The softball coach stands in the batters box with a tee and a ball ready to be hit.  The batter holds a boat paddle (or row paddle) with her left hand on the end and the right hand far up the handle.  Both hands should be on top of the paddle, just like you are rowing in a boat.  Hold the paddle at your waist with the wide part of the paddle facing towards the catcher’s position and parallel to the ground.  To swing– rotate the hips, bringing the paddle around and make contact with the ball.

Variation #1:  hold a bat using the same grip as above, closely resembling a bunt grip but with the right hand over the bat instead of under.  Rotate the hips and body to hit the ball off of the tee.

Variation #2a:  hold a bat using a regular hitters grip.  Place bat against the hip bone facing towards the catcher.  Rotate the body around, leaving the bat at the hip position.

Variation #2b:  same as 2a, but place a soccer ball or basketball on the tee to really emphasize rotating the hips and using the legs on the swing.

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This is an old baseball drill that easily transferred to fastpitch softball:

“PERFECT” INNINGS

This softball drill has two teams (split squad) compete against each other: one on defense, one running the bases. The softball coach hits the ball wherever he wants.

A team must make nine consecutive outs. Any mistake pulls the team off the field and the other team goes on defense. Try to simulate all routine situations that come up in a softball game.

I like that it gives you the “competition” practice as well as the mental reinforcement of practicing “perfect” innings.

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Have your team line up in two lines, facing one another approximately 10-15 feet apart with 8 – 10 feet between one another and staggered.

Have the first girl underhand toss the softball to the girl across from her while saying that girl’s name.  The girl catching the ball catches on the back side of her glove, the back of the fingers and uses her throwing hand to hold it to the back of the glove.  If a girl drops a ball they do not pick it up.  The last player drops the ball in the bucket.  Count the number of dropped balls.

Have the girls switch places so they are throw to someone new.  Give incentives for a perfect round, no dropped balls.

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This first one is a softball throwing drill. Tape paper plates to the backstop about 6 feet off the ground.  Have the girls throw from 15 ft, then from 30 ft, then back to 15 ft.  My goal is to get them to throw more accurately and to stop throwing a rainbow.  They ask me every practice to do it.  I find this especially helpful with younger players.

A good softball batting drill is to have the batter stand facing or parallel to the backstop and then to get 1 bat length away from the fence.  Then the batter swings without hitting the fence.  Next turn the batter so that she is perpendicular to the fence. Put her back foot 2-3 inches from the fence.  The batter has to swing without hitting the fence.

The idea of both was to get the hips turned & to take the end of the bat to the softball.  We had been striking out a lot and we were swinging late. This softball drill or instruction helped out a lot since it got the bat to the hitting area a lot quicker.

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Although this is from my fastpitch softball pitching drills, it is a softball tip that can be geared toward pitchers (both young and experienced, fastpitch or slow pitch).  Pitchers have a tendency not to step toward their catcher–to stray so to speak.

For this particular softball pitching drill, I have a 4 by 4 plank, pointing directly at the catcher, that the pitcher stands on. She goes through her regular motion but must stay balanced on the plank after the release (she must start and finish on the plank…balanced).

This softball drill helps pitchers realize the importance of staying balanced and in line upon release of the pitch. It helps secure the idea in their memory and their accuracy improves immediately.

The intent is for pitchers to transfer the importance of that direct step and balance when they pitch from the pitching rubber.

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From Kevin…
“Pop-Up Line”
I do a softball drill near the end of practice to get my kids to work on tracking down fly balls and also get their running in.  I make the team form a line, and each player has a softball.  I take a knee at the head of the line, and the first player in line hands me their ball.  I throw a high pop that she needs to run and catch.  The next player in line hands me a ball and I then throw this one and the player tracks it down and catches it.

I stress to them trying to catch the ball with their gloves in the air, and avoid the pretty looking basket catch.

The “catch” is that with my team if there is ever a moment where there is no player in line ready to hand me a ball, then the whole team does push-ups.  As the softball drill goes on I throw the ball further and further each time, so the player not only has to run a far distance to gather the ball, but then  has to turn around and sprint back to get in line quickly.

It works.  They love the competition, and do not even see it as a running exercise.

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From Warren…
A really cool softball drill that has been working well for our team is the “catcher’s toss”.

I put a softball on home plate or where home plate should be, and tell the girls to focus on the softball on the plate/ground.  Someone kneels down a few feet behind them clearing the bat’s path in the area of the catchers position, then toss tennis balls, softballs or wiffleballs across the strike zone over the softball that is on the plate or ground. When the batter sees ball cross the softball they have to react quickly, then hitting the ball into a hitting net.

This is a fun and challenging softball hitting drill for all age groups and it’s main purpose is increasing bat speed and explosiveness.

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From Julie…
Here is a softball coaching tip I’d like to share:

It’s not so much a “softball drill” as it is a helpful piece of equipment–a tennis ball machine.  If you’re able to purchase one (I got a used one from a local tennis club), you can customize it to work on several different areas.  For example, you can use the machine to “shoot” tennis balls at catchers to work on blocking drills.  It’s a nice way to help catchers work on moving to the ball and blocking several balls in repetition, without having them risk getting hurt by a hard softball, or a real ball shot out of a regular batting machine.  Plus, the catcher can set up the machine in a corner and work on her own (no partner required to feed; the machine shoots balls out automatically).

You can also use the machine to help outfielders track balls, and it’s a great tool for hitting.  One thing I like to use it for is bunting practice.  Since the balls are smaller and can easily bounce off the bat, it helps the team really focus on having “soft hands” and “receving the ball” with the bat (instead of pushing the bat out or trying to “hit” a bunt).  In other words, if you can bunt a tennis ball fair (and not pop it up), chances are you’ll really be prepared when it’s time for the real softball.

Another bonus for the tennis ball machine is for softball coaches/teams who find themselves practicing indoors a lot.  As a coach in the Northeast, I often find that our team is practicing indoors for the majority of our pre-season.  Tennis balls are a lot safer to use indoors, they won’t scuff or damage the floor or walls, and there is no need to set up a net or screen when using them.

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From Bruce…
We have a softball drill that we like to use frequently.  We call it “Crush & Rush“.  It’s a lot like a star drill only with ground balls mixed in.  This is how it goes:

Divide your team evenly at each base and home plate.  Start at any base (say home), the first girl throws a hard grounder to the girl at third and follows her throw (sprint hard) to back of the line, the girl at third gathers the softball properly as if a hit grounder and then pivots and throws as if making the out at second and follows her throw.

The girl at second receives the throw and throws a grounder to first (again follows her throw), first gathers, pivots and throws to home.  Continue this rotation as many times as possible without errors.  Note, the additional girls at each bag simply replaces the girl ahead of her making a throw giving the sprinter a little break.

After several revolutions try reversing the direction, this will generate a lot of errors initially but they will soon recover.  If you’re an evil softball coach, you can send the team on a quick jog to the outfield fence and back whenever an error occurs.  A couple of jogs to the fence brings some quick focus to the practice.

I find it to be a great drill for accuracy, good throwing and ground ball mechanics.  The pace is brisk and the girls really start talking it up and calling for the ball once a few rotations get going.  Plan on a good reward for a job well done.  They will have earned it!

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From Joe…
This is a softball drill I use to get all my players to try out the infield positions:

Have a player at each infield position. The rest of the players line up down the third base line (hopefully not too many). Put an empty bucket in foul territory by third base.

I hit a ground ball to the shortstop and she turns two. The first baseman then makes the throw across the diamond to the third baseman. The third baseman must straddle the bag and make the “V” tag. She tosses the softball into the bucket at third and hustles to short. The shortstop moves to second and the second baseman goes to first. The first baseman jogs behind the backstop and goes to the end of the line at third.

We make a game of it to see how many times we can be perfect. It gets everyone a taste of each position. We also can switch up how starts the double play (second to short, or first to second to first then the throw to third). Start slow and emphasize proper technique for each position.

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