Size is important in terms of your speed, for some players want a big bat that can somehow help them to strike, however having a weighty one is not suggested by experts, and it really should be of a good size to help you out in when you swing it with no difficulty and within your control. The best part is to use the bat to strike the bottom part of the softball.


· Focused - mind is needed in softball hitting. It is pretty important when striking because your attentiveness on the softball tells and describes how good and brawny you are in the game. You should be able to keep your head in one place and in one course, for this will help you out to put your 100% focus and awareness to the softball and in order to make a nice strike. Keeping your focus steady and secure towards the ball, will provide you time to guess your accurate timing in hitting the softball.


· Hands are also playing as one of the most important parts in softball hitting. They are the ones who make hold of the bat and striking the ball in a very nice manner depends on how will you hold your weapon. You should not grip the bat too tight or too loose, just handle it in a relaxed way and be certain that your fingers are in a proper position when you are holding the bat to give you comfort. This will certainly give you a good speed when you strike the softball and give you much awareness to hit than how will your hands move when you make a strike.


· Your stance must be at a good place. You should make your knees bend and allow your feet to carry out your body's weight and have a distance between your feet, enough to make you at ease with your stance.
You should give enough time and effort when practicing these softball hitting strategies for you to achieve your goal - to be triumphant!


Marc Dagenais is a 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 sign-up to get our FREE softball pitching tips!

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