Team Improvements Through the Use of Fastpitch Softball Drills

Team Improvements Through the Use of Fastpitch Softball Drills
By guest author: Troy A Phillips

The quality of your fastpitch softball drills is directly related to your teams ability to perform under a large diversity of in game situations. When coupled with repetition they can prepare your team for whatever challenge they face come game time.

All too often a new team is thrown into a game unprepared for the well oiled team of veterans. This has been known to place the whole group into a loosing mentality. They feel as if they are not as high a quality athletes as the winning team.

Nothing could be further from the truth in most cases. If they had only been given access to easy to implement fastpitch softball drills the feelings of inferiority could have been avoided.

Now I won't go so far as to tell you this is always the solution to the problem. The work ethic of the whole team has to be taken into consideration. This goes for the coaches and assistant, as well as the players.

In twenty plus years of coaching I have saw a lot of games lost because of coaching mistakes. I will not insult your intelligence by trying to convince you that I have never been the reason for a loss.

It is a good idea that all team staff be kept up to speed and on the same page.

This is extremely important when implementing fastpitch softball drills. Nothing spells confusion like a head coach saying one thing and an assistant telling the team something else. A quick team conference is usually a good idea before starting any type of whole team exercise.

Get to practice early and set up anything needed ahead of time. Set things up so that every player gets even time in each station. Any time a drill can be completed at a fast pace it can take some of conditioning's allotted practice time. Going into practice with a strict plan can mean the difference in getting everything needed completed and having to choose between being unprepared or running practice over. With the schedules for practice field time being an issue for almost all teams, unprepared is the usual result.

As you can see, a lot of different variables goes into running a well versed team. With proper communication, planning and the right resources, your team can be the ones that are smiling from ear to ear when it comes trophy time.

Speaking of resources, Make sure that all the information you use is set up and designed for fastpitch. All too often someone has took a standard baseball drill and changed he to she. Proper fastpitch softball drills are designed to work on specific parts of the game that are not related to any other sport.

This game is not a watered down version of baseball. Use game specific fastpitch softball drills and see your team improve dramatically ! That's all we deal with at http://www.bestfastpitchdrills.com/fastpitchsoftballdrills.

Troy Phillips

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

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Fastpitch Softball Pitching Fundamentals 1

Fastpitch Softball Pitching Fundamentals 1
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Woman Softball Star Cat Osterman talks about Pitching Skill

Woman Softball Star Cat Osterman talks about Pitching Skill
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Cat Osterman, NCAA all time leader for strikeouts per 7 innings in Women's softball, and 2004 Summer Olympics athlete, tells us who taught her the art of pitching. ""I had some pitching lessons for my 11th birthday, because I have been on a little league team. Little league regalates how many innings a pitcher can throw in a week. I think we had a bigger game at the end of the week, so our coach needed a pitcher to come in to pitch two innings. The pitcher that has started alraedy had a lot of her innings, and our better pitcher they were saving for the end of the week. At that time I in the outfield, just picking flowers and not doing much of anything, so I volunteered and came in. I don't know if I struck out my first hitter or one of their better hitters. I still remember who it was to this day. I struck out one person and I loved it, so from then on I asked my dad for those pitching lessons. I wanted to try it, and as long as I was working at it, he was happy giving lessons. We went and sought out a pitching coach in Houston, his name was Tim Timmons. He gave me lessons for the first three years, then I went to another coach Bobby Smith, who is still a men's pitcher to this day.""

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Softball Pitcher's Face Mask Should Be Mandatory

Softball Pitcher's Face Mask Should Be Mandatory
By guest author: Jim Moyer

The time has come for the Sanctioning bodies of adult softball and youth fastpitch softball to require all softball pitchers and 3rd basemen to wear a protective softball face mask. While the actual risk of being hit in the face with a line drive is slight, the severity of the injury can be blindness or even death. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1991 reported that more than 100,000 cases of facial trauma occurred in children younger than 14 years while they participated in sports activities with a surprisingly high incidence of female pitchers that are hit with a batted ball.

A couple of real life examples that I have witnessed first hand. A few years back when my daughters softball team was just a 10 year old team, we had the opportunity to play a High School Junior Varsity team. During that game, one of our 10 year old girls hit a line shot back at the pitcher. The pitcher was just able to move her head enough that the ball glanced off the side of her head just above her ear. She immediately fell to the ground and everyone rushed the field to see about her. Fortunately the ball had glanced off of her rather than a straight on blunt impact. She only suffered from a rather severe abrasion on her head, a swollen ear, and a pretty good size knot on her head. Understand that I'm talking about a fairly athletic 14 year old girl only had the chance to react and turn her head about 45 degrees to avoid a ball hit by a 10 year old girl.

Just this season I was watching a fastpitch softball game of 12 year old girls. I was sitting by the father of the 3rd baseman and we were discussing how scary it is that coach's have the 3rd baseman play so close to home plate. Many 3rd baseman now play about 20 feet inside 3rd base and even closer when the coach thinks the other team is going to bunt. Later that same inning, a batter ripped a line drive about 18 inches directly over his daughter's head. She didn't even have time to flinch. Honestly, it was so sudden she didn't have time to duck or move her hands for protection. The dad, relieved that his daughter was okay, said, "That's it. I'm online tonight and will buy a protective face mask. She won't play 3rd base again without one."

One might think a protective face mask is only applicable to girls softball, but that would be naive. Just two years ago, I met a man that played recreational slow pitch softball. He proceeded to tell me that he still plays softball but he can no longer pitch. He had been struck in his right eye socket with a batted ball and could not risk being struck again. Are you ready for this, it took three surgeries and 189 stitches to repair the damage to his eye socket, nose, and cheek. I don't know his exact age, but I suspect he was in his late 20's or early 30's when the injury occurred.

The game of softball is the most participated sport in the U.S. Given this level of participation and the possible severity of facial injuries, it just makes sense that players in high risk positions should be required to wear a softball protective face mask. The unfortunate reality is that most people will not wear safety gear until they are required to do so. A couple of years ago, face masks on batting helmets became mandatory. In the year prior to that rule, my daughter's softball team was the only team in our fastpitch softball league that voluntarily put face masks on batting helmets. That's just one team out of approximately 50 teams.

I'm not sure why more players don't wear the protective face mask. I suspect some parents are not aware that it exists and many other parents don't want to spend the $40.00 because the odds are so slim. Imagine what the cost might be for a trip to the emergency room, a week in the hospital, and two or three re-constructive surgeries. That's just the actual financial cost. Also consider the potential of losing sight in one eye, or the mental damage associated with having scars from 189 stitches. Those costs can't be measured.

Now that you have been made aware of the safety issue, the severity of the injury, the knowledge that there are softball protective face masks on the market, what will your position be? Will you be proactive with your local league? If you coach, will you be proactive with your team? Finally, will you be proactive with your daughter, or with yourself if you play softball?

Slow pitch softball and fastpitch softball are great games. I hope you will take the necessary precautions to ensure your safety and those you are responsible for. For more information regarding softball game face protective masks, please see http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/game-face.html.

Jim Moyer is the author of http://www.mysoftballcoach.com Having coached over 500 youth fastpitch softball games, Jim decided to put the information online to allow parent/coaches to draw on his unique experience.

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

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5 Easy Softball Pitching Grip Strength Drills

5 Easy Softball Pitching Grip Strength Drills
By guest author: Brad Henks

Pitching in Fastpitch Softball takes a lot of raw talent,skill, knowledge of the game, practice and strength to be an elite pitcher. Many pitchers have the raw talent, they can gain the skills and the game knowledge from practice. To rise from an average pitcher to one that makes the riseball "pop" takes more than just practice, it takes a strong grip. And now a strong grip can be gained easily at home with these 5 easy steps.

This article will give you some simple drills that you can do at home. Most of the items mentioned can be found in your pantry or garage. Just ask your parents to help you find them. These 5 simple drills can help you go from an average fastpitch softball pitcher to a great one.

Drill 1:

Grab a can of soup or vegetables from the pantry. A small 2 lb weight is also good for this. Any small weight you can fit in your hand.

Hold the can in your hand with palms down. Then raise your wrists up and down 15-20 times. (Increase the weight if you don't feel it in your forearm on top.) Rest 1 minute, then repeat this for 3-5 sets.

Drill 2:

This is a modification of the first drill. Simply hold the can with palms up and raise your wrists up and down 15-20 times until you feel it. Then do one more. Rest 1 minute, then repeat 3-5 reps.

(Drills 1 and 2 can be done using a weighted ball just as well.)

Drill 3:

This drill requires a rod about 15 inches long, a length of rope or cord about 24 inches long, a heavy weight aprx 5 lbs.. ( an empty milk jug filled with water works great)

Tie the weight to one end of the rope, then tie the other end to the center of the rod.

Hold the rod with your palms facing down and equally spaced on the rod.

Begin to roll the rod and raise the weight all the way to the rod. Hold it for 3 seconds, then slowly unroll until it is all the way down again.

Repeat this rolling up and down 15 times. Rest 1 minute and repeat for 3 reps. You should really feel this in your upper forearms and hands. Increase the weight until 12-15 raises is all you can do.

Drill 4:

Use the same contraption used in Drill 3. This time turn your hands palms up and roll the weight all the way up and then slowly down 15 times. Rest 1 minute and repeat for 3 reps. Increase the weight until 12-15 raises is all you can do.

Drill 5:

This one is a little different. Take a 2 liter soda bottle filled about half way with water. Hold it by the top and flip it up and catch bottom end in your hand. Grab again by the top and repeat the flips 15 times. Repeat with the other hand. Do 3 reps.

Do these drills 3 times a week and in the off season you will notice a huge increase in grip strength. When fastpitch softball season comes your spins will be significantly faster and it will be easier to grip the ball.

BONUS DRILLS

Do you want to find more bonus drills? You can increase your spin rate dramatically by following these and more. Find pitching grip strength drills that college and pro players use. Some of these are pretty intense, so if you are serious about softball pitching click the link below now.

Even More Pitching Strength Drills

Fastpitch Softball pitchers that want to increase their spin rate or just need to get stronger. Find more articles and bonus drills and videos about pitching grip strength by clicking the links below. Also find lots of good information about fastpitch softball gloves.

http://www.BuyFastpitchGloves.com/articles.html

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

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