Thoughts, ideas, tips, and general musings on the game of fastpitch softball.
Put the emphasis on basic throwing and catching
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 12:42 PM and is filed under Throwing.
It's been a while since I've talked about this, but once again as I work with girls on various skills I am struck by how little time seems to be spent on the basic skills of throwing and catching.
I don't know why that is. I suspect that coaches are in a hurry to get into drills, hitting, trick plays and the like. But throwing and catching are such an important part of our game it's hard to imagine you wouldn't want to have your players' throwing and catching skills be highly developed before moving into other aspects.
Among the things I see, either out of pitchers I work with or kids I see practicing a cage or two over, are:
Throwing arm wrapping around their head
No turning of the body; they throw with their shoulders squared up to the target the whole time
Elbow dropping to the rib cage (typically called "throwing like a girl" although I've seen boys do it too)
Striding off-line
Glove arm hanging down at the side like it's broken
Glove arm swinging out to the side (swimming)
No use of the legs — all arm throw
Arm weakly making a throwing motion causing the ball to float or arc
Catching with one hand while the throwing hand hangs down limp
Throwing hand plastered to the webbing of the glove as if the glove is too hard to close with one hand
That's just a sampling. There are more, too, but space prohibits me listing everything.
All of the above are likely to create errors — errors that can cost you runs, and even games. There's no need for that to happen.
Instead of letting your players warm up by chucking balls to a partner any which way while they talk to each other (and you talk to the parents or other coaches), make that time about quality catch. Spend hours if you have to in order to make the point, but give your players instruction and teach them the proper way to throw and catch. Based on what I've seen recently, it will be a huge advantage for your team, and one that doesn't require any special talent to accomplish.
Remember, the fewer runs you allow, the fewer runs you have to score to win. It all starts with quality throwing and catching skills.
Ken Krause has been coaching girls fastpitch softball for 15 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 editor of Marc Dagenais' "No BS Softball Performance Newsletter." 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 coaches the Lake County Glory 14U team and 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.
Add to Google feeds
Media Player
Call me
Have a question or just want to talk softball? Use the button below to call me.
Copyright . http://FASTPITCHLANE.SOFTBALLSUCCESS.COM. All rights reserved.