As we all know 90% of softball is a mental game rather than a physical one.  We try to achieve an outing for the team once a month but at the minimum we plan an outing at least every other month.

The outing includes the entire team and softball coaches going and doing something for fun for the day. We take turns picking what we do for fun but some of the things we have done include, bowling, going to the movies, going to a theme park, paint balling, a trip to the lake and sometimes it is just to get together to swim for the afternoon and grill hamburgers and hot dogs.

Getting the team together in an atmosphere outside the ball field has really made a difference in the team’s mental attitude not only towards the game of softball but also towards each other.

They come to softball practice with a mentality of eagerness and wanting to be there to learn and are very receptive to new ideas. In addition, it has really made them come together and gel as a unit.

They are very supportive of one another and there is never a sign of negativity between players. It is very refreshing.

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The batter holds the ball with two hands and makes a good swing throwing the medicine ball to his partner. The kids added a penalty for dropping the heavy ball or for a bad toss, ten push-ups.  The key is to make sure they are swinging their arms and ball in a good swing plane and using their hips and legs to put the extra push into the swing.

The kids really enjoy it.  Another variation is to see how far they can throw the medicine ball.  Again, the focus is on the power from the legs.  All of these abilities will improve their softball skills.

I coach a 12u girls fastpitch. To warm the girls up before a softball game I use a Mound Monster pitching machine. It shoots baseball size whiffle balls and foam balls at about 40 mph. This gets the girls accustomed to the speed of the pitch and it’s great hitting practice.

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I noted something specific and well-executed that each girl on my team did at our first game. At the next softball practice while we were in stretching circle, (which by the way each girl leads us in a stretch as a way to start practice) I mentioned each girl by name, and she came forward and I specifically named what it was that they did, from striking out a batter, to getting hit by a ball, and getting right back out there. I proceeded to give that player a roll of lifesavers.

It was such a hit that I now do this at every practice after our games (a different treat each week). We always work on the softball skills that needs work, but how great to acknowledge what went right; it was a great morale booster.

We won that game, but won’t always; yet there will always be something positive to point out to the players.

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Keep a full bucket of balls on the pitchers mound, and throw every softball in the dirt in front of the catcher. Vary the pitches – some to the glove side, some right at the catcher, and some to the backhand side. After throwing all the balls in the bucket into the dirt (to practice keeping the ball in front of you) there are usually many balls behind the catcher, against the fence or whatever backstop exists. When the last ball is about to be thrown the pitcher must warn the catcher.

Once this ball gets by the catcher, they have to get every single ball as fast as they can. When the last ball gets by the catcher, the pitcher (usually the softball coach) must grab the empty bucket and run to home plate. The catcher must make accurate throws to home so the pitcher can refill the bucket. Any wild throws (throws past the pitcher covering home with the bucket) must be retrieved by the catcher.

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It makes sure that your ballplayers are keeping their weight on their back foot and not lunging at the ball.  It also shows the player and the softball coach where the players’ hands are when starting their swing.

It takes some getting used to by the players, but once they get used to it, that’s the only way they want to do soft toss.

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3 Tiered Hitting Tee
Take a normal batting tee and add 2 1 inch plastic cylinders to it.  Take a piece of string, tie on end to the base of the tee, make it long enough and tie the end to a hard plastic cylinder about 1 inch high and the diameter of a quarter. Put a softball on the tee then put this cylinder on top of the ball, place another softball on this cylinder and another cylinder on top of bell number 2.  Place a third ball on top of this cylinder and your ready to go! You should have three balls separated by 2 cylinders that are attached to the base of the tee by a string.

The player hits the top ball, then the middle and finally the one sitting one the tee.  You get 3 cuts from the tee simulating a high, middle and low pitch.

First Base Fielding
We are trying to come up with creative ways of throwing to first base.  We are trying different versions of the dunking booth, funny stuffed animals in a chair on first base, etc.  It is coming up with funny targets to throw at on first base.  The rewards for the girls are they have to come up with things the softball coaches have to do for each time any player hits the target, for example, making the coach run the bases.

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The first softball drill is one I call Target Toss.  Set the gym up with 3 targets (left – center – right).  Tape lines on the floor to represent the proper foot placement for a throw at each target. Finally, set the pitching machine up so that it is sending grounders to the fielder.  One athlete comes to the center of the gym and must field grounders and then throw at each of the targets. This athlete must stay in the  drill until she has hit each target one time.  As soon as all three targets have been hit, the next athlete steps in.

As students progress throughout the season, we vary the drill by:
1 – placing the targets farther away,
2 – calling a target as the grounder is on the way so that the fielder must be listening and thinking as the play is made,
3 – changing the height of the target so that a fielder is throwing in either a force out or a tag out situation.

This next one is a  drill the younger girls absolutely love when we have to do indoor practices.

They get in a single file line about ten feet in front of me in their down and ready infield position barehanded. I sit on a bucket of tennis balls. I bounce a tennis ball at them and they have to catch it in their hands, come up to a proper throwing position and send it back.

If they catch it in front of their bodies with their hands, they go to the back of the line. If they miss, drop or catch the softball in their body, they are out and step to the side to cheer on their team mates. Last one left standing is the winner. I can already see an improvement in their hand speed and hand-eye coordination.

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Communicate your expectations to the kids and parents on Day 1.  For example…I lay down the law regarding talking while the softball coach is talking the first time I addressed my team. If you are direct and draw the line way back the times they cross it are much less frequent.  Let’s face it, they are 12U girls, they will cross it.

I also ask that parents to bring any and all issues to me immediately.  No one is to sit in the stands and criticize.  If there is an issue let’s hear about it.  Stay organized. Schedule events as far in advance as possible.

Communicate with the parents by asking them for their feedback on practice and ways to handle their child.  Talk about strengths and weaknesses and what we are going to do to correct.

Ask the parents to leave the coaching to the coaches. It’s a long ride home getting unwanted instruction or criticism in the car.  Ask them to communicate specific ideas to the coaches for work in  the softball practice.

At the same time a parent may have expertise in an area such as pitching.  In this case the coach may have to leave the pitching instruction to the parent.  Many players have pitching coaches or hitting coaches.  If that is the case, discuss this with the parents and leave it alone.  The parents have invested, in some cases, a lot of money and you shouldn’t mess with it whether you agree or disagree with the instruction.  Expect results, which will determine playing time.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.  Remember why we are here.  Many of the youth players that we coach will never become professional players.  Teach the technique and grow the skills for the next level.  Team success will come but it doesn’t have to come at all costs.

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The team lines up in a single file line at home plate (no mitts).  The first girl in line has a softball.  The group begins a jog around the infield dirt.  The first girl flips the ball over her head while calling ‘ball’.  The second girl catches the ball then flips it over her head while calling ‘ball’.  The pattern continues through the line.  When the last girl in line catches the ball, she sprints to the front of the line and begins the pattern again.

To impress upon the softball team the idea of teamwork, I state the number of laps that need to be completed without the ball being dropped.  If the ball falls to the ground, there is a bonus # of laps awarded.

I’ve been impressed on how this little softball drill brings some added spirit to a part of practice that the girls normally don’t look forward to (running).

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We started a softball drill before each game in which 2 coaches would each have a line of girls about 60 feet away from them.

We would throw the softball as hard as we could to a fellow softball coach (okay modified to make sure we didn’t kill a girl) and the girl had to catch it and throw with dead on accuracy chest high.  Once the girl caught it, she went to the back of the line.

Next time throw a pop fly; same thing – they had to throw it dead on.  If they didn’t get the throw in – they had to take another one.  The coach’s tone was serious. The speed of the drill and the demand for accuracy really brought the girls’ focus in and by the next tournament every girl was trying their hardest to make the throw dead on.  They didn’t want to be the one that missed.

You should have seen the improvement in the game. By the third week, you could see every one of the girls’ confidence level increased because they knew they could throw hard and accurate under pressure.  Girls that would be accurate every few throws were now throwing 95% of the time accurate.

The careful part as a softball coach for this drill is to be demanding but never make the girl feel bad.  I called it “demanding positive coaching” in other words expecting the player to reach up to their potential.  An important note, every girl must have warmed up before hand so their bodies are ready to throw.

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