There is no time for day dreaming with this one or watching the other players.  To really get the pace going have your softball coaches pick up the pace of the hitting.  Emphasize all aspects here: the throw, good and sharp, the fielding with the emphases on the quick release, two hands.  We will time our players and get them to release the softball within 2 seconds.  The best part is about 5 minutes to each position and it keeps all players working and thinking:

Infield softball drill: (2 hitters) all fielders at bases and SS

Hitting coaches should take a position with one to the right of home plate and one to the left of home plate:

1st round: 1st coach hits to 3rd who throws to 2nd with 2nd baseman covering
2nd coach hits to SS who throws to 1st

2nd round: 1st coach hits to 3rd who throws to 1st
2nd coach hits to 2nd who throws to SS covering 2nd

3rd round: 1st coach hits to SS who throws to 2nd with 2nd baseman covering
2nd coach hits to 1st who throws to 3rd

4th round: 1st coach hits to 2nd base who throws to 1st
2nd coach hits to SS who throws 3rd

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So many young hitters who are seeing live pitching for the first time don’t understand the concept up seeing the softball. They initially think the you “pick the ball up” after it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.  Obviously if the pitcher is showing you the ball way back behind her ear that’s when you want to focus on seeing the ball.

I get on the mound and walk through where my hitters need to be focusing on picking the ball up.  I use terms like “see the ball early”, “read the writing on the ball”, “focus on the ball” and it helps remind them of the instruction I’ve given them concerning seeing the softball as early as the pitcher will show it.

We noticed our kids have great eye-hand coordination.  We think it is contributed to having our players bat the opposite way for a session of softball practice. This makes the player really see the ball because its not a natural swing. This should be done with slow pitching at first gradually increasing speed.  This also helps with softball players who have a tendency to step out with their front foot.

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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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I lined up everybody about 20’ apart, and made them throw on my command.  The goal was to throw the softball to their partner and back 10 times without any bad throws or catches.

After making it to their partner and back, the girls have to yell what number they are on.  If anybody dropped the ball, everybody had to do 10 push-ups, again on my command.  Then we started over again at 0 and had one side of the line move down 1 person to switch partners.

We do this for about 15 minutes, alternating the punishment between push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, etc.

The warm-ups improved and the conditioning results were immediate.

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This allows the players to make the calls that we would make in the course of a game. It helps the players see the game from a different view. It really opens their eyes to the little things that we pick up in the course of the game. They then are able to use things during actual games.

There is one softball drill that I don’t do offend enough, but the girls love it. Base stealing and learning how to slide. Every drill focuses on catching, throwing, etc. Sometimes these get boring and the girls want more.

Here is a trick I use to get my softball players to slide properly:

Get into a three (3) point stance like you would in football. Kick your right/left leg out in front landing on your rear-end.
Hands in the air like you’re signaling for a touch-down. I explain and show the kids so they get the proper form.
This teaches the proper approach and slide form.

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Pair two girls up, one on each end of the gym.  Most gyms have a mat on the wall on each end of the gym.  One team starts with the ball (an inside ball and the team to start is decided by the softball coach).  That team takes the ball, and has the full court on their end from the baseline to the volleyball line on the court (usually near the top of the key).

They throw the ball to the other two girls at the other end in anyway they can, hard, soft, bounce, however they wish.  The object is to try to get it past them and have the ball hit the mat.  If the ball hits the mat (gets past the two girls, they are out, and the next two are up).  If the ball bounces off the wall, and goes past the line by the top of key, the other team gets it.  The team is out if the ball hits the mat in any way, shape, or form.

I usually divide the teams up half and half.  Reward for the group of teams that outlast the others can be anything a coach wants to come up with for incentive.  This softball drill helps them work on throwing accuracy and fielding both at the same time.

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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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This softball drill is basically a water balloon toss. The kids don’t realize they are working on  catching with two hands, moving to the “ball”, anticipating “ball” trajectory, and appropriate speed, hardness, and accuracy in throwing.

Line the kids up in two lines facing each other, each with a partner across from them. Start 3 feet apart. Each pair has a water balloon, and on the whistle, the balloons get passed from one line to the other. Then one line takes a step back, and the whistle blows for the balloon to get tossed back. Players whose balloons break are eliminated. Repeat until you get a winner.
NOTE: Before each whistle blow, rotate the balloons down a pair, with the balloon from the last pair of kids moving up to the first pair. This eliminates any unfairness due to fill amount or shape.

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Kids hate to run, so we make a race out of it.  I get two kids, close in speed and agility.  I start the first one at home and have her run the bases as fast as she can.  Then I start the second player about 15 ft. behind the first one tell her to try and catch the other runner.  It works and the kids love it.  They run faster and come across home plate laughing.  Simple but effective.

Here is another fun softball drill we use at the end of practices. The players form 2 lines. A softball is placed at the foot of each line. Two more softballs are placed approximately 40′ away from them. (This is all on grass). The players are then given instructions on the drill:
Pickup the ball with left hand, run karioke to the second ball, popup slide, drop first ball, pickup second ball with right hand, full sprint back, full slide, hand ball to teammate.

You can mix up the variations to make it interesting and to see who is paying attention and how they are sliding. As each player completes her turn, she kneels until everyone has had their turn. My kids look forward to this at the end of practice. It gets their competitive juices flowing and they all root their teammates on.

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Start off with one player on first base and the rest of the players will line up on the grass behind 2nd base position. The 1st player in line comes forward to the 2nd base position.

I start this softball drill with 2 balls, my catcher has one and I have the other. The first softball is hit to the player at 2nd base. She fields the ball and makes the play at 1st. As soon as the play is made, the player at 1st makes the throw home, then runs to the back of the line. The player at 2nd runs to cover 1st base while the next player in line moves forward to field the next ball being hit. As soon as a ball is hit the catcher flips the other ball me.

This is a fast pace drill and cardio can be increased by moving to short stop position. The time span between balls being hit is about 5 seconds. HAVE FUN!!

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