Try these [tag]softball coaching tips[/tag] to improve player concentration, accuracy and most of all player self confidence. During the [tag]softball[/tag] games the girls just didn’t have the concentration and simple routine throws were wild.
We started a [tag]softball drill[/tag] 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 [tag]softball coach[/tag] (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.