Thanks to Jon, one of my subscribers, for sending this one in. If you’re looking for [tag]conditioning drills for softball[/tag], give this one a try!
Here’s something cool we do for conditioning/ base running for our [tag]softball[/tag] team.
Have all of the players line up along the first base line with a [tag]softball coach[/tag] or pitcher on the mound. Players treat the baseline as if it’s the first base bag. If the pitcher is off the rubber they are on the line. When she steps on and goes into the set, they take a lead. Now the pitcher can either step off, make a move to first or throw home (all of these are just simulated – he doesn’t really throw). The runners break and go full-speed for 90 feet or even to the edge of left field.
This is a great way to work on getting a good jump while applying a practicality to otherwise boring conditioning.
Another great [tag]softball drill[/tag] is to have them jog out to second base and line-up in the outfield parallel to the third/ or first base foul line. The players then do a mock swing and sprint full-speed as if they are beating out a ground ball. The keys here are that the players should take a realistic swing – bat optional depending on the number of kids and available space – and they MUST hit the foul line as if it’s first base. This reinforces the footwork of hitting a base in-stride at full-speed as well as gets them running through the bag.