Softball/Baseball Coaching Tips & Drills "12 of my Favorite Coaching Drills" by Coach Nick Dixon - Hit2win.com

Excellant tips and drills page at Hit2win.com. Drill covered include, #1 "Pitch Tracking", Drill #2 Live "BP" FUNGO,Drill #3 "Make Believe" Infield, Drill #4 "Japanese"
Pitching Drill, Drill #5 5-Position PreGame Hitting Warm-up, Drill # 6 Wall Ball Hitting Drill, Drill #7 The 20 & 4 Pitching Drill, Drill #8 Double Buckets GB Drill,
Drill #9 Cut-off Relays, Drill # 10 DIRT LINES "Ground Ball Drill", Drill # 11 Bunt Pepper and Coaching Tips and Comments. Highly recommended site by the SOFTBAL 2Day Coaching Journal staff.

Girls fastpitch Windmill Pitching by Bill Dryden

On these pages, you will find tips, drills, explanations, etc. for aiding the windmill pitcher. Topics covered include Mental Aspects, Drills, Hitting your spots, Mechanics of the Windmill Pitch, Achieveing Movement, Troubleshooting Q&A and Mechanic Photo Examples. Excellant site. Highly recommended by the "S2DCJ Staff".

Catcher's Corner - " A place just for catchers"

This outstanding site's purpose is the improvement of fastpitch catcher performance. Site's excellant content includes Fielding Bunts, Framing, Pitcher/Catcher Chart, Pitch Selection, The Role of the Catcher and The Stance.
Excellant site for coaches and players.

Smart Outfield Play Wins Games By Tim Wargo

Excellant article on the impotance of "outfield play".
EXCERPT: "This is why you must develop the outfielder as a team within the team. They must help each other on every play. Communication skill must be developed in practices. Look at my situation in my game experience. Had I known the center fielder would back me up, I would have charged the ball trying to catch it in the air. We weren't taught that so I was "on my heels" hoping the worst wouldn't happen instead of aggressively attacking the ball. My center fielder was a spectator to the play and I was doomed from the 1st day of practice. Even on the "routine" plays the closest other outfielder must be sprinting to help should a mistake occur. When the ball gets by or is hit over the head of an outfielder all THREE outfielders should be involved in the play. While one cashes and retrieves the ball, the second outfielder becomes the relay and the third outfielder communicates where the play needs to be made back in the infield. It's like confronting a "tough guy". You are certainly going to be more aggressive and confident if you know you have somebody that will back you up."

Building Team Speed with Speed Training by Terry Shaw Texas Speed

Article has tips related to improving team speed.
EXCERPT: "The work out shown below is most effective if the athlete can participate three times per week, with a day of rest between each workout, for twelve weeks. Because the goal is to increase speed in a 60' sprint for softball, I would suggest timing each athlete in a 60' sprint before starting the work out and again after the twelve weeks is over."

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"Dealing with Slumps"by Karlene Sugarman, M.A. - Sports Psychology Consultant

 

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The "3 KEYS TO FASTPITCH PITCHING"

Article covers the three most important aspects of pitching.
EXCERPT: "The secret to an effective softball career is muscle memory, which is obtained with the constant repetition of proper mechanics used in playing the game. Good muscle memory is gained by drills, drills and more drills.

Those of you who are not pitchers, please read the keys and apply the concepts to your position. Figure out a routine for yourself to follow for practice and games. The keys are the same for any position, Preparation (drills and muscle memory), Confidence (knowing that you can perform any athletic task required because of your hard work and muscle memory) and Relaxation (when your have confidence in your preparation you are relaxed and can focus on the game)."

Peak Performance "Characteristics of being IN THE ZONE" by Karlene Sugarman, M.A.

Article offers valuable insight into the mental side of softball and how to improve player and team performance.
EXCERPT: "I think it is important to talk about peak performances because this is what athletes are trying to achieve and what experts in the field of sports psychology are trying to help athletes and teams obtain. Its imperative we examine some of the universal characteristics of that best performance. This way you will have more control and awareness about these peak performances and they wont seem as mysterious as they once might have.

In the flow, in a groove, on a roll, in the zone - whatever you call it, its all defining one thing. Its that special feeling of playing like you can do no wrong and everything goes your way. You are so involved in what you are doing that nothing else seems to matter because you are so connected to your task. Unfortunately, these peak performances dont seem to happen often enough. In fact, every time it does happen, it is usually by chance, it just happened to be a day when everything fell into place, clicked for you, and you got a taste of what its like to be in the zone. Its kind of like getting a taste of the good life. Hopefully this occurrence will motivate you to do everything you can to have more peak performances.

By implementing mental training skills and working effectively as a team, you can increase the chances of this transpiring on a more consistent basis and you will be able to be in the zone as one harmonious unit. Being in the zone means doing more than anyone else thought possible, even superseding your own expectations at times. This zone is the definitive reason why many people are motivated to participate in sports."

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