Kids Softball Drills - Fun Drills for Beginning Players

Kids Softball Drills - Fun Drills for Beginning Players
By guest author: 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.

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Maximizing Game Day Bat Speed

Maximizing Game Day Bat Speed
By guest author: Steve Zawrotny

If you're a hitter - baseball, slow pitch, or fastpitch softball, you'll definitely find this to your liking!

I'm a big proponent of appropriate strength & conditioning
as a way of increasing GAME TIME performance. This includes generating maximal bat speed. Unfortunately, science says what most of you are doing in the on-deck circle just prior to stepping to the plate is hindering your bat speed and quickness right when you need it most.

What are most of you doing in the on-deck circle? Swinging some type of heavy implement. Why is this wrong? I've summarized below the results of a study done in 1991 by Dr. Coop Derenne of the University of Hawaii-Hilo. Results are ranked fastest to slowest by implement used. Bat velocity was measured by use of a photosensing computer timer. Players were college age; game bat weight was 30 oz:

1) Wooden overloaded bat (34 oz)

2) 27 oz underloaded bat

3) Standard 30 oz game bat

4) 25 oz underloaded batv
5) Power swing (adds 32 oz to bat)

6) 23 oz underloaded batv
7) Donut ring (adds 28 oz to bat)

Notice that the WORST item was the standard heavy batting donut. Also, using UNDERload (light) bats produced better readings than heavier implements. Just swinging your game bat with no weight attached produced better readings than any of the heavier tools!

The question you may be asking is WHY? Why, when you grab two or
three bats or another heavy device, swing them vigorously, then grab your game bat (which now feels light as a feather) does this slow you down? You feel so much faster with your game bat after this, don't you?

What happens is simple fatigue of the fast twitch muscles you're depending on to perform at your best. At an imperceptible, neuromuscular level, all of this heavy work just before performing actually tires you out! So, right at the time you need to be your fastest, you've just slowed yourself down. It's sort of like a sprinter running a bunch of sprints or laps minutes before a race. Yes, he's warmed up, but he has also depleted too much of his energy, so he cannot perform at his peak.

Notice that the two best times were with weights that were about 10% above & 10% below the game bat weight. Just enough weight (the 34 oz bat) for you to get warmed up and ready, but light enough to not affect swing mechanics. The underload bat (27 oz) is noticeably lighter, allowing for an effective warm-up and priming the body to swing faster - overSPEED training.

Don't confuse this on-deck performance with a regular workout using heavy implements to develop strength and power. During such a workout, you're not appearing at the plate facing perhaps a 90 mph fastball. Tiring the muscles during a workout is the point.

However, this data underscores the fact that bat speed is most effectively developed by a combination of both heavy and light training. DO NOT NEGLECT OVERSPEED/UNDERLOAD TRAINING! If you only train slow and heavy, mechanics will be negatively affected (a real problem with a refined 'power skill' such as hitting) and you'll perform slow as well.

So put down that heavy device in the on-deck circle and go light! Especially when you're facing serious gas! And slow pitch hitters who are not facing 'gas,'you too need to generate maximal bat speed to drive the ball hard/deep.

Steve Zawrotny, MS, CSCS
405.373.3253
steve@baseballfit.comFREE REPORT: "Harmful Resistance Exercises Baseball/Softball Players Should Avoid"
VISIT: http://www.BaseballFit.com
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The Importance of Training Qualified Youth League Coaches

The Importance of Training Qualified Youth League Coaches
By guest author: Dave Rosene

From my observations, adults involved in American youth baseball programs today generally can be categorized in 5 groups. I hesitate to call them coaches because they are either not qualified or don't spend enough time learning the profession. It is not a weekend position. Coaching is a serious business because you impact the lives of children, and it has to be positive and correct. We have too many situations where kids are getting the wrong advice and instruction, and it always results in inferior play when players play at a higher level. It must be corrected!

There are superb baseball teachers and coaches throughout the United States. All of them have the same qualities: disciplined, well-prepared, understand and communicate baseball strategy and teamwork, and develop individual player skills, and they coach high school, college, or professional baseball. The reasons are financial or competitive, and what youth baseball is left with is people in the aforementioned 5 groups.

Group 1 are ones with self-interest; they want to coach their child. That is to the detriment of the other team members, who usually are neglected or misused. This group type will also try to manipulate to stock the team with players to make their child look better. Youth baseball is about balance and skill development and not winning games. Group 2 have good intentions but are not experienced or skilled enough to help the youth players. In addition to learning from game experience, they must go to reputable coaching clinics and use the various multimedia reference outlets available to them to best develop the athletes. Group 3 teach throwing, fielding, hitting/bunting, and pitching incorrectly because they were poorly taught or not taught at all. Plus they refuse to change and learn, hazardous to skill development. Group 4 cares more about winning than about skill development, team strategy, and teamwork. They cause more harm than any other group because they confuse the youth players on the importance of winning youth games, and distort the priority of players, which should always be learning all aspects of baseball and maximizing their talents. Group 5 wants to be friends with players and are more interested in equal playing time and pleasing everyone on the bench and in the stands. They have little interest in teaching baseball and are worthless in developing baseball skills.

Baseball is a difficult game. What makes it harder is the paucity of top youth coaches. It is such a disservice to take beginning players with no habits and teach them wrong methods that are frequently never corrected. Youth athletes usually unconditionally trust people in positions of authority until the ones in authority breach that trust. We can't let this happen anymore. Our goal is to teach coaching candidates how to excel so they can pass it along to every player they come in contact with and establish themselves as positive role models, a daunting but not impossible task.

DNA Sports specializes in personalized baseball and softball skill programs, college recruiting education and preparation, and coaching clinics. Learn more: http://www.dnasportsonline.com
Dave Rosene - Co-Founder, DNA Sports

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Softball Drills - Quick Drills to Get Players Fired Up

Softball Drills - Quick Drills to Get Players Fired Up
By guest author: Becky Wittenburg

Some traditional softball drills have been around since the beginning of the sport for a good reason: they get the job done. These drills are simple and easy to explain, and they get players in shape and fired up for the game.

Hitting Drills


3-Player Bunt: This softball drill requires two players to pitch and one to bat. The pitchers alternate pitching and the batter bunts back to the one who pitched.
Broomstick Hitting Drill: Hit whiffle balls with a broomstick to work on batting technique. First use the right hand, then the left hand, and then both hands.
Hitting Machine Drill: Fill the hitting machine with three different colored balls. Have the players bunt on certain colors, take certain colors, and hit away on other colors.

Running Drills


Base Running Drill: This drill helps increase endurance and base running technique. Have the whole team run the bases 10 times, but pace it so that they jog the evens and sprint the odds.
Indian Relay Drill: The team runs laps in a single file line, and the player in front holds a ball. When the first player is ready she tossed the ball up in the air and runs to the back of the line. The second girl now leads the line and carries the ball until she is ready to move to the back, at which point she tosses the ball up for the next player.
Base Stealing Drill: Players form a line facing the coach. At the coach's signal, they lead off the imaginary base. If the coach signals to return to the base, all players dive back to the imaginary base. If the coach signals to continue, all players spring to a designated area.

Fielding Drills


Rapid Fire Drill: For this softball drill, a coach or player quickly bats to various positions on the field, and the fielders throw to designated areas. This drill has a lot going on at once, but it is good practice for focusing on fieldwork.
3-Second Drill: This drill helps infielders quickly locate the ball and throw it where it needs to go. One player stands behind the fielder and gently tosses a ball at her feet. The baseman locates the ball and has three seconds to get it in a teammate's glove across the infield.
3-Player Pivot Relays: Divide the team up into groups of three and have them form lines spread out across the outfield. Race to see who can complete the following drills, using the catch, pivot, throw method:

· Throw down the line and back, 1-2-3-2-1

· Throw down the line three times and back

· Make them think using the 1-3-2-3-1-2-3-1 pattern

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 softball drills, tips, and practice ideas for youth and high school coaches.

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

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Softball Drills - Training Catchers Not to Fear the Ball

Softball Drills - Training Catchers Not to Fear the Ball
By guest author: Geoff James

All humans have the same general reaction when an object is plummeting towards them: flinch. Softball catchers do not have time to flinch; they need to keep their eyes on the ball and catch it after each strike or ball. Try these drills to prime your softball catchers for the big leagues:

Are you Nervous?

The best way to keep players calm while being attacked by 60 mph balls is through repetition. By the 30th, 80th, 1000th ball, no catcher will flinch when she sees the ball coming towards her. As with every skill, practice makes perfect.

Have your geared up catcher stand against a wall and the pitcher stand a foot and a half in front of her. The pitcher will lightly throw the ball directly at the face of the catcher, bouncing the ball off of her helmet. Have the team do this a few minutes each day, and soon enough your catcher won't even blink when she sees the ball coming! Having your pitcher throw the balls also builds a trust between the duo that is integral to game day success.

The next drill is two-fold: not only does it help keep the catcher on her toes when a ball approaches, but it also forces her to think about the next move.

Bombardment

Have three players line up horizontally between the pitcher's mound and home plate. The catcher gets in position. She is wearing her full gear. The line "pitchers" each have a bucket of balls in front of them. The first throws the ball at the catcher, who then rolls the ball off to the side. The minute the ball leaves her mitt, the next player throws. The rapid succession forces the player to immediately move on from one element of the game to the next, which is a skill that can benefit all players, not just your catchers.

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Recreational Softball Coaching Does Not Require Experience

Recreational Softball Coaching Does Not Require Experience
by Guest Author Sonny Snyder

A few years ago, I was called by a friend whether I was game in coaching a 10U and a 8U girls softball travel team. I came clean and said, I've never coached! And even though I knew that I was the last individual who should be coaching softball, I also knew that it was the appropriate thing to do. Since then, I have not once regretted accepting the invite to coach! It's been a great learning experience and an opportunity of a lifetime to spend quality time with my two lovely daughters.

After welcoming the idea to help out coaching, I immediately started researching for softball on the Internet. I found many softball drills, softball practice plans, softball quotes and softball instructional videos. I started to put together ideas from different websites. I decided to showcase those resources accessible from one location hoping to make it easier for you.

It didn't take long for me to realize that there's a huge difference between teaching girls the basics of softball and making decisions before, during and after a softball game. What it boils down to is that whether you've ever coached or not, coaching a fastpitch softball team can be rewarding and beneficial to that group of girls!!! And believe or not probably more rewarding for you!!! Always keep the focus on your team and you can't go wrong.

That fall traveling with the girls softball teams brought many learning and joyful experiences. But after a fall and spring of preparing, that summer brought a unexpected experience. My summer girls softball team became the undefeated Champions in our city's Babe Ruth Summer League. What was even more impressive, we went on to become the 2009 Babe Ruth SouthWest Regional 8U Champions!!!!!

So next time you are asked to help coach softball or any sport, considered it!!! All it takes is some time and effort!

Softball made easy using softball quotes, softball drills and softball practice plans! Visit us at http://www.softballquoteshq.com (http://www.softballquoteshq.com)

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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
• Articles from the Tips for Fastpitch Softball Coaches Blog
• The Fastpitch Softball Training Equipment Blog

Advanced Softball Pitching : Softball Pitching: Curveball Grip

Advanced Softball Pitching : Softball Pitching: Curveball Grip
Posted on YouTube by expertvillage

A curveball should slide from side to side in softball. Learn tips for gripping a curveball in this free video on softball pitching techniques from a softball coach.

Expert: Juan Landeverde
Bio: Juan Carlos Landeverde played college baseball at Cal State Northridge. He has been the mens baseball coach at Hamilton High, and the womens softball coach for the past five years.
Filmmaker: Devin Boddie

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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
• Articles from the Tips for Fastpitch Softball Coaches Blog
• The Fastpitch Softball Training Equipment Blog