Here is one tip for [tag]softball practice[/tag] that works well with my [tag]softball team[/tag] and keeps them having fun and interested. Sometimes at the end of a training session I have them play a game of yard ball between themselves. I split in half and everyone gets to see some action.
If you don’t know, yard ball is a game of baseball(just as fun for softball) but we use a whiffle ball instead. This way the ball doesn’t go too far and the action is fast. The diamond size is reduced, I don’t know the exact distances, but I just move them to what seems about the right size, I would guess around 45 — 50ft bases; it would depend on the kids’ abilities. The kids pitch as normal and I use the same rules as [tag]softball[/tag] for their age division so that they know what they have to do. Depending on the number of kids that turn up, sometimes I go catcher for both teams, and sometimes when there are not enough kids, I have them verse their parents; they LOVE that one.
To ensure that they all get in one the action, I have them rotate their positions. I don’t usually have a short stop; that way they have to help each other out and back each other up.
This is fairly quick and generally only takes about 15 minutes, but it depends on how many innings you have. I restrict it to 2 — 3 as the kids want to keep going and we would never leave.