Monthly Archives: March 2017
Fastpitch coaches: when you’re offering instructions, be specific
One of the challenges of coaching fastpitch softball, or any sport for that matter, is offering directions that are meaningful to the player. While there are several elements that go into meaningful directions, I find that being specific is definitely key.
What does that mean, be specific? Here’s an example I heard today. A student told me she was working on fielding ground balls, and one of her coaches told her she had to get lower. That was probably correct – I wasn’t there so I don’t know, but let’s assume it was.
The problem with saying “get lower” is it leaves out an important element: how to get lower. If you’re bending at the waist, does that mean bend more at the waist? No, that would be silly.
The proper direction would be to lower your hips as you go down to the ball. That makes it easier to get to the ball while remaining in an athletic position where you can make the play.
Non-specific instruction reminds me of a joke that was making the rounds a few years ago. A group of people are in a helicopter in Seattle, checking out the sights, when a sudden fog rolls in.Not only are they having trouble seeing but the instruments go all haywire.
Now they’re lost, and need directions to get back to the airport. The pilot decides to hover next to a building where he sees some lights on. He sees there are people inside, so he quickly writes up a sign that says “Where are we?” and holds up it for the people inside to see.
They see the message, and take a minute to write up their own sign. When they hold it up it says, “You are in a helicopter.” The pilot immediately says “Right” and heads straight for the airport. When the helicopter lands, all the passengers are amazed. “How did you know from their sign where we were?” one asks.
“Easy,” said the pilot. “The information they gave us was completely accurate and completely useless. I knew we were by Microsoft.”
That’s the thing about directions. It’s easy to say do this or do that, but is what you’re saying actually helpful? Or is the message simply, “Play better!” – which I actually used once in a post-game speech to break the tension when the team was down.
For the most part, players don’t need you to tell them they’re doing poorly. If they have any experience at all they can tell they’re having problems. What they need is help fixing them. The more you can give them the “how” instead of just the “what,” the faster they’ll likely be able to address the issue and get it corrected.
Telling a hitter she’s pulling her front shoulder out is true, but useless. Telling her how to keep her front shoulder in, by leaving it strong and driving her back side around it, is helpful. (By the way, telling her she’s pulling her head out is neither accurate nor helpful, because it’s not the head that’s getting pulled out, it’s the front shoulder.)
Telling a pitcher she’s throwing high is useless. Even the least experienced pitcher can see that on her own. Telling her to whip through the release and fire the ball at the plate instead of getting the hand ahead of the elbow and pushing it up through release will help her correct it.
If you don’t know the “why” of common issues, find out. There’s plenty of great information out there. Search around on Life in the Fastpitch Lane (this blog) for ideas. Go to the Discuss Fastpitch Forum (if you didn’t come from there already) and poke around for hours. Search on YouTube – although be careful because there’s a lot of bad information out there too. Buy books and videos. Observe what great players do. Ask a more experienced coach. Attend coaching clinics and/or the NFCA Coaches College.
The more you know, the more specific directions you’ll be able to give them. And the better you’ll be able to help your players perform at the level you want them to.
The importance of tee work in fastpitch softball
Players, especially younger ones, often look at the hitting tee as something that’s only useful to beginners. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Working off the tee has a huge amoung of value to players of all experience levels, as this guest post by David Morgan of The Planet of Baseball explains.
One thing most new fastpitch softball players realize as soon as they get into the game is there is actually nothing soft about softball. They quickly find that hitting a ball is not as easy as great hitters make it look.
It is common to find that new players have very poor swings and some may not even know how to hit off a tee. However, softball coaches have devised various drills that can help players improve their skills and develop good hitting habits.
One way softball players can learn how to hit off a tee is to regularly engage in tee work. We shall explore how tee work helps softball players to become better at the sport.
Improving accuracy
Accuracy is definitely important in the game of softball. For a player to hit off a tee accurately, he/she must maintain focus; tee work is very useful in achieving this precision.
For example, it`s possible for a coach to hang a target on a pole and ask the players to hit it. This target should be placed at eye level so that the player can easily see it.
The major advantage of this method is the player clearly knows whether he/she hits the target or not. In the event that the player misses regularly, the coach could use this opportunity to help the player work on her swings. In addition, it could help the coach identify if the player has problems concentrating by observing whether he/she regularly take his/her eye off the ball.
Body Timing
One common problem that softball players must combat is knowing how to time their bodies.
In fact it is common for softball players to lower their hands as they begin their swing. The result of this is that they end up missing balls they should have hit. Engaging in tee work helps address this problem.
The easiest way to accomplish this is to have players with this issue hit off a high tee, for instance somewhere around the chest region. If the player happens to drop his/her hands, then her bat would go right under the ball. When players repeat this practice often, the tendency to drop their hands as they begin their swing will be reduced.
Keeps the body in shape
Apart from helping players improve their skills, tee work can also help keep players in good shape.
Sometimes, most players come back from an extended lay off only to discover that their bodies are no longer in tune with the game. This is when tee work becomes very important as it helps to prepare the muscles for the new season.
It can also help players work on specific problems before a game begins, such as an inability to hit to the opposite field. The ability to hit to the backside enables a player to move runners and throw off the defense.
Developing more advanced skills
In most cases tee work is done when the coach is present. However, mature players can also do it on their own.
One of the advanced skills a player can develop from hitting off a stationary tee is the ability to hit to both the left and right sides, again using targets. For instance, if it is an inside pitch work, the targets are placed to the left for a right-handed hitter. The targets are placed to the right for outside pitch work.
In addition, other important skills such as swinging through the ball, as well as hitting further back in the strike zone can be developed from regular tee work.
Final words
In conclusion, we have been able to provide some good reasons why we believe tee work is very important in softball. Having good equipment, including quality tees and the best softball bats, is important as well. The better your equipment, the more you will enjoy practicing – and the more success you’ll have in the game.
My name is David, I am an editor/co-founder of www.theplanetofbaseball.com. Being a software engineer by day and a baseball/softball blogger by night, I also participated in the training activities of a youth baseball team at my hometown. I have passion with baseball, it pertains to my life from childhood until now and I love to share what is related to that passion with others. I believe in the support of other baseball bloggers like me to spread the passion.
Getting the feel of the push off in fastpitch pitching
Getting a strong push-off is essential to maximizing speed for fastpitch pitchers. You need to develop a lot of forward momentum so that when your front foot comes down the stop is very sudden, which helps accelerate or sling the lower arm through the release zone.
Unfortunately, young pitchers often have trouble getting the timing down to create an early push. Instead, they will kick the stride leg forward while just sitting on the drive leg, and then try to push at the end, which is too late.
I’ve had pitchers skip before, because that mimics the sequence, i.e., push off first then reach with the leg. It works for some but not others. So if you or someone you know is still having trouble getting the feel, here’s something to try.
Place an obstacle out in front of her, very low to the ground like the swim noodle Alyssa’s father Tony is holding here. Then have the pitcher jump over it, using a normal forward jumping motion rather than thinking about pitching.
When she does it, ask her what she feels. If she isn’t sure, have her do it again. What she should feel is the drive leg pushing first, then the stride leg reaching out. If she does it correctly you’ll see it, as shown in the photos here.
Yes, this motion would be illegal for a pitch – big time illegal – but that’s not what you’re going for right now. Because if she could get the push legally you wouldn’t be doing this drill.
You just want her to feel the push first. After she does it a few times, have her go back and now try to copy that feeling with an actual pitching motion. If she’s gained the feel, and is driving her body forward first, the back foot should pretty much take care of itself.
So far, every pitcher I’ve tried this with has made an immediate improvement in her drive mechanics. I’m not quite ready to pronounce it foolproof yet, but it’s looking good.
If you’re facing this issue give it a try, and let me know in the comments how it works out. And if you’ve done this before, share your experience and whether it worked for you too.