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Welcome to the Softball Coaching Digest. If you are a softball coach that coaches a girls fastpitch softball team you have come to the right place.
 
We have one of the internet’s largest softball article directories. Our articles focus on every aspect of coaching fastpitch girls softball. We have free softball drills, free softball tips, and softball hitting lessons for coaching softball.  Make sure to visit one of our softball coaching blogs listed below. Also check here daily for our feature article posted each morning. Make sure to bookmark this site to your favorites so that you can come back to visit us regularly. Thanks for visiting. Have a great day.

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Today's feature article:

Softball Drills That Will Work For All Types of Players and Coaches


Softball Drills That Will Work For All Types of Players and Coaches
By Marc Dagenais

In a world wherein sport is the ultimate way to lead the crowd, softball speaks for itself. Softball is a sport that is enjoyed and supported by a lot of individuals all over the world. It has created a lot of recognition in every career endeavor. Most of the time, people save their time, money and effort just to get to this very exciting world of softball.

But softball is not just about hitting and pitching. It is not just about the cheers from the crowd. It is not just about the different players and their celebrity image while they are playing inside the softball field. Softball is more on what is happening before the actual game. How do the players deal with each other before any game? How does a coach handle every team member prior the game? How does everyone cooperate in the softball drills? How do they incorporate different softball drills in their line of work?

Softball drills must be something that will invigorate the energy that is kept inside the hearts of every player. As a coach, it is important that you have to have a lot of players that have deep understanding of the different skills that you will have to train them. It is important that as a player, you also have to become a skilled observer of the different skills that are being taught to you by the team coach. If both of you have a working relationship, you will then have a great chance of having a perfect kind of relationship.

It is also a must that every player must always observe a proper decorum every time you have to go and move for a better playing stunt. In this way, every time the softball drill is being delivered, all of the players will have their way of obtaining a long list other softball drills and methods. It is also a must that a player and the coach must have to coordinate with each other so that there will be a harmonious relationship while playing each of the softball drills that you both have to undertake.

There is also a need for the softball coaches to incorporate team building strategies in every softball drill so that there will be an achievement for the so-called team work. It is a must that every coach must set up a new and varied ways of making their softball technique drills. In this way, you will prevent your players from becoming bored and tired. If you have newer and better ideas, there is a much possibility that the players will be motivated more and will attain more. There shall be no time for dull and tiring moments with both the members of the team and the coach as well.

It is therefore needed that both of the participating members of the team shall embody the sense of cooperation in order to achieve a greater feeling of contentment the moment your team has been called a winner.

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


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!

Four Recommended Softball Articles for Girls Fastpitch Softball Coaches:

Four Recommended Softball Articles for Girls Fastpitch Softball Coaches:



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4 Softball Coaching Tips You Should Know If You're a Beginner

A lot of people hate learning new things. But if you're like me, I take new beginnings as a challenge, and I love learning, so it's not an issue for me. As a new coach, you're faced with a new beginning. You'll fumble around for the first few months, but don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough.


Softball Tips - Staying Competitive Through Proper Nutrition

Softball players must know the importance of proper nutrition if they want to be at the top of their game but sadly, there are some players out there who consume calories that are lower than what their body needs. So, what happens is that they become sluggish in the middle of the game and, hence, they find it hard to stay competitive throughout the whole seven innings of the game.


Softball Tips - Stop Playing Softball Now

Telling you to stop playing softball is probably like telling the sun to stop from shining for at least a day. In other words, it's impossible. But we have to admit that there will be times when there's no other option than to completely stop playing the game we love very much, well, at least for a certain time period.


Be the Best Player - Softball Hitting Techniques

In a softball game, softball hitting is the main key of every team in order to achieve the goal of becoming a winner. Every player is certainly having an extreme training for them to turn into a hitting expert. Hitting is not merely striking the ball, but having a complete set of strategy to make an amazing shot and get on base and make a score.

Softball Hitting Tips - Is a Good Swing Good Enough?

Softball Hitting Tips - Is a Good Swing Good Enough?
By Marc Dagenais

A lot of softball players place a premium on good swinging that they start to think that it's the only aspect of hitting they need to do in order to become good hitters. However, nothing can be further from the truth than this.

The truth is that, good swinging mechanics is just a part of the entire equation. There are other things that you need to consider if you want to be a good hitter. And that's what we're going to discuss here in this article.

Tracking the Ball

First of all, you need to able to see where the ball is going. This ability is commonly referred to as tracking. To track the ball well means you should be able to see the ball's direction from the time it leaves the pitcher's hand to the time it reaches within your swinging reach.

Just like all skills, tracking is a skill that takes time to develop. At 70mph, the ball is quick enough that it leaves you just little time to react and trace its direction. That is why it's important that coaches should teach their players this skill through various drills.

One of the most common drills to develop tracking is called the Finger Flash. The good thing with this drill is that it doesn't need any equipment for players to perform. All they need to do is have a 'pitcher' who will quickly flash 1, 2, or 3 fingers from a distance, and the 'batter' would then call out the number of fingers that the pitcher flashed.

Making Split-Second Decisions at Bat

Another skill that a good hitter should have is knowing when NOT to hit the ball. There are times when hitting the ball would be too impossible that doing so would cause a strike while during other times, swinging the bat would constitute a ball, to name a few situations.

Pitchers will have a variety of pitches to throw at batters. The key here is for the batter to know whether to swing the bat or not. It may sound easy, but again, with fast balls, it would be pretty difficult to make split-second decisions.

It's therefore important for hitters to be able to approximate whether the ball is in or out of the strike zone. This skill could be developed through a number of drills that simulate pitches to particular zones. And, then, there's experience. As you go on playing the game, it will become much easier to make these decisions for yourself.

Of course, there's nothing that consistent practice can't remedy. As I said earlier, these skills take time to master. It may be a little more difficult to do these things now, but try to remember the time when you were just trying to learn the mechanics of hitting. It was difficult at first, but eventually you developed it into the good swing you have today.

Take the learning of new skills as a challenge. If you're out to compete with the best of the best, you should keep on developing your skills. And in this case, having a good swing is never enough. You should also train yourself to track the ball and make split-second decisions on whether to hit it or not. I hope you find these softball tips helpful and make them part of your regular training routine.

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!

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



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5 Core Mechanics to a Good Baseball and Softball Swing



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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Step-By-Step Softball Hitting Procedure

By Marc Dagenais

Having trouble hitting the ball with striking result? Have you been practicing for it for several weeks, yet you always failed to deliver a satisfying performance? Are you now in great desperation to learn the technique of softball hitting? If so, then you may find the following step-by-step procedure very useful. This actually helps me a lot, too.

· Begin with a good standing posture. This is essential in softball hitting. This means that you have to maintain a comfortable stance. Your weight should be balanced on the balls of your feet. Keep your knees a little flexed, with a slight curve at the waist.

· Have a grip on the bat with your front elbow down and relaxed. Your grip must not too loose or too tight, but hold the bat just right. Make sure that your back elbow is at a 45-degree angle, pointed towards the ground.

· Then with your middle knuckles of one hand aligned with your middle knuckles of the other hand, take hold of the bat at a 45- to 90-degree angle.

· Always let your hands at the top of the strike zone, and close to your back armpit. Also remember that the bat should be between the catcher and your back shoulder.

· Also important to keep your head straight, then cast your full attention to the pitcher in anticipation for the ball to be released. You may want to focus your eyes on the side of the pitcher's leg. This will help you maintain a good concentration.

· When the pitcher goes into the windup, immediately shift the weight onto your back.

· Then with your front foot, take a stride forward on the release of the pitch, making sure not to bring any weight forward on the stride. This is what we call a soft step.

· Immediately after, begin turning around your back foot so that your back heel is facing the catcher, and move your weight forward to the middle of your body.

· Then lastly commence your hand, with the knob of the bat going in the direction of the pitcher's feet.

· You should be careful not to drop the barrel of the bat underneath your hands at the launch of the swing.

· Strike the ball and drive it. This should follow through by way of your hands swinging to your opposite shoulder.

Alright, there you have it. All you have to do is be familiarized with every step provided. At the same time, help yourself with perseverance and determination. Actually, there is actually no undisclosed topics you need to know when it comes to softball hitting.

For you become a good softball player you dreamt of, all you need to do is carry out, practice, and practice. Yes, keep on practicing and improving your skills. As a well-worn adage goes, "Practice makes perfect." Take that as your softball hitting key to success.

Reading magazines or articles regarding the proper technique of softball hitting can also help. Also try to solicit some advices from people who have enough knowledge and experience about softball hitting. Their true to life experience is worth knowing.

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!

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

A Fast Pitch Pitching Drill

By J. Cox

An Important Pitching Drill: One Knee Pitching

The pitcher on the softball field is the most important player. No other player has the power to influence the game the way the pitcher does. In order for the pitcher to be effective, there are many little things she must do well. To help her perfect all these little things, there are many different pitching drills she should perform regularly. One of the most important pitching drills is the "One Knee Pitching" drill.

One knee pitching is performed exactly how you would think it would be done, with the pitcher on one knee. The pitcher will actually kneel on the knee that is on the same side as her pitching arm. She will be about 15 to 20 feet away from the catcher. There should be a line on the ground that extends from the pitcher toward the catcher. The pitchers other foot (on the glove side) should be placed on that line. That leg should be slightly bent. By being on one knee the pitcher will have a steady lower part of the body and will be able to focus on her upper body and the mechanics for pitching.

To begin the softball pitching drill, the pitcher should have her glove and pitching hand (holding the ball) down beside the leg she is kneeling on (her pitching leg). Both of the pitchers hands should stay together as she completes the first quarter of her arm circle. Then she should continue with her motion making sure to come through and stay with the straight line. That's the point of the drill; staying within the line. Throwing balls and strikes isn't important.

During this pitching drill the pitcher must be sure to keep her balance at all times. She can't allow her back to arch backward or her shoulders to fall forward. Also, she can't let her arm go behind her head as she is pitching. Finally, she has to make sure her arm finishes in line with the line that's extending toward the catcher. This point can't be stressed enough.

There are many great pitching drills that softball pitchers should do on a regular basis. One of the most important drills is "One Knee Pitching". This drill should be performed regularly in order to help the pitchers balance and to allow her to focus on her upper body. To be more specific, this pitching drill will help the pitcher with her arm circle, spacing, sequencing, release posture, and the follow through.

J Cox runs http://www.fastpitchsoftballbat.net The site tries to find bargains for the fastpitch fan. The site also has several other Fastpitch Softball Articles, an example is located at http://www.fastpitchsoftballbat.net/fastpitchbaserunning

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

Should Baseball And Softball Players Participate In Weight Training Programs?

It's baseball season, and you are ready for it. You bought a new bat, dusted off the cleats, and oiled the glove. You drilled, grounder after grounder, only to follow it by fly ball, after fly ball. When the fielding drills were over, you moved on to the batting cages. You have hit so many balls that you could probably tag a slider in your sleep. So, what's next but to hit the field, right? Wrong!

What about your weight training? Yes that's right, lifting weights. Almost all baseball clubs, from high school to the majors, use weight training for injury prevention, rehabilitation of injuries and for strengthening individual weaknesses. One of the most important things a weight training program needs to do is to isolate certain muscles specific to the throwing motion and strengthen them to prevent arm injuries.

A combination of various forms of exercises tends to work best: isometrics, isotonic and is kinetic, plyometrics, (not just for tennis anymore), active resistive and especially flexibility/stretching exercises are all important in developing a well-balance program. Players at different positions need to emphasize different elements of the program, and different body parts.

For pitchers, you need to build cardiovascular endurance, and lower body strength and endurance. You also need to build general flexibility, and strengthen the shoulders and the elbows. For catchers, you need to emphasize leg strength, flexibility and agility. Building hand a wrist strength is also important along with building abdominal strength.
For Infielders and outfielders, a combination of building leg flexibility, hand and wrist strength, upper body strength and endurance is very important.

For all positions its important to add exercises that emphasize the rotator cuff complex, consisting of internal and external shoulder rotation, and front, rear and side elevation isolating the supraspinatus. Especially effective are lightweight shoulder excursuses stimulating the small muscles (rotator cuff) essential to the throwing motion.

When putting together a workout program for baseball, it is most effective if three programs are built. The first program should be the off-season program. The program should be designed to strengthen and balance all major muscle groups of the body. You should consult your coach or trainer about varying the exercises in the program to strengthen your particular weakness and/or correct muscle imbalance.

The second program should be the pre-season program. This program should be designed to build more strength. This program should be started 4-6 weeks before the season, this is also the time to start incorporating baseball-specific exercises in the gym or out on the field. This helps get your body ready to perform baseball skills again.

The third program should be the in-season program. This program should be designed to maintain strength levels acquired during the off and pre season programs. Abdominal, rotational and light weight work are essential parts of any in-season program. Pitchers should concentrate on light weight shoulder work such as deltoid raises.
As you can see, as much as we want to hit that chalk lined field, it's just as important to incorporate a weight training program, to insure a fun filled, and injury free season.

http://www.articlesbase.com/baseball-articles/should-baseball-and-softball-players-participate-in-weight-training-programs-516868.html
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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!

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

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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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Softball Recruiting Videos - A Critical Step in the Recruiting Process

By Gary V Hawkins

For student athletes trying to make it to the collegiate softball level, softball recruiting videos play an important role. Coaches want to see video to make a determination on whether or not a player has the talent and skills to play at his or her level of college competition.

Softball recruiting videos can take the form of DVD's or online footage loaded on a website. No matter what format you use, the important thing is to use your footage to help sell your talent and skills to the coach. A good video will:

1- Demonstrate your skills
2- Show some of your best highlights
3- Have complete game footage

Coaches don't want to see softball recruiting videos that simply show a string of highlights. Any player can string together enough highlights to make themselves look like a great prospect. Good video footage also shows you demonstrating the skills of the game and how you perform in game conditions.

Getting good footage can come from several different sources. You can ask your coach about footage. You an ask your parent(s) to create some footage of you in action. Or, you can spend some money and hire a professional. Obviously, if you have the money to spend, hiring a professional is the way to go. If you don't have the money to spend, doing it yourself or getting footage from the coach works just fine.

Along with the softball recruiting videos you send out to coaches, you'll want to also send out letters and athletic resumes. Making direct contact with coaches is the best way to get recognition and to get coaches interested in signing you. In fact, you may want to send the letter and resume first, and let the coach know video footage is available if he or she wants to review it.

Gary Hawkins is a well known recruiting and athletic scholarship expert and the author of a popular 17-page free report titled:

"Five Secrets You Must Know To Get Recruited For Athletic Scholarships"

Head over to http://www.recruitedforscholarships.com/freereport.html to get your FREE copy now!

Gary Hawkins is passionate about helping high school athletes reach their dream of playing at the college level. In his Athletic Recruiting & Scholarship System, Gary teaches anyone how they can finally get the attention of college coaches and start being recruited for athletic scholarships. Just visit http://www.recruitedforscholarships.com/ and pick up your copy today!

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

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Drills and Activities to Improve Softball Pitching

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By Marc Dagenais

Softball pitching is one of the offensive armaments in the softball. Most coaches and trainers pay much concentration in the pitching capability of the players because they believe that this added an artillery and fire power to the game. Poor pitching techniques oftentimes results to a bad performance of the team. Worse, it might lead to losing the game. That is why there is a more complexity in the field of softball pitching drills and activities. Softball players should be equipped with the dos and don'ts of the softball pitching process.

Read on and perfect these valuable drills and activities which will help you get an edge over hitter and batting lineup you face:

The pitching all happens with the release. When this is happening just: · Stay Tall · Pull your shoulders back · Have a firm front side · No bending at the waist

For lower body pitching mechanics: · Make a powerful push from the pitching rubber · Build up a strong, fast and long stride · Make a push-back against the stride leg as the pitching arm comes down through the release point

To maximize your pitching speed, you must: · Make sure that your upper body is upright when at the release · You push back against your stride leg · Your shoulders should most of the time way closed · Your hips should be halfway or less closed at the release

The power, the speed and the landing of the stride determines how effectively the pitcher can push back against the stride in order to throw the ball with a maximum speed.

The fastest pitch depends on the lower portion of a pitcher's body. Remember to always improve the speed and control of the leaping styles. The leaping style must have a fast and strong push-off from the pitching rubber in order to drive the stride leg out fast and far.

Always look at the power and the quickness of the stride to allow for a blocking or a hard push against the stride leg at the end of the pitch sequence. Ideally, your pitching strides must be precise and sure so that a powerful pitching technique will be achieved.

Softball pitching requires technique, speed and proper pitching location. The edge to softball pitching lies upon the perfection of the most comfortable techniques you already have or at least bend your softball life on learning more of the existing pitching techniques.

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 and sign-up to get tons of great FREE Softball Pitching tips to boost your game!

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

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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!

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Benefits of Practicing Softball Drills With Your Teammates

HandsBackHitter.com



Softball drills are very important if you really want to be skillful in the whole game of softball.
There are a lot of benefits that one can get if he is practicing the different softball drills. With these drills, you are able to practice different moves in softball, not just one, but all moves in softball.


By practicing this sequence of actions regularly with your teammates, you are not only able to enhance the one that you are strong with. You also have the opportunity to get to know the other drills in softball and in addition, you are given ways to improve them as well if you are not that much good at them. And because of the fact that you are practicing with your teammates, it is not only you who is actually learning. Even your co-players also do have chances to learn about the different skills in softball aside from the one that they are good at - the one that they have been plying for a long time in the real softball battlefield.


Another benefit that you can actually get when you and your team are practicing these drills aside from the one mentioned above is, you have more chances to be closer with your co-players (well that is if you are somewhat sentimental). As you are constantly practicing with your teammates, you have more time to be with one another and that will make you closer making you build a more solid team.


Another benefit that is somewhat related to the latterly mentioned is, as you are now closer to your teammates, you also have better chances of understanding each other more. You can simply know what is on the mind of the other therefore making you understand their strategy and in the end, making you to work as one. This is very important in a team so because if you can fully understand what the other co-players are thinking, it will be easier for you to work spontaneously as a team. There will be no blaming of certain this and that because you are working as a team.


There are truly a lot of benefits when you are practicing these softball drills with your teammates, and not to forget your coach as well. It does not only give you a chance to be apt in all the different drills in softball. It also gives you chances to meet get to know more of your teammates, and once you are already familiar with them; it will be easier for you to work as one. It will be easier for you to work as a team. As you have more time of getting to know one another and practicing and playing with one another, you will have better chances to fulfill the mission of every playing team. And that is to make their every game worthwhile - to make every game, a game of their life.


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!
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais
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How Do You Handle Softball Hitting?

Softball Coaching Tips on How to Have Effective Practice Sessions

By Marc Dagenais


Coaching a softball team, whether women's softball team or youth softball team even, can be pretty overwhelming at times as you take charge of practices, knowing your players inside and out, familiarizing yourself with the dynamics of the team as well as keeping your players enthusiastic and committed. And there would be times wherein you just want to sit back, relax and watch your players doing their thing on the field.

Nevertheless, here are some softball coaching tips that you can take in order to help keep these practice sessions fun and exciting, avoiding player boredom and increasing the number of players who would be wanting to attend practice sessions more than twice a week even when game season has arrived.

You must note that attendance is one challenge that a coach faces during practice sessions. You need to make sure that your players arrive on time so, that they can participate in the whole activity including warm up and cool down exercises. Most players, especially kids, have not firmly grasped the effect of regular tardiness, which conveys disrespect. But do not blame them too much as at times, it may not be their fault that they are late.
You must also understand that female players and young players are different in a way that women players value camaraderie with their teammates. Therefore, they need time to socialize with one another before they actually start with the practice sessions. On the other hand, for young players, you need to teach them the mechanics of softball in sections because they would not surely understand it if you given them the information in one go.

Other than ensuring attendance and learning about the idiosyncrasies of the team, you need to have good organizational skills. For instance, it would be good if you can assign numbers to your players based on the order they have arrived for practice. This way, all of you would know the order for the batting practice, which is usually the favorite part of most players during a practice session. And this creates an incentive for players to arrive early for practice.

Every once in a while, have a scaled-down version of batting practice even before your players do the warm-up exercises because doing so would enforce player's keenness for batting and when you keep this spontaneous, your player would be left anticipating it. Thus, this would further motivate the team to be on time for the practice.

Once all your players are present, ensure that they start with warm up exercises to prepare them for the practice. But instead of sticking to boring exercises like stretching and running around the bases, get creative with it. You can have your players play freeze tag or a relay race, which fosters a competitive spirit, get their hearts pumping and their muscles warmed up.
So, there you have it, softball coaching tips on how to have effective practice sessions. Good luck!

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

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5 Core Mechanics to a Good Baseball and Softball Swing


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.

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Baseball2u.com.
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I Want to Play Fastpitch Softball and Need to Get in Shape


SoftballCoachingDIGEST.COM

By Brad Henks

I get asked quite often what kind of exercises to do to get in shape for softball. There are a lot of kids out there that want to play the game but have never played. I think this is great. Fastpitch Softball is one of the most exciting sports there is.

I see some kids that want to start at the high school level. Again, this is awesome. It may be a little tough if you have never played softball before to make your high school team though. It depends on several things, like how many kids are going out, how many teams your school has - Varsity, JV, C team, Freshman team, etc.

Some high schools are only able to field enough players for a varsity. Others only have a Varsity and JV. So in those cases it is hard to say, you may have a better chance there because they really need the players.

So, what kind of workouts are good to get in shape for the upcoming season? Well, you want to get some conditioning started now. If your season is 3-6 months away you have plenty of time to get into good shape. If you only have a couple months well, you better get going strong now.

There are several areas of strength and speed needed to play this game of Fastpitch Softball at an elite level. Probably the area you need to work on the most is your Core. That means work on your midsection, your upper body, your legs, your arm strength. Kind of sounds like your whole body doesn't it. It kind of is.

You will also need to get your throwing arm into throwing shape and get the mechanics sound. A strong, and mechanically sound throwing arm will keep you playing and off the injured reserve list.

Always start your workout with some good dynamic warmups. Stretching is fine but that is really what you should be doing at home and after practice to cool down. Dynamic warmups are moving basically stretches. You want to get your muscles warm before you stretch them or do any hard workout.

Warm muscles will be loose muscles and loose muscles will be quick, strong and healthy muscles. There are many resources available to find more information about dynamic warmups. I may write about that another time. Just do a search and you will find some good exercises to do.

Here are some good ones to get you started.

Arm Circles: Stand with your arms out to the side and make small circles, then medium, then large circles doing about 10 of each size, then reverse and go back down to small.

Torso Twist: Stand with arms out to side, and twist side to side about 10 times to warm up your lower back. Your back gets a lot of work playing softball.

Butt Kicks: Slowly jog forward kicking your feet up to your butt. Go about 20 feet, turn around and do them back to where you started.

High Knees: Raise your knees high as you slowly jog about 20 feet.
Power Skips: Skip forward as high as you can. This gets your nervous system kick started.
Carioca: This is old school but does a good job of twisting and getting your coordination working.

There are many more good ones but that should get you started.

To get yourself into shape for softball you need to work on your core. A really good exercise for that is to start on your stomach on the floor, raise up on your elbows and toes and hold that pose for about 30-60 seconds. Drop and rest about a minute, then repeat this 3-5 times. You will definitely feel this in the abs, shoulders and the back of your legs if you are doing it correct.

Other core work can be medicine ball where you are sitting on the floor with your knees bent. Grab the ball and hold it in front of you. Twist from side to side. Another good exercise with the medicine ball is to remain sitting, have a team mate toss the ball to you. Catch it and then toss it back. Do this standing as well for a different set of muscle work.

Pushups are great for working the upper body, arms and shoulders. Try some variations such as the Inch worm.To do this get into a push up position, slowly walk your feet up as far as you can, then walk your hands out until you are flat again. Repeat this across the room or until you can't go anymore. Then do one more.

The Marine style is a tough one. Start in an inverted pushup position with your butt in the air. Then lean forward over your hands and then back. Kind of a wave motion. This one will work your upper arms and shoulders.

Let's move on to your legs. Doing Squats is a great exercise to increase your leg strength. This will also help with running speed. Spend time on these and do them slowly and correctly.

Another is to stand with your back at a wall, slowly slide down until you are in a sitting position and extend your arms out in front of you. Hold this for 45-60 seconds. Rest and repeat three times. This is really good for Catchers and Pitchers. Again, these give good gains on running and stopping which is important in fastpitch softball.

Plyometrics drills are great too. Basically this is standing and jumping as high as you can. This is a great explosiveness drill. Fastpitch requires a great amount of explosive movements in every position and play. Stand near a wall and try to jump and touch the ceiling or a mark on the wall. Try to go higher with each jump.

If you have some strong boxes or cardio steps you can use them too. Stand flat footed in front of the step, jump up onto the step or box, then off the other side. Turn and jump back on the box and off the other side. Try to find taller boxes or steps as your strength increases. Try variations of this drill by standing sideways and jumping with one leg. Alternate legs and repeat.

Now let's work your throwing arm. The best way is to just play catch with a team mate. Grab your softball glove and let's get started.Start out with easy tosses close. Moving back as your arms get warmed up and loose. Gradually work up to full speed throws and as far distance apart as you can. Do this for 10-15 minutes then gradually cool down by working back closer together and easier tosses.

If you don't have a teammate to play catch with, you can use a batting cage, or pitching net to throw into. Another great thing is to hang an old blanket or tarp or old piece of carpet over a branch of a tree and throw into it. Start out slow, get warmed up and then move back and really let it all out. You can hang this in your garage on those rainy days or when the weather is bad.

Running short sprints is always good for softball conditioning. You will get really good at these the more you get into softball! Usually about 20 yard sprints is long enough. Remember, the bases are 60 feet apart so not much use sprinting a lot farther than that. Running ladder sprints is a good idea too. Run these until you don't think you can go anymore. Then run one more.

There are a lot of variations of these exercises and many many more drills and exercises that you can do. It is actually good to mix it up and do different ones every so often. That keeps the routine from getting boring and also works on different muscles and in different ways.

Now that we are done with our workout, let's stretch. You will get much better results from stretching now than at the beginning of your workout. Stretch your arms, shoulders, back, legs and your mind. Keep learning more about the game and exercises you can do.

Ok, so we worked on our Core, our Legs, our Throwing Arm, and our Sprints. That's a pretty good workout. Try to break these up and do a couple each day. Maybe do the core and legs, then the arms, core and sprints another day. Try to workout 3-4 days a week. You want to give your body time to rest and recover between workouts so give it a day off between workouts. If you follow this routine for the next 3 months you will be in good shape for fastpitch softball season.

Brad is a local softball enthusiast and has been involved in fastpitch softball and baseball for 20 years as a parent and coach. For more information on this subject and others please visit http://www.BuyFastpitchGloves.com for some of the best fastpitch softball gloves and related accessories.

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

5 Softball Pitching Drills


By Marc Dagenais

Drill 1: Fast and Slow

Purpose: To practice changing speeds.

Procedure: Working with her catcher, the pitcher alternates fast and off-speed pitches. The goal is to keep the delivery the same.

Drill 2: Football Toss

Purpose: To develop correct rise-ball release.

Procedure: The pitcher throws a junior-sized football underhand to a partner. Grip it along the seam with all the fingers and with the thumb on the opposite side. The ball should spiral. If it wobbles in flight, the palm has turned toward the catcher at release.

Drill 3: Four-Corner Control

Purpose: To develop control and accuracy.

Procedure: The pitcher throws to the extreme four corners of the strike zone. When she achieves accuracy at one spot, she moves the target to the next corner. A catcher or a target on the wall can be used. To adjust for the in and out targets, the pitcher must adjust her body angle from her normal stance. She turns the toe on the rubber about a half inch in or out from the position she used to throw to the middle of the plate.

Drill 4: Wrist Snap Behind Back

Purpose: To develop the wrist snap by isolating the wrist, which prevents the pitcher from using the elbow to snap the ball.

Procedure: The pitcher stands sideways 5 to 10 feet from the catcher or a wall. The glove side faces the target, and the ball is behind the back. The pitcher flips the ball by snapping the wrist.

Drill 5: Oversized and Undersized Ball Spins

Purpose: To make the pitcher practice throwing a riseball.

Procedure: Using a baseball or an 11-inch ball may help the pitcher make the correct movements to get underneath the ball. The smaller the size of the ball allows the fingers to be more flexible and allows the correct movements to occur with less effort. A pitcher can use an undersized ball when initially trying to create muscle memory for the correct spin movements. An oversized ball is helpful in speeding up the wrist snap because the hand must pass under more area in the same amount of time. The oversized ball can also illustrate the spin to a pitcher who may be struggling with the backward concept. A 14-inch ball seems to be the perfect size because the pitcher can hold on to it comfortably throughout the circle before snapping the wrist at release. The routine used with these balls can mirror the routing used with the Spinner-starting close up without the circle and adding distance as well as the full circle.

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!

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

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

Free Girls Softball Fastpitch Drills


By Becky Wittenburg

Any softball coach or player who wants to learn more softball drills can easily find a lot of drills in books and videos and on the internet. Most of these drills cost money but some of them are free. These free girls softball fastpitch drills are very good. Most of the free drills focus on throwing, fielding, and hitting the ball.

Throwing the Ball


The position of a player determines the most common types of throws that player will have to make. For example, a 3rd baseman will need to make hard throws all the way across the diamond to 1st base while a right fielder will most commonly have to make a longer throw from the outfield to a cut-off man near the infield or to a base.

The Before Inning Warm-up Drill


All softball coaches and players know what players do before an inning begins. The first baseman throws a grounder to each infielder while the outfielder stands in their positions and play catch. This is a common drill during games but it should also be performed everyday in practice.

The Relay Throws Drill


The Relay Throws Drill is another one of the good free girls softball fastpitch drills. This drill involves 2 outfields lining up on each side of an infielder. Each player should be about 100 feet apart.

One of the outfielders starts out with the ball and throws the infielder the ball using the crow-hop. The infielder catches the ball, pivots, and uses the crow-hop while throwing the ball to the other outfielder. That outfielder catches the ball and then throws back to the infielder, once again using the crow-hop.

This drill allows all 3 players to practice throwing using a crow-hop. It also helps teach the outfielders to hit the cutoff man. Finally, it helps the infielder practice receiving the cutoff throw, pivoting, and throwing to the desired base.

Fielding


It doesn’t matter how well a team can hit and pitch if the team can’t play good defense in the field. The key to playing good defense is for every player to be fundamentally sound. A great drill for this the No Glove Fielding Drill.

The No Glove Fielding Drill


Just as the name suggests, this fastpitch softball drill requires players to field the ball without a glove. The drill can be run with bare hands or with a board that is specially made for the drill and worn on the fielders’ glove hand.

Players can either field balls hit to them by the coach (more advanced) or they can field balls rolled to them. They need to concentrate on keeping their upper bodies square with the ball (get in front of the ball), bending at the knees, and cradling the ball with two hands into their body.

Once players master the technique of fielding without a glove then they will find fielding with a glove much easier.

Hitting


The only way for a player to get better with hitting the ball is for them to actually hit. Players can either hit a ball off a tee (to work on the basics) or they can hit pitches. Also, a part of hitting that is often overlooked is bunting. Players should be required to lay down at least 3 bunts every time they take batting practice (BP). If possible, players should take BP every practice and before every game.

Look for Free Girls Fastpitch Softball Drills


Softball players need to be drilled on the basics of the game (throwing, fielding, and hitting) as often as possible. Any coach or player who is looking for drills to do can easily find them. In fact, there are a great many free girls softball fastpitch drills on the internet.

Becky Wittenburg has been coaching softball for over 15 years- it is her true passion. She's constantly on the lookout for new free girls softball fastpitch drills. You can get instant access to a sample of her softball practice plans by visiting her website:


SoftballSpot.com

For a limited time, all coaches who visit Becky's site will also get a free copy of her special report: "The 7 Biggest Mistakes Softball Coaches Make". Go get your free copy today!

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


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!

Softball Pitching Tips on Common Pitching Errors You Should Avoid

By Marc Dagenais

In softball, it is the job of the defensive team to force the offensive team to commit errors. It's the role of the pitcher and the catcher to prevent the batter from hitting the ball, the basemen to protect the bases, and the outfielders to catch balls the come to their direction.

Therefore, it would be a huge mistake for defensive players to allow the offense to turn the tables on them, and forcing the defense to commit errors.

Since the pitcher plays a huge role in defense along with the catcher, she must keep errors on her part to a minimum. Doing that would increase her team's chances of winning the game.

Here are some softball pitching tips I have for you to prevent the common errors most pitchers make.

Pitching with the Arm

At first glance, it looks as if most of the pitching motion and accuracy depends on the arm. After all, how strong the pitch is depends on the power the pitcher's arm can deliver.

But the truth is that the pitching motion begins with the legs, connects to the hips and simply culminates with the release of the ball from the hand.

That's why I recommend that you get a total training if you want to become a good pitcher. Focus on how you can improve your balance and motion with your legs and hips, as much as you would go to the gym and strengthen your arm muscles.

Pitching with a Straight Arm

Pitching with a straight arm seems like a logical idea when it comes to pitching. It's probably good if it's how you throw the ball naturally. Otherwise, I would recommend a whipping motion to enable you to throw your pitch much efficiently.

Not Giving Enough Time to Develop Your Pitch

It's fantastic if your team has a training coach that will help you improve your pitching. And it's even better if you can invest on hiring a personal training coach who can give you more personalized advice when it comes to your game.

However, it's easy to treat these options as a crutch and expect yourself to become a fantastic pitcher in just several sessions.

The truth of the matter is that it takes a lot of time for you to totally develop your pitching skills. Some young players may not show a lot of promise at the beginning, only to develop their skills by the time they're in their teens.

What I'm getting at here is that you should persist if you really want to be a good pitcher. Develop your mechanics, strengthen the muscles that you use for pitching, and put your own personal stamp on pitching that batters won't be able to read easy.

These things take time. But when you fully develop your pitching skills, the rewards are fantastic.

Now that you know what some of the softball pitching errors you should avoid, why don't you try it out for yourself and apply what you've just read here?

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

By Marc Dagenais

It is known to every pitcher that a good hitter won't able to beat a good pitcher. Softball pitching is one of the most difficult positions in a softball game. It is a skill that needs your intense thinking to what would be the best strategy to use while keeping yourself in concentration inside the diamond. It is a must that if you desire to be good pitcher, you should know what are the drills to use in order to improve your pitching skills.




Excellent softball pitching is not innate in us, it is being developed! Why have your drills? First, it is to identify the key parts of motion so that you can concentrate on it. This will also speed up your learning. Second, drill makes you repeat your movement per time. With this kind of training, you would be able to master the pitching mechanics. It is a must that you should get the correct form so as to perfect it.

Here are some of those drills that you can use in perfecting that excellent pitch.

1. Static pitching - you will throw the ball so a catcher should stand by. You should be facing the catcher about 8 to 10 meters (24 to 30 feet) in distance. Throw the ball in windmill motion while the feet remains steady or stay in place. Rotate your body in full motion. You may start at easy pace. Just add more speed gradually as you become comfortable with your motion. This drill promotes upper body rotation increase your pitching power.

2. Dry Pitching - you may begin with the typical pitching position, long step forward, and stride foot in front of pivot foot. At a rate of 1minute per second. Pitch your arm in continuous full circles. You should aim your rounding circles with your target, with your arms close to head at top. Arm must meet your hips at point of release on each repetition. This drill is designed develop a perfect circle and to promote arm-hip coordination.

3. Pendulum drill - begin with a long step forward, with your foot in a stride position in front of your pivot foot. Your pitching hand should be at the top of the down-swing, or half back of the circle. Put your pitching arm down to the release point and hold it tight against body for a second. The weight should be at your back foot. Finish the movement by forcing the body and hips forward by pushing hard with your pivot foot. As your movement becomes natural, allow your arm to swing right through without pausing. Just ensure that the arm continues to brush your hip each time you do it. This drill will improve your throwing skills with your whole body working, not just with your arms.

These are just some of those many softball pitching drills that you can use in order to improve your pitching skills. By continue doing those drill and research some more will guarantee you a best form in doing your softball pitching.

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 and sign-up to get tons of great FREE softball pitching tips to boost your game!

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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!

Softball Pitching - The Four Mechanics


By Marc Dagenais

It is very vital for softball pitchers to know and breathe the basics. One cannot perform at his or her best in fastpitch softball if he or she does not know or is not adept with the basics of softball pitching.

There are four mechanics which is essential when it comes to the effective execution of every single softball pitch:


The Stride

The stride should at all times be taken with the pitching hand opposite the foot. The distance is individual but it should be a long walking step. Balance is everything when it comes to looking for the perfect stride. So find where you are most comfortable, balanced, and energized.


The Arm Circle

The arms of the pitcher must be fully relaxed. The circle must be a complete rotation and must be at the same direction as the force. Rotate the pitching arm in a clockwise motion. As the ball is released, the pitching must be quite close to the body particularly the hips.


The Hip Thrust

The hip thrust is said to be the hardest of the four mechanics because it involves the simultaneous use of the hips and the pitching hand... At the point of release, the hips should move forward in order to add some more force and momentum in the pitch. Keep the weight back and push with the pivot foot to achieve this.


The Follow Through

After the ball has been released, the arm should continue to about eye or should level then stop. The pivot foot continues to move forward and ends up being planted on the side to give the softball pitcher his or her balance.

Those are the four basic softball pitching mechanics that every softball pitcher should know. With the knowledge of these four, you can most certainly perform at your peak in softball pitching.

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:
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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!

Fastpitch Softball Pitching - 5 Pitching Tips to Make You Successful


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By Marc Dagenais

As a softball pitcher you should know that your position on the team is probably the most important. When team fill out their roster, the first thing they look for is great pitching. Pitchers then should know that they need to be good students of the game and be aware of what is needed from them in the different situations that can take place during a game. Pitchers usually are the difference maker in a game and so if they don't have their A game, then chances are their team won't be victorious. The following softball pitching tips are good pointers for the position and give pitchers a good heads up on how they should approach their craft.

Tip 1 - Throwing a fastball. Use two points to keep your arm properly aligned. Your biceps brush your ear at the top of the backswing, and your pitching hand brushes your hip at release.

Tip 2 - Throwing a curve-ball. Pitchers should know that in order to maximize the curve, you should visualize a series of dots from the mound to the outside corner of the plate. Pitch along those dots.

Tip 3 - Throwing a fastpitch rise. It's possible that your wrist snap may be sideways. Play with different grips or finger pressures and try to relax them.

Tip 4 - Throwing a change-up. Don't always throw the change-up in a given situation. Make sure to change your pitch selection.

Tip 5 - Throwing a drop-ball. Keep your pitching arm close to your body to avoid injury.

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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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!

Softball Pitching Tips on Common Pitching Errors You Should Avoid


By Marc Dagenais

In softball, it is the job of the defensive team to force the offensive team to commit errors. It's the role of the pitcher and the catcher to prevent the batter from hitting the ball, the basemen to protect the bases, and the outfielders to catch balls the come to their direction.

Therefore, it would be a huge mistake for defensive players to allow the offense to turn the tables on them, and forcing the defense to commit errors.

Since the pitcher plays a huge role in defense along with the catcher, she must keep errors on her part to a minimum. Doing that would increase her team's chances of winning the game.

Here are some softball pitching tips I have for you to prevent the common errors most pitchers make.

Pitching with the Arm

At first glance, it looks as if most of the pitching motion and accuracy depends on the arm. After all, how strong the pitch is depends on the power the pitcher's arm can deliver.

But the truth is that the pitching motion begins with the legs, connects to the hips and simply culminates with the release of the ball from the hand.

That's why I recommend that you get a total training if you want to become a good pitcher. Focus on how you can improve your balance and motion with your legs and hips, as much as you would go to the gym and strengthen your arm muscles.

Pitching with a Straight Arm

Pitching with a straight arm seems like a logical idea when it comes to pitching. It's probably good if it's how you throw the ball naturally. Otherwise, I would recommend a whipping motion to enable you to throw your pitch much efficiently.

Not Giving Enough Time to Develop Your Pitch

It's fantastic if your team has a training coach that will help you improve your pitching. And it's even better if you can invest on hiring a personal training coach who can give you more personalized advice when it comes to your game.

However, it's easy to treat these options as a crutch and expect yourself to become a fantastic pitcher in just several sessions.

The truth of the matter is that it takes a lot of time for you to totally develop your pitching skills. Some young players may not show a lot of promise at the beginning, only to develop their skills by the time they're in their teens.

What I'm getting at here is that you should persist if you really want to be a good pitcher. Develop your mechanics, strengthen the muscles that you use for pitching, and put your own personal stamp on pitching that batters won't be able to read easy.

These things take time. But when you fully develop your pitching skills, the rewards are fantastic.

Now that you know what some of the softball pitching errors you should avoid, why don't you try it out for yourself and apply what you've just read here?

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

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