Softball Pitching Injuries and How to Avoid Them

By Marc Dagenais

Whatever sport you play, there's always the risk of getting injured while you play. While this is usually true for contact sports such as basketball and football, players of non-contact sports are also at risk for injuries.

The reason for this is that when you're playing a particular sport, your body is subjected to so much strain that the wear and tear might eventually catch up with you if you're not careful.

And that can happen when you're a softball pitcher. It goes without saying that injuries can cause you a lot of physical pain and could sideline you probably for a long time, depending on your type of injury. That's why you should avoid the risk of injury as much as possible.

Usual Causes of Softball Pitching Injuries

The most common cause of softball pitching injuries is overuse. As its name suggests, overuse is when you subject your muscle, tendons and ligaments to the same routine over and over again.

Remember what I said earlier about wear and tear taking a toll on your body? That's what happens with overuse injuries. You subject a certain part of your body to too much strain that it eventually becomes injured.

Another type of injury is caused by pulled muscles. This can occur when you don't give your body sufficient time to stretch and warm up. Because of this, the muscles are not primed to do the strenuous activities that you want them to do such as pitching. As with any type of injury, pulled muscles can be very painful.

There are several other softball pitching injuries, but the two I have mentioned are by far the most common.

But the good thing is that you can avoid softball pitching injuries if you know the right thing to do.

Avoiding Softball Pitching Injuries

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

That line may already sound trite, but you can never deny the truth the lies beneath it. So you must try to avoid injuries at all costs.

The most basic way of preventing overuse injuries and pulled muscles is by getting enough stretches and warm-ups before a game or practice. Stretching and warming up will help loosen up your muscles. Having tight muscles is usually the cause of injuries such as pulled muscles.

To avoid overuse injuries, you should also give your body enough time to rest and recover after a day of practicing or playing. Softball is a fun game to play, but injuries take the fun out of it, so learn to give your body a rest.

And finally, you should also work on getting your pitching mechanics right. The correct pitching mechanics helps you throw pitches more efficiently and with minimal strain that may cause injuries.

To sum it up, the most common softball pitching injuries include overuse injuries and pulled muscles. But injuries like these can be avoided with the right amount of stretching, warm-ups, rest and the proper pitching mechanics.

So learn how to avoid softball pitching injuries today and be able to enjoy softball for longer.

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!

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5 Softball Pitching Drills

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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!

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Learning the Basics of Softball Pitching

By Marc Dagenais

Softball pitching is one of toughest job any player could face. It is a skill that requires you to be critical in thinking while keeping yourself in track inside the diamond. Remember, a good hitter won't able to beat a good pitcher. That is why learning the ropes of proper pitching the ball needs proper training.

Pitching in slow-pitch softball requires a different pitching style in a fast-pitch softball. It is a must that one should differentiate which type of softball you are going to join so that you would know which among the two below will best suit your needs.

A fast-pitch softball requires your athleticism, stamina, dedication and calculated thinking. Even if you fail among those characteristics, just follow the simple tips and it will bring you success. This is for the fast-pitch softball player:

If you are right-handed person, hold the ball by using all your fingers, except for the thumb, on a straight seam while your thumb will clutch on the straight seam of the ball at the opposite side. Make sure that you should leave spaces between your palm and the ball. Place your feet properly on the pitching mound and your hips should be square to the home plate. Put your weight on the left foot while you are positioning your hands to ready for the pitch. Extend your right arm past your hips and bring your left arm to your chest, while putting your weight in your right foot. Simultaneously with your feet movements, keep your arms straight. The left -gloved hand should be eyelevel and the ball hand should continue its circling up until it is extended towards the sky. With your "open" hips facing the home plate, release the ball while your gloved-hand reaches your side. Do not "close" your hips until the ball was released. End your pitch by bending your knees and your gloved-hand is ready to field just in case the ball is hit. Reverse the place of your hand if you are left-handed.

The slow-pitch softball is almost the same with the fast-pitch softball, except for some minor changes. Use a circle grip in holding the ball, by placing your hands around it. Begin your pitching motion by putting the right hand inside the glove or just in front of you. Position your feet in a way that you would be able to maintain your balance and provide enough power in pitching the ball. Step forward and move your ball hand like a swinging pendulum. Let go of the ball when it is in your waist level. Get into the fielding stance because the ball may be hit right back at you.

The key to being a good pitcher is by a constant practice. Practice makes perfect! Maintain your focus on the game and be relaxed. The ball might be spinning for your victory.

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. To get tons of great FREE softball pitching tips to boost your game, visit us at: http://www.softballperformance.com

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Train Your Pitchers With These Softball Pitching Drills

By Marc Dagenais

When you look at a softball game closely, you'll realize how important the role of the pitcher is in your game. Although your good batters score for your team, your pitcher needs to balance that by preventing the other team from scoring.

That's why it's also important that you constantly drive your pitchers to do better. The more accurate and varied their pitches are, the more difficult it will be for opposing batters to hit the ball. So here are some softball pitching drills that will help improve your pitcher's skills.

Football Toss

This drill's purpose is to teach or develop your pitcher's correct ball-rise release.

To do the football toss, you let your pitcher throw a mid-sized ball to a partner. In throwing the ball, the pitcher should place her fingers along the seams and the thumb on the opposite side. The ball should spin when thrown at the catcher. If it wobbles, it means that the pitcher threw it with the palm facing her partner.

Wrist Snapping Drill

An excellent drill for developing wrist snap, it does its job by isolating the wrist throughout the exercise.

This is done by partners facing each other and around 10 ft. apart. If right handed, the pitcher should bend the right knee and kneel on the left knee. The pitching arm is fixed on the leg while holding the ball under the knee. She then flips the ball into the air to her partner who catches it and does the same.

Fielding Bunts

One of the most critical situations for pitchers is when a batter bunts a ball. That's because the bunted ball is most likely to fall in the pitcher's proximity.

To train for these situations, position your pitcher on the mound and a player on the 1st or 2nd base or both. Then toss the ball towards the mound to simulate a bunt. The pitcher should then throw the ball to the first base. Let the pitcher return to the mound and repeat the drill.

In doing this drill, also remind your pitcher to set her feet towards the base where she's most likely to throw the ball.

Throwing to Bases

Since she is situated in the middle of the field, the pitcher should also practice throwing the ball to bases.

In this drill, the pitcher should be accompanied by players on every base and a hitter. The hitter fungos the ball to the pitcher who then practices throwing the ball at every base. This should be done at least 10 times for each base including the home plate.

There you have it, different drills to help train your pitchers. That should be enough to keep you and your pitchers busy for the next few weeks. Make sure you repeat these drills over and over until your pitchers perfect them.

For more softball pitching drills and other softball tips, check out my website at URL. See you there!

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 Pitching Tips - Avoiding Injuries While Pitching

Softball Pitching Tips - Avoiding Injuries While Pitching

By Marc Dagenais

Injuries are the bane of any athlete. If you're a softball pitcher, an injury to your arm could sideline you for a few days or weeks, although more serious injuries could end your career altogether.

Although injuries come unexpectedly (who wants to be injured anyway?), there are things that you can do to prevent them. Once you see that most sports-related injuries result from poor technique and mechanics, you'll see what I mean.

Here are some things you can do to avoid injuries when you're pitching:

1. Doing warm-ups - many players skip warm-ups altogether thinking that warm-ups don't really contribute anything to their game. What they don't know is that: 1) not doing warm-ups severely affects their performance 2) doing warm-ups prevents a lot of sports-related injuries.

Avoiding warm-ups exposes you to different types of injuries, ranging from pulled muscles to sprain. So to keep you from getting sidelined, doing warm-ups is your first line of defense.

2. Practicing correct pitching mechanics - you can also be injured because of poor pitching mechanics. The more often you pitch with the incorrect form, the more you run the risk of injuring yourself. If you pitch correctly, you'll be able to throw the ball with less effort than you would with the wrong form.

3. Get enough rest - it's perfectly fine if you aim to continually improve your pitching so you can pitch faster and more accurately. However, you should also give your body enough time to recover in between practices and don't try to practice too much. Getting enough rest prevents incidents of overuse injuries especially on the shoulders and the rotator cuff.

4. Remember to follow through - some players have the tendency to snap their release, meaning, they stop their arm's movement immediately after the ball leaves their hand. But this can lead to injuries on the arms and shoulders. So if you notice yourself doing this, change this technique as soon as you can and let your arm naturally swing once you release the ball.

5. Take things slowly - perfecting your pitching technique will take years to fully develop. So don't force yourself to get the perfect pitch right away. Give yourself the time to learn the fundamentals first, nail them down until they become a part of your system, and develop on perfecting your pitch. Hurrying things up will only lead to frustration, burn out, and improper techniques that will ultimately lead to injuries.

6. Get a coach who knows his stuff - nobody expects you to perfect your pitching on your own.

To be a better pitcher, you also need the advice of a good coach. And by good, I mean somebody who really knows his stuff. He must be able to show you the proper pitching mechanics while understanding that every pitcher has his or her own pitching techniques and adjust his advice to you accordingly.

Want to enjoy playing softball longer? Then I strongly recommend that you follow the softball pitching tips I have listed above for you to keep yourself from being sidelined because of injuries.

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!

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Softball Throwing Drills

Softball Throwing Drills

By Becky Wittenburg

The Throwing Skills to Pay the Bills

Of the key elements of a well-rounded softball player, a good throwing arm is definitely near the top of the list. While some are lucky enough to be born with throwing skills, even they won’t be hurt by softball throwing drills which aim to improve distance and accuracy.

When demonstrating these softball throwing drills, make sure to run through each drill at half speed first before increasing the pace. Also give every player who desires a chance to practice the motions slowly first. Not only will this reduce the chances of unnecessary injury, it will also allow the player to feel the correct way of doing things which will translate when the motions are sped up.

From the Four Corners of the Field

If you’re looking for a drill that highlights throwing conditioning, quick sprints and improving your players’ accuracy on throws from first to third then consider the Four Corners drill. To set up the drill, have your all your infield players line up behind second base except for one player at first base. In addition, this drill requires one hitter at home plate with a bucket of balls.

To begin, the batter hits a ball towards second base. The first fielder in the line fields the ball, throws it to first base and sprints to third in time to receive a throw from a player at first. In order to continue, the fielder must be in a proper receiving position at third base with their left foot touching the home plate side of the base.

Upon catching the ball from first, the fielder sprints towards home plate, hands the ball off to the batter, and runs to first just in time to receive a throw from the fielder at second. Once she has completed her throw to third she is to run to the back of the line at second base and await her next chance at playing fielder.

This is a very fast-paced drill with lots of running so make sure to give your players an adequate break for water and resting following its completion. To minimize down time and standing around, use no more than five players on the field, not including the hitter.

Rotating Infield Drill

The next softball throwing drill employs a rotating infield to get players throwing from all over the infield. To begin with, have no more than five infielders line up behind third base with an additional player at first base. One at a time they are to field a ball that is either thrown to them or hit by a batter. Upon successful receipt of the ball, they are to throw to first base, then run over to the shortstop position.

The drill is repeated for shortstop, second base, and a spot halfway between first and second where the hit is a slow roller towards first. For the slow roller, players are to charge out and field the ball in front of first base, then throw the ball lightly to the player at first. Remind the first base player to ignore any throws that cannot be caught easily so that she can always be ready for the upcoming throw. This is a great drill for tryouts as it showcases throwing skills from a variety of positions.

Becky has been coaching softball for well over a decade. She's constantly on the lookout for new softball throwing 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!

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Coaching Girls Softball - Coach Pitching

Coaching Girls Softball - Coach Pitching

By Lisa A Mason

This season I had the benefit of coaching my oldest daughter's Coach Pitch softball team. Coach Pitch is the league for girls aged 6-8 and as the name suggests, there is a coach pitcher with girls filling all other positions. This is the next step up from T-ball in our Parks and Recreation league.

The leagues are ran completely by volunteers, most often the parents of the children who play and it's a much more difficult task than some might think before they have tried it for themselves. However, it can also be a very rewarding experience if you take the time and energy to learn from it.

The first thing to know about coaching this age group is that many of the girls will be playing for the first time. Even those who have played in the past are likely going to forget many of the rules and regulations. Even when you tell them, they have short attention spans and short memories. You may have to tell them again and again.

Patiently and politely recite the rules that you expect them to remember over and over with each practice and game. There is also a lot of hands-on coaching happening during the games. Girls are going to look to you in the middle of a play to tell them what to do. You need to be loud enough to be heard over the crowd and be sure to use their names loudly and clearly so they know what you're asking them to do.

At this age, there will often be a lot of tears. Bumps, scrapes, disappointments, hurt feelings and sometimes teasing will all come into play. Try to treat each girl equally and always be sensitive to their emotions. There's a time to tell them to be tough and keep playing and there are times when a girl may just need to sit out for a break. You can't push them too hard at this age or they will give up and become discouraged.

Remember that it's all about fun. Some parents and coaches push so hard for wins and being "top" of the league that they forget that it's about fun for the girls. At 6-8 years old, few girls will be thinking about going pro. They just want to have a good time and as parents and coaches, it's our job to ensure they have a safe environment in which to do so.

Lisa Mason is a freelance writer with a specialty in Internet content and SEO articles. She has written thousands of articles, hundreds of ebooks and thousands of website pages and related content. She has also authored her own books and works as a consultant to other writers, Internet marketers and Internet businesses.

Lisa Mason, Professional wordsmith for hire: gamer, wife, mother, entrepreneur, published poet, co-owner of game guides company (http://www.liti4.com), public speaker and Internet business consultant. You can learn more or follow Lisa's blog from her website: http://www.freelancewriter4hire.com

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