Life in the Fastpitch LaneThoughts, ideas and musings on fastpitch softball
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About Coach Ken
Ken Krause has been coaching girls fastpitch softball for nearly 20 years. Some may know him as a contributing columnist to Softball Magazine, where he writes Krause's Korner -- a regular column sponsored by Louisville Slugger. Ken is also the Administrator of the Discuss Fastpitch Forum, the most popular fastpitch discussion forum on the Internet. He is currently a Two Star Master Coach with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), and is certified by both the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) and American Sports Education Program (ASEP). Ken is a private instructor specializing in pitchers, hitters, and catchers. He is Head Softball Pitching Instructor at North Shore Baseball Academy in Libertyville, IL and teaches at Pro-Player Consultants in McHenry, IL.
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A way to explain the power zone in hitting
As I was throwing front toss to her, I could see she was ahead of a lot of the pitches. I tried to explain the importance of timing to her, how she wasn't hitting the ball as hard as she could because her bat was already slowing down by the time she hit the ball.
Part of that explanation was drawing a bell curve, with the optimum spot to hit the ball being at the top of the curve. I showed how if you're too early, or too late you're further down the curve, and thus have less power. It made sense to me, and Sydney dutifully nodded her head as I said it. But I doubt it really made much of an impression, or much sense to her.
As I walked back out behind the screen I had a sudden inspiration. I told her to imagine a banana. I asked her what the best color is to eat a banana. The answer was yellow, of course. I then told her that swinging too early was like the banana being green, and swinging too late was like the banana being brown. That seemed to help her visualize it better, and she started hitting the ball harder.
A banana is something pretty much everyone can relate to. We've all seen them green, yellow and brown (disgusting). It helps players visualize time, or rather doing things at the right time.
As a postscript to this story, when I asked Sydney whether the banana analogy helped, she informed me that she doesn't really like bananas. So while I worked with her we changed it to strawberries - green for early, red for right/ripe, and brown for late. That worked better for her personally.
If you have a hitter who's having trouble with the concept of timing, give this one a try. And let us know what explanations you've used to help hitters understand the importance of getting the bat to the right place at the right time for maximum power.
Learning to slap is an off-season project
The problem is, no one ever said a thing to her about it during the off-season, or even hinted that she should learn it. They just sent her up to the plate and told her to hit from the other side.
That's just insane. To get an idea of how difficult that is, try eating an entire meal with your opposite hand. Then try doing it with chopsticks. Then try doing it while someone moves the plate around while you eat.
Learning to slap from the left if you're a right-handed hitter is an off-season project. It takes a good year for right handed hitters to really become comfortable slapping and drag bunting from the left side, and usually longer for them to be able to swing away competently. Everything is backward, and it's awkward.
What I don't get is no coach in his/her right mind would ever consider sending a player out to play a field position opposite-handed without training. That would be insane. The player might be able to catch the ball, but certainly wouldn't be able to throw it very well. And hitting is a much tougher skill to learn than throwing.
I've said before that my philosophy on slapping is to "burn the ships." If you're going to become a slapper there can't be any of that two strikes and turn around stuff. You're either in or you're out. But with no training, and with no time to develop, your chances for success are very low. Extremely low. Practically non-existent, even if you're a great natural athlete.
If you're thinking about turning a righty around, don't do it now. Wait for the off-season and give her time to develop properly. Otherwise, all you're really going to accomplish is making a player frustrated and unhappy.
Oh by the way — usually you turn around a righty who isn't a particularly good hitter, because you're not losing much and have a lot to gain. In this case, this girl is a very good right handed hitter. Even went yard in a high school game. So to take the bat out of her hands right now makes even less sense.
Yes, I've turned hitters around successfully before, and yes, I've worked with this girl on it a little. I stand by my original statement - it's a project for the next off-season.
A sign that I'm learning
At one point, a bouncing ball was hit down the line, then crossed over into foul territory where it was snagged by the third baseman. "Foul ball" cried the umpire. Then some blowhard parent who was also out there said "That's not a foul ball. It has to hit the ground in foul territory." I'm pretty sure he said it because he was rooting for the team in the field and the third baseman made a great play to grab it and make a throw.
Anyway, at that point I decided to correct him for the benefit of everyone out there. "No, it's foul," I said. "It doesn't matter where the fielder is standing. If the ball is touched in foul territory it's foul."
A few minutes went by and the guy decided to pipe up again. He again insisted the ball had to hit the ground in foul territory to be foul, and he was pretty belligerent about it.
I was about to argue with him again, but then realized it was pointless. Without a rulebook in my hand there was no way to prove I was right, so I just decided to let it go. A sign of maturity, right? I'm sure Mr. Blowhard Parent was convinced that he'd won the argument because A) he was louder than I was and
I didn't argue again. But no matter how loudly you proclaim your point, the rules are the rules. When I got back to my car I looked it up, just to be sure.
So to you, Mr. Blowhard Parent, I say look up Rule 1 in the ASA Softball rulebook, the one that's for definitions. It clearly says that a foul ball is defined (among other things) as a ball that has hit the ground (regardless of being fair or foul) and is then touched by a player when the ball is in fair territory.
Ok, guess I haven't matured as much as I thought since I felt compelled to address it here. But there's no doubt I was right - again. So ha!
Carrying baggage to the plate
You have so little control over what happens, or the outcome, that it can be extremely difficult to be successful on a regular basis. Which is why a hitter who fails 7 out of 10 times is called an all-star. Since it is so difficult on its own, you really don't want to do anything to make it tougher.
Today I did a little experiment with a few hitters to help them understand what it means to carry extra baggage to the plate - literally. After having them hit off the tee I had them move to a front toss station. But before they got to hit I had them put on their bat bags or back packs - whatever they had with them.
They took a few awkward swings and then I asked them how it felt to hit with their backpacks on their backs. As you might expect, they found it to be rather difficult.
Then we talked about what the backpacks represented. It's all those things that hitters take with them that they shouldn't - all those worries that get in the way. Things such as:
- If I don't get a hit soon the coach is going to bench me
- I don't know if I can hit this pitcher
- There are runners on base and I have to bring them in
- Last time I struck out/grounded out/popped out
- Everybody's counting on me
- My parents will be disappointed if I don't do well
In other words, all the outcome-focused thoughts. Hitters have to just focus on this pitch, right now, see the ball and hit it hard. Remain focused on their process and not worry about the rest.
Putting on the backpack/bat bag is a great way to demonstrate how carrying extra baggage to the plate can get in the way of good hitting. If you have a hitter who is struggling, give it a try. It just might help them clear their heads.
That's my thought. What have you done to help hitters regain their focus?
"42" well worth seeing
If you're not familiar with it, although if you're reading this blog I can't imagine you aren't, it's the story of how Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first African-American baseball player of the modern era. It's also the story of how Dodgers General Manager came to put Robinson in the position to do so - and how single-minded and brilliant he was in creating that opportunity, which changed the game forever for the better.
On the way home from the theater I commented to my wife about how far we've come here in America in a very short time. I know I personally couldn't believe the way people acted toward Robinson simply for the color of his skin. It's uncomfortable at times, and you marvel at how ignorant people were back then.
But then I got to thinking about an incident that occurred just last year, in the summer of 2012, to one of my students. The girl's mom told me about it. While the player is not African-American, she's also obviously not Caucasian either.
She was in 12U ball at the time, just to put this in perspective. She is an excellent ballplayer, both as a pitcher and hitter (although I will admit I am biased since I coach her in both; her play, however, speaks for itself). She's also one of the nicest, most polite kids you'd ever want to meet. She is a hard worker, a great teammate, I could go on and on.
Anyway, her mom told me how during a tournament last year when she was dominating in the circle and at the plate, some moron parent from the other team started yelling ethnic slurs at her. (If you've seen "42," think of the Phillies manager, only using different ethnic slurs.) The guy appeared to be half in the bag as I recall, and nothing brings out one's inner jerk like alcohol.
I remember being shocked that anyone would do that, first of all to a kid, and secondly in 2012 - whether they're hammered or not. I mean really - who does that anymore?
There is good news in this, though. First of all, her team, and especially the parents, rallied behind her to make sure she knew it was just one random idiot. More importantly, I think, the girl herself was rather confused about the whole incident.
Why is that good? Because it means it's probably a rarity. In "42," the things that happen to Jackie Robinson when he joins the Dodgers aren't that much different than what would happen to African-Americans all over the country, famous or not. But for this girl, I'm not sure she even knew what the slurs meant, so she probably hasn't had to hear them much. That's progress, of a sort.
The girl and her team went on to win the game handily, and fortunately that turned out to be an isolated incident. I believe the other team's coach apologized for the parent's behavior, and if I recall correctly he had the guy removed from the field. So there is hope for us as a society.
I highly recommend seeing "42," not just for the message but also for the view of baseball in the 1940s. Wait until you see the spring training field for the Dodgers, a Major League Baseball club. Yet as you watch, think about much things have changed - and the fact that we still have a ways to go. It'll definitely be worth the time you invest.
Why I love this country
Ok, this isn't exactly softball, but tonight I feel compelled to write on this topic. There are a great many reasons I sincerely, deeply love the United States of America, but I heard a couple of stories today that I just have to share. Both have to do with the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.
The first is one of those things that is kind of goofy, really, but deeply American. I heard that at Major League Baseball parks all over the country last night, the stadiums played, and the fans sang along to, Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. That is the signature song at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The significance of the song, I think, is that it was written about Caroline Kennedy.
The first place that was mentioned as singing the song was Yankee Stadium in New York. Now, if you're not familiar with it, Yankees and Red Sox fans hate each others' teams with a passion. They say awful, horrible things to the visitors, and fans get into fistfights all the time. The rivalry was alluded to in the Ocean's Twelve movie, where George Clooney and another character (Scott Caan, I think) fake getting into a fight on a train as a distraction to switch out two bags.
It's definitely an interesting way to show support. But it shows the spirit of this country. As I write this we don't know who did it, but baseball fans all over the country sang the song to show support for their fellow Americans in Boston, and to show that America's spirit is not going to be broken or even damaged by an act of terror.
This is what we do as a country. Sure, we may fight amongst ourselves, but when things look bad we close ranks and support each other. My feeling is a lot of that is due to the fact that most Americans aren't native to this land. We either chose to be here, or we chose to stay here. We are mutts (as they say in Stripes), and we believe in equality. And when you believe in equality, well, hurt one of us and you hurt us all. America's colors are red, white and blue, and they never run. We are proud of who we are, and we will take on all comers.
The other event was a video of Boston Bruins fans singing the National Anthem at a game against the Buffalo Sabres. On a night when people could have stayed home, or cowered in fear, the arena was packed and those in attendance sang the Star Spangled Banner so loudly they drowned out Rene Rancourt singing over the PA system.
Yes, we can seem loud, obnoxious and pushy to the rest of the world. Yes, we have our internal differences. But in the end, you can't divide us by attacking us. Come after us and we will stand united.
Tonight I am extra proud to be an American.
Developing softball skills is like growing a plant
At first, whether it's a plant or softball skills it requires a lot of care and attention. For plants, if you're growing from seeds you have to get the dirt prepared, plant the seeds, water them, feed them and watch over them carefully. If you let them go for even a few days they may not make it. If you're transplanting, you have to remove it carefully from the old container and put it into the new dirt.
As the plant grows, its roots start getting stronger and deeper. You still have to watch over the plant and be sure it's watered and fed, but it doesn't take as much constant care. You can let it go a little longer than when it's new and it will still survive.
Finally, as the plant matures, it just requires maintenance. Take good, basic care and it will do well.
Softball skills are the same. When you're first learning, a lot can go wrong. It's really important to get to those lessons and practice in-between so you can start building up the myelin layers and lock in on what you're doing. If you miss a practice or two, though, it can really set you back - like not watering a plant.
As you get better, you can afford to skip a lesson or practice session here or there. It's not ideal, but if your skill roots have "taken" you'll have a strong enough foundation to be able to maintain your mechanics.
Eventually you get to the point where you're not "learning" so much as tweaking or maintaining. Sure, there are always things to learn and improve upon. But your core mechanics should be there even if you're not able to get to lessons or full-on practice sessions every week. Although I do have several pretty accomplished students who still come regularly, because they like to keep their games running at peak levels.
So as you think about yourself (or your daughter), what phase are you in? Have her skills taken roots yet? Does she require a lot of care and feeding? Or is she in full flower? Knowing the answer can mean the difference between success and failure on the field.
The biggest mistake in coaching
The biggest mistake in coaching is insisting on proving you're right in face of all evidence to the contrary.
Yet it seems to go on all the time. Coaches will stubbornly adhere to a certain strategy or way of playing even though it doesn't work. Or they'll set a lineup and stay with it even though it's not producing runs - or wins.
One of my biggest pet peeves is coaches who make a decision at the beginning of the season (sometimes even before the season) about the abilities of their players, and never bother to notice which players have improved and which ones haven't.
Whatever it is, they may think it makes them important, or awesome. But it only hurts the players and the team.
It's good to have opinions and convictions. But not to the point where you do things just to prove you're right. Instead, be sure to constantly evaluate what you're doing, and don't be afraid to make changes for the better.
Handicaps for softball games
Finally! The weather finally got halfway decent, the snow had melted off the field, so I got to watch a high school softball game. It was a JV game, but softball is softball. Or so I thought.
It was pretty brutal. The team I was rooting for (because one of my players was helping out there today) just destroyed the other team by 20+ runs in each game.
Truthfully I started feeling bad for the other team.Their girls were trying hard, but they just don't have the skills. I actually saw a ground ball roll through the second baseman's legs out to right field, where the right fielder kicked it into center trying to pick it up, and the hitter wound up on second instead of being thrown out easily at first. All it was missing was the music from the Bad News Bears (the original 1976 version, still the best!).
That got me to thinking. Some sports use a handicapping system to make them more balanced and fair. Horse racing, for example. They add weight to the load the horses have to carry to make everything more balanced.
Or what about golf and bowling? They let the weaker player subtract strokes from or add pins to their scores to balance things out more. In sailboat racing they subtract time from the times of the slower boats to even things out a bit.
So why not softball? Rather than watching a complete blowout, which is the equivalent of watching paint dry, why not institute a handicapping system that gives the struggling team a chance at a comeback, and gives the far better team more of a challenge, which makes the game more worthwhile?
It wouldn't kick in right away. But let's say you set a 15-run limit. After that, the losing team gets to add an extra fielder or two to try and cut down on the number of errors by closing up the field.
Or you can do what we did as kids when we didn't have enough players - close a field. For right handed hitters you could close left, i.e. any ball hit there is an out and a dead ball, and any runners on base have to go back. For lefties you'd close right field. Not only would that cut back on the scoring, it would force the hitters to have to learn how to go to the opposite field.
An obvious one is to have the hitters on the successful team turn around and hit opposite-handed. I remember doing that in co-rec softball years ago. Or you could force them to use cheap aluminum bats instead of their $350 super bats.
Here's another idea. After 15 runs, the two teams switch pitchers. That way the better pitcher is pitching to her own team, challenging them, while the weaker team gets to hit off the pitchers who's been getting pounded all game. Either they'll hit better or the pitcher will feel better about herself.
The dominating team could start each inning with one out, and/or the hitters would have an 0-1 count. Or you could give the weaker team an extra strike. (I've noticed many umpires tend to do that anyway by closing up the strike zone for the better pitcher trying to make a game of it.)
Obviously, this is tongue-in-cheek. Truth is it's up to the coach of the weaker team to coach his/her players up so they improve. Still, when you're wondering if the inning will ever be over, the mind does tend to wander.
So how about you? What sorts of handicaps would you impose to help move the game along?
Tips for calling pitches in fastpitch softball
In any case, calling pitches in fastpitch softball is definitely an art. Some people seem to have a natural feel for it, while others tend to struggle making the right calls.
Having charts on hitters' tendencies makes it somewhat easier, although even at that you never know. Maybe that hitter worked on her game in the off-season and doesn't have the same weaknesses she had before.
Of course, if you're a travel coach facing many different teams throughout the season the odds are you're not going to have much information on most of the hitters you face. Which means you're going to be doing a fair amount of guesswork.
No matter whether you have a lot or little information, here are a few tips to help make it easier. We can debate who makes these calls — the catcher or a coach — another day.
1. Mix it up
Mixing pitches is the cardinal rule of pitch calling. I don't care how good you are or how well or hard the pitcher throw a particular pitch. If you give the hitters a steady diet of the same pitch, or location, or speed, sooner or later they're going to figure it out and start sitting on it.
Think about hitters hitting off a pitching machine. You can crank it up to its max speed, which will seem overpowering at first. But eventually, if the machine is throwing the same speed to the same location the hitters will start hitting it.
A smart pitch caller will go up and down, in and out, and will certainly mix changeups or off-speed pitches in. You can walk up the ladder — starting low and working your way higher as you go. Or throw inside, inside and then outside or vice versa. You want the hitter worried about the entire strike zone, not just a portion of it, and about looking bad being ahead of an off-speed or change.
You'll also want to mix in pitches the pitcher is struggling with, just to keep the hitters honest. For example, if the pitcher is having trouble with her changeup you still want to throw it now and then - if for no other reason than to make her other pitches look faster. But mostly, you just don't want the hitters getting comfortable.
2. Avoid predictability
This is a corrollary to #1. When you're mixing pitches you don't want to fall into predictable patterns. One of the classics, of course, is throwing a changeup on an 0-2 count. You can do it now and then, but if you do it every time, a smart hitter will just concede the first two strike to get to the meatball. (A strategy my oldest daughter Stefanie was very good at, by the way.)
You can have a couple of pre-set patterns, but you don't want to use them over and over. The more predictable your pitch calling is the easier it is for smart hitters (or their coaches) to zero in on a particular pitch on a particular count and send it toward South America.
3. Know your pitchers' strengths
Every pitcher has pitches they throw well, and those they don't. That's something that can change from day to day, too.
It's one of those funny things - a particular pitch might decide to hide on a particular day. But assuming all is well, it's important to know what the pitcher's best pitches are, and which the weaker ones are, so you can call the game to the pitcher's strengths while using the weaknesses as filler or for contrast.
For example, if your pitcher has a great curve but a weak drop, calling the drop over and over is unlikely to yield the results you're hoping for - unless the result you're hoping for is a lot of hits and/or a frustrated pitcher.
Knowing your pitchers' strengths is especially important deep in the count. You want to know what the pitcher can throw to get hitters out reliably. Sure, sometimes your pitchers' strengths will be the same as the hitter's strength. But more often than not you're going to want to match strength to strength and let the one who wants it most win.
4. Don't assume what you see is what you'll get
You've probably seen the charts that tell you "if the hitter does this then throw this." For example, if the hitter is standing close to the plate, throw a screwball or inside fastball.
Yes, that might work. But the hitter might also be standing in close to the plate because her strength is inside pitches. And maybe she has trouble with outside pitches, so standing in close turns them more into middle pitches.
One other thing a hitter might be doing is standing up there to bait the inside pitches so she can back off a bit and drive the heck out of the pitch because she hates outside pitches. So don't assume the charts are right - pay close attention and make adjustment to whatever is in front of you.
5. Remember Einstein's definition of insanity
Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It doesn't matter what else you make think or believe philosophically.
If you're calling a particular pitch and it's getting hit consistently, don't be a fool. Call something else.
6. Work with your pitchers, not against them
Remember as a coach that your job first and foremost is to put your players in a position to succeed. A big part of that is building their confidence and setting your own ego aside.
You may want a particular pitch in a situation, but if your pitcher isn't confident in that pitch it's unlikely she'll throw what you think she'll throw and that you'll be happy with the result. Personally, I'd rather see a pitcher shake off a pitch she can't throw with absolute confidence than meekly go along and get hammered.
Confident players are successful players. Help your pitchers develop confidence in themselves and they'll have more confidence in you.
Ok, what did I miss? What other tips do you have for calling pitches?