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!

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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.
Article Tags: Softball Gear, These Items, Think About, About Buying

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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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