Watch as Coach Josh Bloomer explains, and a hitter demonstrates this ramp hitting drill. The goal is to have your hitters moving forward and to get out on the front leg while staying balanced. When […]
What’s Important Now with Alan Stein, Jr.
Watch as Alan Stein, Jr. discusses mental awareness and stresses the importance in today’s environment with all the distractions to stay focused. He uses the acronym W.I.N. which stands for “What’s Important Now” and recommends […]
Athlete Skill Evaluation Tool
By: Wade Gilbert Originally Published in: Coaching Better Every Season Provided by: Human Kinetics A coach’s skill evaluation tool should include all the technical, tactical, physical and psychological aspects of performance they consider to be […]
Infielder Routines with Colleen Powers – St. Catherine Univ.
Watch as Coach Colleen Powers explains, and infielders demonstrate these warm-up routines. The drill starts slow with no gloves, and then builds speed. The ball is received out in front and brought into the belly […]
Developing a Game Plan for Your Battery with Melyssa Lombardi – Univ. of Oregon
Watch as Coach Melyssa Lombardi discusses making a plan in regard to your opponent with your battery. It is not always certain who is calling pitches, but it is important to get it right. Meeting […]
8 Things Young Coaches Need for Success
By: Cindy Bristow Provided by: Softball Excellence We all get smarter as we get older, but wouldn’t it be great to start your career again knowing what you know now? For those of you that […]
Increasing Your Pitcher’s Speed with Beth Torina – Louisiana State Univ.
Watch as Coach Beth Torina discusses increasing your pitcher’s speed through long toss. Pitchers should long toss 2 to 3 times per week, working on throwing the ball as high and far as they can […]
Fear Is Powerful, but It Is Better to Build and Not Break with Kate Leavell
Kate Leavell explains that fear is a powerful tool that works as a short-term motivational tool but requires more and more overtime to be effective. Eventually fear does not work, as the recipient tunes it […]
Helping Your Younger Athletes to Buy In with Ricci Woodard – Texas State Univ.
Watch as Coach Ricci Woodard explains that the upperclassmen can help the younger players buy in to the program. They have been in the younger players’ shoes and sharing their successes and failures can have […]
Tunneling Spin Progression Pitching Warm-Up with Paige Cassady – North Carolina State Univ.
Watch as Coach Paige Cassady explains that she wants all the pitches to look like strikes within 15 feet of a hitter before falling off in different directions. The pitcher’s Tunneling Warm-Up involves throwing every […]
Today’s Leadership Is Subtle with Chet Scott – Built to Lead
Watch as Chet Scott explains that leadership for coaches today is very subtle. You can no longer get in a kid’s face and use threats to achieve results. The focus and goal should be to […]
Selling Vision
By: Alan Stein, Jr. Originally Published in: Raise Your Game I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a “million-dollar idea.” The phrase implies that all you have to do is come up with an […]
6-Spot Challenge Pitching Drill with Marissa Young – Duke Univ.
Watch as Coach Marissa Young explains, and a pitcher demonstrates this 6-spot challenge accuracy drill. The drill focuses on the quality of command per pitch, and highlights what pitch they are most accurate with, and […]
Popcorn Flyball Drill with Michele Biffle – Langham Creek High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Michele Biffle explains, and players demonstrate the Popcorn Drill for infielders. This is a partner drill that works on fielding and catching, focusing on covering every angle that can occur in a […]
4 Keys for Successful Postgame Talks
By: Cindy Bristow Provided by: Softball Excellence Addressing your team after a loss is never easy. So make sure you don’t fall into the postgame talk traps that can start to make losing a habit. […]
Practice Is the Foundation for Success with Christa Williams-Yates – Friendswood High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Christa Williams-Yates explains that the foundation for success is practice. There are no quick fixes, as the players need to put the time in and work on their game. If they don’t […]
Life Lessons with Mike Candrea – (Retired) Univ. of Arizona
Watch as Coach Mike Candrea, the winningest softball coach of all time, discusses some of the life lessons he has learned during his illustrious career. Coaches should understand that when someone calls you coach, it […]
The Pitcher’s Role with Rachel Lawson – Univ. of Kentucky
Watch as Coach Rachel Lawson discusses a pitcher’s role and responsibilities. The pitcher must take ownership of pitch calling as they have probably grown up with coaches calling their pitches and this hampers the development […]
Hitting: Tee Work and Movement Resistance with Shana Easley – Colorado State Univ.
Watch as Coach Shana Easley discusses tee work and the use of resistance bands to work on the batter’s hands and stride. A partner will hold the bungee band back, so the hitter feels what […]
Are You a Prospect or a Suspect?
By: Adam Sarancik Author of: Coaching Champions for Life Questions College Coaches Should Ask and High School Players Should Be Able to Answer Better People=Better Athletes=Better Players and Teammates I am frequently surprised how rarely […]
Competitive Pitcher Games During Practice with Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro – Univ. of Memphis
Watch as Coach Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro discusses “perfects” and “pitch partner off the bikes” competitive pitching drills. She explains that there are 4 mounds, and she describes what tasks and pitches would be the focus […]
Season Teaching Checklist with Lisa Navas – Univ. of South Florida
Watch as Coach Lisa Navas discusses a general checklist that you should cover for the season. She focuses on team offense, hitting and team defense, infielders, outfielders, as well as pitchers and catchers. The goal […]
Developing a Group Into a Team
By: Dr. Colleen M. Hacker Originally Published in: Achieving Excellence Provided by: Human Kinetics One of the main points from this chapter is that groups and teams are formed through intentional actions; they don’t just […]
Infielder’s Bare-Handed Baseball Drill with Caitlin Bollier
Watch as Coach Caitlin Bollier explains and shows a video clip of this infielder’s bare-handed baseball drill. The infielder stands on the board which elevates the player, and they are forced to bend their knees […]
Catching: Target vs. No Target with Kelly Inouye-Perez – UCLA
Watch as Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez answers a question on whether the catcher should or should not give the pitcher a target. Some pitchers need the target while others never even look, but coach wants the […]
Body Awareness and Front-Side Pitching Drills with Myndie Berka – BreakThrew Fastpitch
Watch as Coach Myndie Berka explains, and pitchers demonstrate these body awareness and front-side pitching drills. With these drills, the pitcher can work on their fastball, change up, or a movement pitch. Coach will detail […]
Regular Bunt Coverage with Tim Walton – Univ. of Florida
Watch as Coach Tim Walton explains and shows practice video of this regular, traditional bunt coverage. First and third basemen crash for the bunt and the shortstop is free while the second baseman covers first […]
My Take on Leadership
By: John Klessinger Originally Published in: A Coach’s Manual Provided by: Championship Productions “If you expect people to follow you, you have to be willing to be the first to get dirty.” – John Klessinger […]
Throwing Drills with Karen Weekly – Univ. of Tennessee
Watch as Coach Karen Weekly explains and shows video of these practice throwing drills. The Knee Drill works on keeping the hand on top of the ball in a continuous fluid motion. Make sure the […]
What Are We Doing to Create a Championship Culture? with Robert Grasso – La Jolla Country Day School (CA)
Robert Grasso asks the question, “What can we do to create a championship culture?” Every team has a culture – are you working to develop the kind of culture you want? Robert states that if […]