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Softball Slap Hitting improve your game

2009-10-23T21:39:00Z

Softball Slap Hitting

Softball Slap Hitting seems to draw a lot of attention from fastpitch softball players and parents of softball players. I wrote an article on how to become a better slap hitter a little over a year ago and posted it on the web. This softball slap hitting article has had thousands of views and hundreds of questions from girls softball teams around the country. The majority of these questions have come from people like you; softball coaches or fastpitch parents looking for ways to improve the slap hitting aspect of the fastpitch game for their daughter or softball team. There have been questions ranging from softball equipment like what are the lightest most durable softball shoes to wear that will help with speed to what is considered the best softball bat for a slap hitter to use? While these questions have merit I believe these will be personal choices for your softball player once they truly understand the art of slap hitting which is where I want to focus.

The second area where we get a lot of response regarding slap hitting is from new members signing up on the softball clinic website. The two biggest areas of desired improvement from our members are fastpitch pitching and becoming a better slap hitter. Makes sense right? Both aspects of the game have a major impact on the out come of the game. A well trained and disciplined slap hitter can upset the defense of most fastpitch softball teams without getting the ball out of the infield, and a well trained fastpitch softball pitcher that has learned movement pitches and location can make it difficult for slap hitters to accomplish their goals. Not to mention both roles play a significant part in the outcome of any softball game.

Lets for the sake of this article work from the premise that our slap hitters understand and have begun to perfect the "two steps" to contact rule. Their cross over step has their left toe pointed toward the shortstop position or at least between the shortstop and pitchers circle, their shoulders are closed and hands are back and high ready to drop the head of the bat on the ball. For beginning slap hitters facing young developing pitchers we're well on the way if we're in the slap hitting positions as outlined above, all we have to do from here is get them to contact with the ball. But again working from the assumption that our slap hitters understand these basic mechanics what are the next things we need to be teaching them? Remember earlier in this article I mentioned that the two areas of improvement that we receive the most requests from our new members at the softball clinic are slap hitting and pitching. Once a slap hitter gains the basic slap hitting skills needed the next step is understanding pitch selection. Advanced fastpitch softball pitchers understand what the intent is of the slap hitter and will do whatever they can to pitch away from the slap hitters strength. A slap hitter mostly wants to pound the ball into the ground and race to first while the ball is taking a big hop on the infield, preferably toward third or short as these are the longer throws across the infield allowing the slapper a little more time to get down the baseline. As a slap hitter what pitch are you looking for to accomplish this goal and where would you like it in the strike zone? Yes, you' re looking for a drop ball away. How many times this past summer during the televised College Softball World Series did you see a slap hitter come to the plate and the pitcher try to bust her with a rise ball up and in? Clearly this fastpitch softball pitcher knows what pitch this slap hitter is looking for and will do whatever she can to keep this hitter off balance and have her fish for a pitch that is more likely to pop her up then allow her to have a successful slap hit.

Just like a free swinging fastpitch softball hitter a slap hitter needs to understand her strike zone. Slap hitters are usually the fastest players on the softball team so this is really important to understand because when speed gets on base either via a slap hit or a walk the softball defense really feels the pressure.

So what are we looking for as slap hitters?
Ideally you're looking for a drop ball pitched on the outside half of the plate in the lower half of the strike zone. The lower half of the strike zone is from the slap hitters belt to her knees. The outside half of the plate is the half of the plate closest to third base.
Smart fastpitch softball pitchers that have command of their movement pitches will try and work the slap hitter on their hands or the inside half of the plate with curve balls moving in or rise balls up and in, as well as rise balls up and away with the hopes of getting them to pop up. The exception to this rule is when facing a slap hitter that can put a full swing with power, then the pitcher may look for different holes in the zone to work.

Understanding the strike zone or the focus on understanding the strike zone is overlooked too often in hitting instruction, particularly when it comes to slap hitting. Slap hitters due to their speed and where the hit in the batting order are lethal when they are on base. You'll find most slap hitters in the top two holes in the line up to set the table for your three and four hitters or in the eight or nine hole in the batting order so that they can turn over the line up with speed.
Its critical for all fastpitch softball hitters to understand their personal strike zone to be more efficient hitters, but with all the interest placed on becoming a slap hitter we feel that just understanding the mechanics of slap hitting is only half the game. Teach and learn your strike zone as well as how to identify the rotation of a specific pitch coming into that zone and you'll build an incredible fastpitch softball slap hitter.

We'll talk more on recognizing pitches in the future as well as how to pitch to and defend against a good slap hitting softball team.

Copyright 2008-2009 The Softball Clinic. All rights reserved

Fastpitch Softball Coaching .. When to pay for lessons

2009-08-18T01:35:00Z

Fastpitch softball coaching tips

At some point this question will enter your mind if your daughter gives you the impression that she's truly interested in the game of fastpitch softball. The first advice that we would give is to take her softball skills as far as you can on your own. This will save you some money and create a quality bonding experience for the both of you. However, we highly recommend that you're very honest with yourself here, trying to teach her something about the game of fastpitch softball that you're unsure of will be a good indicator as to when to consider taking her to a paid instructor.
Conversely while you may have and understand all the necessary skills to advance your daughter to the next level, sometimes you will not see the improvement until she hears it from someone else, so keep an open mind as you focus on improving her fastpitch softball abilities.

If you've never played the game of softball or have little or limited knowledge of the skills required then you're best bet is to start out with paid instruction. Depending on your daughters age and current skill level this could be as easy as having her work one on one with her rec or travel coach all the way to finding a specialized hitting or pitching coach.

The next task is to understand what you should be looking for in a fastpitch softball instructor? This task assumes that you're looking for specialized training.

Hitting instructor:
Have they played fastpitch softball and at what level? Okay this question may light the fuse of those instructors who played B and C level Rec or tournament ball, but its a fair question. True, you don't have to be a great player to be a good coach, but it really helps if you're taking your daughter to someone who has had hitting success at the upper levels of tournament or college play. The reason is very simple, they have actually seen better pitching and will understand what is required in the fastpitch softball swing to make solid contact, and yes, there are subtle differences in baseball and softball swings. A baseball hitting instructor that has never seen a quality rise ball will be just as baffled by it as your daughter, not a good choice. Do your homework.

Pitching Instructor :
Here's a real simple rule of thumb; if they can't throw the pitch they're trying to teach don't waste your money or time. Ask around, these lessons can be expensive. Look for a pitching instructor that understands the mechanics of the pitching motion and can demonstrate what they're speaking of, this can be a violent action and if it's not taught correctly can cause injury to numerous parts of the body.

In both cases look for an instructor that truly understands the mechanics required to be a good fastpitch softball hitter, or pitcher and has the ability to communicate, and break down these mechanics to the level of the student they're teaching. Nothing worse than seeing a 12 year old kid with a "what the heck are you talking about look" on their face, while the instructor delivers a self fulfilling dialog about the values of the rotational swing. Remember, you're there to make your kid a better hitter or pitcher, while their philosophies may have merit the real question is, can they communicate them so that your child understands what they're saying? Have the instructor Draw it in crayon before they give you a blueprint. This approach works wonders for the younger player, as their understanding of the mechanics develop, so will their technical vocabulary, Keep It Simple! Be sure to find a coach that can break it down and make the instruction easy to understand.

While there is no one size fits all instructor the above tips will go a long way in finding the right one for your young fastpitch softball playing athlete.

Best of luck The Softball Clinic

Copyright 2008 -2009. The Softball Clinic. All rights reserved

Fastpitch Softball: "The Miles & Smiles of Summer"

2009-08-04T19:21:00Z

The Miles and Smiles of Summer

Every year right around the first of August the Summer Fastpitch Softball season comes to an end, and every year at this time we reflect on what was and what could have been. While a few teams go on to glory and win a national softball crown most teams pack it in with dreams of that crown coming to them next year.

The beauty of a fastpitch softball season is how everything seems to always come full circle and how friendships are formed. Of course there are times during the summer season when seeing, eye to eye may seem like an impossibility for all involved. Players upset with players, parents upset with coaches, and coaches just trying to bridge the gaps.

But on that last day of national play as you stand there in the hot sun, soiled and tired from giving it your all, there is an emotion that comes over all of us as we recognize that this chapter of our softball lives has come to an end.

As parents we can't help but feel the sense of pride as we watch our daughters grow knowing that this sport is teaching them so much more than how to handle a hot grounder or hit a rise ball. We know that in life we will have our challenges, some we'll win and some we'll lose, and it’s how we face them that will determine our success. As this season comes to an end the visions that are etched into our memory banks will be some of our most cherished, we'll someday look back on them with a big smile knowing that we were our daughter’s biggest fan and we wouldn't have had it any other way.

As players you know that time will heal the skinned knees, the new school year will be your main focus in a couple of weeks and this summer will be another memory, except these memories will recount new friends, shared successes, shared pain, and a summer that brought both laughter and tears, often at the same time. You'll remember your individual as well as your team accomplishments, and as the years go by your batting average from this season will always get better, funny, it just works out that way.

As coaches we'll ask ourselves what we could have done differently not only to impact the game, but help each player understand that competition breeds competition and that life after softball is a competitive endeavor. In a few short years the kids we teach today will all be starting players in the real world, with real jobs and real responsibilities and while it’s not our primary job to teach them about life, giving them the confidence to make the tough play will go a long way when they get a tricky hop years from now, and while we'll look back on what might have been we'll start looking forward and begin planning on what could be.

Yes, softball does take us full circle each year and as we recount the miles that we traveled this summer, let's also remember the smiles that we encountered along the way. Nice job girls.. We're proud of all of you, and thanks for the memories.

16u A National

2009-08-03T20:12:00Z

We thought this article was worth sharing with you from the 16u A Nationals in Sioux Falls South Dakota. It was written by Dave Martin from the Sports Desk at the Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls... Congratulations to all teams that participated in this National Tournament particularly the Northwest Blaze out of Oregon and the Killer Bees out of Arizona... Sounds like the finals were everything you would want in a national championship... Stop by The Softball Clinic travel ball page as we'll be updating all the national tournaments.

Story by Dave Martin Sioux Falls Argus Leader Newspaper:

There could not have been much more drama to the finale of the ASA 16-under girls fastpitch national softball championship at Sherman Park on Sunday.

In the second title game, the Northwest Blaze was down 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh - and final - inning.

With lightning flashing in the western sky, time was running out, but the Blaze had their big bats coming up against the Arizona Killer Bees, who had built a 4-0 lead after three innings.

As storm clouds rolled in, leadoff hitter Alyssa Gillespie and Tara Glover rapped out back-to-back singles, setting the stage for third-place batter Kaitlin Inglesh, who won the first title game pitching relief and was working in relief once again.

On the second pitch, Inglesh launched a shot over the fence in right field for a three-run, walk-off homer and a 5-4 win, which set off a wild victory celebration by the Beavertown, Ore., squad.

"I just knew I needed to get a hit right then," she said. "She (Bees pitcher Olivia Bergman, who delivered a yeoman's work on the mound), was pitching me down the middle every time, so I figured after the first pitch, she would throw me another one - and she did."

At the moment Inglesh made contact, there was never a doubt it would leave the park.

The victory came in the 18th game of the tournament for the Blaze, who ended the season with a 57-3 record and a national championship in their sixth try.

The Killer Bees, from the Tucson area, ended 73-19 and nearly rallied to win the title in the first game.

The Bees tied that game at 4-4 with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh on RBI singles by Ashley Cruz and Darlene Valles.

But the never-say-die Blaze came up with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Krystin Jantzek with the bases loaded and no outs.

"Incredible. They were just unbelievable," Blaze coach Chris Kelly said of his squad's twin last-bat wins.

"After we finished seventh in the nationals last year, these kids said they wanted another shot - and this was the sixth time they've been to nationals, and they knew this was it. It was now or never."

After losing in the second championship bracket game earlier last week, the Blaze had no more room for error.

"We knew then it wouldn't be easy," Inglesh said, "but we also knew if anybody could do it, it would be us."

For Inglesh, it was her third strong pitching performance of the day.

"I wasn't tired. I used my curve a lot. I just wanted to keep them guessing and get them to pop up," she said. "I needed to show them I still had my best stuff."

The Blaze had 11 hits in the final game and 10 in the first, while the Killer Bees had 10 in each outing.

Catcher Elizabeth Brenner had a key two-run homer in the first game to give the Blaze a 4-1 lead before the Bees rallied late.

The Softball Clinic

Hey coach how fair are you?

2009-07-23T03:03:00Z

Coaching Fastpitch Softball it's not all mechanics

Every summer ball or fall ball fast pitch softball coach will run across this question sooner or later. How you answer it just may determine your softball coaching success, how fair are you? Are you a softball father coaching your daughters fastpitch softball team and because you want her to be a shortstop you play her there regardless of the fact that she's second or third best on the team? If so, it will be seen and you should expect fallout.

You see, fastpitch softball can be an expensive sport not only in money,but in time invested, and not just by the players. If you're coaching age levels below 18 parents are investing their time just getting their kids to and from your practices, and if you think this investment comes without expectations you've got another thing coming! Managing or mismanagement of these expectations has a lot to do with determining your softball coaching success.

Clearly every parent has a vested interest in their child, some are just looking to get their kid involved and others feel that without their kid on your team you would have zero success, and of course there is everything in between. Right or wrong, indifferent or not this you can expect to be true. If you're the coach as outlined above (which I hope you're not) you would be better served to field a team of just nine softball players, eight excluding your daughter. Then search for parents who want their child to play a specific position, lets say first base, and then another who wants their child to play 2nd and so on, this way you'll keep harmony at your nine positions and in the bleachers. You may not have a very good team but at least it will be a happy one, that is until they expect you to win.

If you're truly coaching girls fastpitch softball for the love of the game and are dedicated to developing the players skills to the best of your ability you'll be the one to start the process of expectation management. Have a list of what you expect written and ready to handout to every parent the first day of tryouts. This list could include a practice calendar explaining how long practices will be and what is expected of each player during a practice session and what will be expected of them to earn a starting position. It could also include a season schedule, when you expect your softball players to arrive on game day, what you expect in regards to participation in fund raisers etc. Once you hand this out, live up to it and set the standard.

Ask the softball parents what they are expecting if their daughter makes the team. If their expectations seem unrealistic for their daughters ability be up front about it. Let them know that you'll do your best, but make no promises. While this doesn't eliminate all problems it does lay the ground work that will allow you to do your job.. Communicate early and then often throughout the season, be available to talk and let them know when that time is, right after any game is not a good time, win or lose you'll want heads to clear before having a conversation about playing time or lack thereof.

A fair softball coach is up front and doesn't have a hidden agenda, a fair coach is a student of the game, and is always the first to admit his or her mistakes. Yes, coaches make errors too, if you think you're too good to keep learning you probably need to quit. One of the best compliments you can receive besides hearing "how well my daughter has improved under your teaching" is "my daughters coach was fair." This doesn't mean they always agreed with you, it just means you managed the expectations as you outlined them...... and oh, by the way, thank you for the time you invested it is appreciated..

For more on coaching tips be sure to stop by The Softball Clinic often or ask questions in our Softball Clinic Forum...

Copyright 2008-2009. The Softball Clinic. All rights reserved.

The 43 feet of Fastpitch Softball

2009-07-17T19:19:00Z

The 43 feet of Fastpitch Softball

It was recently reported that beginning in the 2010 - 11 fastpitch softball season that the high school pitching rubber will be moved back to the college softball distance of 43 feet. Florida and Oregon have already implemented this rule. The premise for this move is to allow more offense into the high school game of fastpitch softball.

Personally I agree with this move, but not for the reason of creating offense. I for one feel that this move will develop better college fastpitch softball pitchers. To follow my train of thought let's compare boys high school baseball. Once a baseball player enters high school they begin playing on a regulation size baseball diamond, at least in regards to the dimensions of the infield. The bases are 90 feet and the pitching rubber is 60 feet 6 inches not 57 feet 6 inches. This builds a stronger player and I believe this will do the same for the female softball pitcher.

I truly feel that the offense in the women's game of fastpitch softball is rapidly catching up to the pitching, and this in my opinion couldn't be more evident then by looking at the recent scores in the college softball world series. Where two to one, three to two and one zero use to be the norm we're now seeing scores of, six to five, eight to seven, with an occasional one nothing or three two score thrown into the mix. Do you think these scores have ballooned because the softball pitchers have gotten weaker? Of course not, one could make the argument that in fact women fastpitch softball pitchers are improving. Every team in this years college softball world series for example, had a pitcher that could touch 65 on the radar gun, this use to be enough to stop most hitters, but not today. Clearly college softball Hitters are getting better and so is the equipment.

Moving the fastpitch softball pitching rubber back 3 feet may be an advantage initially to the high school softball offense, but I believe in short order the better high school softball pitchers will adapt and by doing so create better movement on each pitch. This move could also help the average pitcher who may never pitch past high school by giving her 3 more additional feet to react to the ball hit right back at her. From my stand point this has become one of the greater issues in todays game of fastpitch softball, hitters are getting better and the lighter aluminums and composites used in making lighter stronger bats is creating a real scare, not only for parents and coaches of pitchers but for infielders in general. Almost every weekend you see a hitter with one of these hot bats drive a shot right back up the middle to the collective gasp of everyone watching the game.

So I for one am glad to see this come about and am hopeful that ASA, and other governing bodies of summer and fall ball travel teams will do the same for at least the 16U programs and maybe as early as the 14U group.

I look forward to seeing the Freshmen class of 2014 college softball pitchers, they just may be the best crop ever..

We 'd love to hear your thoughts, chime in on this topic at The Softball Clinic Forum.

The Softball Clinic

Copyright 2008-2009. The Softball Clinic. All rights reserved

Softball Skills Videos & College Recruitment

2009-07-15T20:21:00Z

Softball Skills Videos & College Recruitment

Putting together your softball skills video has become an important part of the college recruitment process. The question most softball players and parents of softball players have "is when is the appropriate time for an underclassmen" and "what should be in the video?"

For the first part of this question here's a good rule of thumb. If you played Varsity fastpitch softball for your high school team as a freshmen you'll want to start now. Send your first softball skills video prior to the start of your sophomore season, if you live in an area where you can play fall ball send it prior to your fall ball season and include your schedule so that the coach may be able to come out and take a peek if they are interested.
This same rule holds true for sophomore and junior players. Start sending your softball skills videos as soon as you have some varsity stats, if you're a senior player who picked up the game late and believe you have the skills to play at the next level have your video ready to go as soon as your season is complete and include a schedule of your summer travel team.
While that may seem to be late believe it or not there are schools still looking for players. Just last year our program was playing a tournament in Colorado and we had a college softball coach approach us about our shortstop hoping that she was a graduated senior because he had an opening and would have signed her on the spot. She was only a junior, approaching her senior year, but this is a good example of why its never too late.

She did sign a full ride agreement with a California school prior to the start of her senior season by following these and other tips provided by The Softball Clinic.

As for the second part of the question what should be in the softball skills video here are a couple of do's and don'ts.

Do include your most current Grade Point Average.

Don't put music into the video, the coach may hate the song you choose

Do include your latest stats as well as your overall stats.

Don't try to be fancier than your production skills allow, you're looking to get a scholarship not an academy award.

If you would like more information on building the correct softball skills video that will get you noticed contact us here at The Softball Clinic and we'll help guide you along.

Copyright 2008-2009. The Softball Clinic. All rights reserved

Who's Passion is it?

2009-07-14T21:46:00Z

Who's Passion is it.........

No matter where you live Fast pitch softball has become a year round sport, even in the coldest states in the dead of winter you'll find young athletes training at some indoor facility for the up coming season. You'll find young pitchers learning the basics, and seasoned pitchers refining their location and rotation. The same can be said for the young, as well as the experienced hitter, you'll find them working on the tee learning their swing or working on a small section of their swing to get it fine tuned.

It takes a lot of passion and desire for these young athletes to dedicate this amount of time, effort and energy to the sport of fastpitch softball, but is it really their passion? Who really wants it more the athlete or the parent? These questions are really targeted towards the younger players, the kids between 8 and 16, clearly the college kids who are doing this understand that its required, but does the same hold true for the middle school aged kids? Are they showing this dedication to the sport of fastpitch softball because its their passion or is it the passion and desire of the parent?

This past fall I noticed a very talented hitting instructor working with a young hitter, he was trying to get her to go through the basics, and while his patience was phnominal the young hitter seemed as though she would much rather be at home updating her My Space page. After the lesson I asked if it was just a bad night and he replied "no this is what I see from her each week, but they keep coming back."

Hopefully this is more the exception than the rule, but I think the question is a fair one and worth at least thinking about. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic, join us at the softball clinic forum (talk.thesoftballclinic.com) and chime in.

Of course as coaches who love softball we truly endorse any kid who has the desire to get better, however we equally endorse picking up a book or a basketball and enjoy just being a kid. Often this break is what motivates these young athletes to greater improvement. Like my grandma use to say "absence makes the heart grow fonder." If you see your young athlete burning out give'em a break and let them recharge their softball batteries, they'll be better for it.

2008-2009 Copyright. The Softball Clinic. All rights reserved

Fastpitch Softball it's a predictable game

2009-07-07T03:47:00Z

Fastpitch Softball a Predictable Game

Fastpitch softball is a fairly predictable game. For example in High School and College its a full 7inning contest, in summer and fall ball its the same seven innings or a set time like and hour and a half to insure that all the scheduled softball games get played..

Fastpitch softball coaches like to execute the sacrafice bunt with runners at first and second base with 1 out or less in close games, they'll run the first and third delay steal in similar situations and so on.. Fairly predictable.

Even the fastpitch softball players themselves become predictable especially the more skilled of a softball player they become. Let's take a great player like Olympic softball star like Natasha Watley for example, when she comes to the plate its safe to assume that she is going to press the softball defense with a contact at bat, meaning she is going to try and slap the ball in play and use that amazing God given speed to get on base, it doesn't mean she can't turn on one, but she likes to set up the power by creating holes in the softball defense, particularly the infield by using her speed. Its equally predictable that Crystal Bustos is going to dig in to the softball batters box and try to drive that fastpitch ball and anything attached to it like a third basemen 300 feet away. Does it mean because you may think you know what these players are going to do that they become easy outs? Of course not!

What it simply means is, as you advance in the game of fast pitch softball there really isn't a mystery as to what is about to happen next , it just gives you a better understanding of the softball situation, and what is potentially about to take place. This understanding is what we all strive for as both players and coaches. Its this understanding coupled with the ability to execute this knowledge that makes for a strong team. So the next time you see a team sitting in the opposing dugout understand that you're about to play 7 innings or an hour and a half, there will be bunts and base runners, slap hits and maybe a home run and if its your team doing the executing both offensively and defensively you'll win.

Practice hard physically, study the game mentally and you'll become the best fastpitch softball player you can be. Its predictable

The Softball Clinic

Copyright 2008-2009 - The Softball Clinic - All rights reserved

Earning your way to the Nationals costs much more than talent

2009-07-04T16:10:00Z

Happy 4th of July... Like all of you who enjoy this game of fastpitch softball this summer has been quite busy with practice and preparation for getting our teams to their respective National Tournaments. The good news is that all of our levels are playing very well and we hope your's are too.. Our program supports 10u, 12u, 14u and 16U teams and is designed to groom our younger players with sound fundamentals so that when they reach our 16's program they are ready to begin the showcase process.

As we all know at the 16's level this is where the kids begin to really get recognized and it's important to get them the proper exposure, but as we all know this exposure has a cost. For the kids that cost is investing in their game with the focus of improving in every aspect, developing a better swing to contact, having better balance when fielding ground balls, working on better angles to fly balls, getting the correct spin on the riseball, putting together a good skills video and so much more.. As parents and coaches you know the cost is much different, you not only invest your time getting them to practice and spending time with them to improve their softball game, but your investment is in real cash! Cash for new gloves and cleates, cash to be part of a program, you might be spending money on extra hitting or pitching lessons, not to mention the travel to and from the softball tournaments and if your program is a gold program some of this travel requires airfare and hotel! This is not cheap...

This year in particular we're seeing it take it's toll on some of our families, which is why it's important that we continue to find better ways as Fastpitch Softball programs to help off set some of these costs. I'm sure your program is running tournaments, or a regular Bingo games, maybe a car wash or some type of spaghetti feed, but you still might be feeling the pinch. While I don't have an answer to this financial crisis our country is in, we, the fastpitch softball community of this fine nation can work together and share in ideas that may help programs all across this fine country of ours. At The Softball Clinic we have a very large number of people who visit our site on a weekly basis, people like you and me who want to see the best for our young softball players, and it is our focus to provide the best FREE information available..

If you would like to share in these ideas we'll put up a page on our site that will credit your program with the information provided as well as a link to your program if you so desire. All you need to do is send us a quick email to bullpen@thesoftballclinic.com title it "Fund Raising" and we'll get it posted. There are no bad ideas, even if you think 100% of the programs are already doing a certain program please include anyway... Working together we all win..

The times may be tough, but Fastpitch Softball players are tougher... Let's give every kid the chance to play this great game of fastpitch softball...

On this 4th of July we'd like to thank our veterans as well as our fine men and women protecting our country today.. You're work is truly appreciated!!

The Softball Clinic

Hitting the Riseball

2009-03-29T04:26:00Z

Okay more on fastpitch softball hitting.. I just googled "hitting a rise ball" and the the first thing that pops up is this 5 year old question and answer as you'll see by the date below.

8/12/2004

Question
I coach a 14under team that has not seen a lot of quality riseball pitching.
during a game what would be the best adjustment to make for hitting a riseball? i.e. move up in the box to see it before the "rise" or back in the box to hopefully have it be a high pitch
thank you

Answer
Most coaches have the hitters set up forward in the box in order to hit the rise ball before it moves too high after passing the plate. Although by doing this the hitter is cutting down the distance (reaction time) by moving forward this maneuver is almost a must against a quality pitcher.

Try keeping the hands higher to hit a rise ball. In hitting a rise ball the hands have a smaller distance to travel from start to finish than hitting a lower pitch so in theory you can get to this pitch quicker. Keeping the top hand higher through the swing plane is the key to hitting this pitch.

So let me give my two cents as this was my favorite pitch as a hitter, that and the over thrown drop that never dropped and just came into the happy zone saying hit me..

First of all most advanced hitters don't like to move around in the batters box, we find a comfortable place inside the box and live there regardless of what type of fastpitch softball pitcher we're facing. For me it was what we teach as the "B" position in the batters box (see photo below) or middle. I liked this location because I trusted that I had the bat and hand speed to catch up to the velocity of the pitch and like the question and answer above I thought I could take a little movement out of the pitch whether it be up or down as it reached the strike zone. I highlighted the word thought there simply because that thought, be it right or wrong (and there is a lot of debate about taking the break out of a pitch) gave me the confidence and comfort that I needed when I settled into the batters box and believing you're going to have a good at bat will lead to more good at bats than bad ones.

The biggest majority of my teammates, however chose to clear out the back chalk line and stand in the C position or back of the box, and guess what... they would get the same high and low strike zone as I would get from my stance in the middle of the box. So let's put to rest that moving up or back in the box will change the umpires call on movement pitches, and the reason for this is simple.. Once a hitter understands their strike zone they will be attacking any pitch that travels into it regardless of where they set up in the box. Now clearly a 14u fastpitch softball coach is still teaching the understanding of the strike zone to his team so his question is a fair one.

The part of the answer that bothers me is the part about setting the hands higher when facing a riseball pitcher (Try keeping the hands higher to hit a rise ball.).. I'm a firm believer that your batting stance should be the same every time you enter the batters box, this way you can build a repeatable swing. While his answer says try to set your hands higher, I would rephrase it and say "set your hands at the top of your strike zone." By setting your hands at the top of the strike zone you now have a reference point, and should understand that you should not chase any pitch that is moving above that reference point as it should be a pitch out of your strike zone.

At the 14u level you will not find many young softball players with a true riseball most of these pitchers are throwing what I describe as up hill. They're simply lowering their release point and twisting the ball with a spiral spin that has no chance of movement like a true rise ball but is simply traveling from lower point to a higher point. As I've mentioned before this is an ideal hitters pitch as it has no movement (See picking up rotation video at The Softball Clinic)

On the other hand an advanced riseball pitcher has the ability to throw true riseball a various levels. In previous blogs I mentioned the names of some of the best male Open Division softball pitchers who had the proper rotation of this pitch and the command to locate it at these levels. Is it possible to throw a riseball just above the belt on the hitter? Yes! This is what we teach as a Level 1 riseball, and a good pitcher who gets a swing through on this pitch will often come right back with a level 2 riseball that crosses the plate about letter high, and with a swing through here will follow with a level 3 rise ball that is up around the shoulders and out of the zone, that usually results in strike three.....

Understand that even the best riseball pitchers make mistakes and the higher up you play as a hitter you have to learn to understand what these mistakes are and take full advantage of them when they happen. Above I stated that the riseball was my favorite pitch as a hitter, and there are two reasons for this; (1) I loved facing a good riseball pitcher because they are willing to challenge you. They will reach back and fire and as a competitor this would really get the juices flowing. (2) A flat riseball (or mistake) carries a long way off the bat!

So what are the two basic things you need to do to become a better riseball hitter? I'm not going to get into swing mechanics here, other than saying I'm a believer in hands down to the top of the ball, then through the ball. In future blogs and videos on The Softball Clinic website we'll get into our full swing mechanics and philosophies, for now we just want to give you the starting points as they critical to the foundation of becoming a riseball hitter.

1. In your stance set your hands at the top of your strike zone, most hitters who set their hands lower than this in their stance are a riseball pitchers dream, because even if you make contact with the pitch you're usually hitting the bottom of the ball resulting in a weak pop out.

2. This is very important, above I spoke of even the best pitchers will make a mistake and when you're facing someone this good you have to take advantage of that situation, and the way you do that is to "Train your eyes to pick up the rotation of the pitch!" The perfectly thrown riseball spins completely backwards out of the pitchers hand just like a perfectly thrown dropball spins completely forward. This rotation of the ball creates a blur as the four seams of the softball spin rapidly, the good news however is even the best riseball pitchers don't get this perfect rotation all the time, as a matter of fact most riseball pitchers throw a pitch that not only rises but also has a little curve break to it, and the way you recognize this pitch as a hitter is that you'll see a dot on the ball as it rotates out of a right handers hand at just about 10 o'clock on the ball and at 2 o'clock from a left hander. Training your eyes to look for this rotation is the main key in my opinion to becoming a good riseball hitter.

I encourage all hitters that want to improve their at bats to learn to identify the rotation of the pitch as soon as it's released, stand in while your pitcher is warming up for the game or while they're doing a bullpen and learn to pick up the rotation of the pitch. Training your eyes and mind to understand what is coming is just as important as learning the proper swing mechanics.

And oh, by the way, a good riseball pitcher will get a good riseball hitter 70% of the time ; ) enjoy the game!

Whats a fastball in Fastpitch Softball

2009-03-08T01:42:00Z

Okay, how many fastpitch softball websites have you gone to that talk about pitching instruction and start out by saying something like; "Learn and Improve your: Fastball, with this gizzmo." Notice that I've highlighted the word fastball, and I've done so because this is a great selling point to softball Mom's and Dad's that never played the game and are willing to spend good money on fastpitch softball instruction with hopes of grooming their daughter into the next high school or college pitching star. If you're spending your good money taking your daughter to a coach that says "I can improve your daughters fastball," put your money back in your pocket and head on down the road! Now don't get me wrong we all want our daughters to develop Monica Abbott's speed, but here's the newsflash, Monica Abbott throws a high velocity pitch with up or down movement, never a fastball and if she does it was a mistake!

This is an easy trap to fall into, and there are many websites out there today that are truly considered authorities on pitching instruction that say just this, as well as many well intended, yet less experienced local fastpitch softball pitching instructors. In the early stages we see a lot of young girls who are getting this instruction begin to dominate their rec fastpitch softball leagues, mom's and dad's begin to feel good about the money they're spending and think it's time our little pitching ace moves up to the fastpitch softball travel leagues, but here's where something strange happens... our little pitching ace begins to get hit and hit hard, she's not striking out the kids like she use to, what could be going on???? The short answer; she's throwing a fastball.. The more detailed answer is that in the softball rec league she is facing the young softball player who is just putting her toe in the water in terms of game experience, the hitters aren't nearly as developed and anything faster than a coaches underhand toss is devastating to them. However, when they get into the travel fastpitch softball circuit they are going up against kids that have more of a concept when they step into the batters box and have developed enough bat speed and swing mechanics to catch up to a fastball with no movement.

From the fastpitch softball hitters perspective we're glad they're being taught a to throw a fastball, because in fastpitch softball this is the easiest pitch to hit! Having played against some of the best male fastpitch softball pitchers in the world I can personally speak on this. Here are some examples; Chuck D'Arcy, current Olympic pitching coach, excellent velocity but better movement, if he ever threw anything that didn't have up or down movement it was a mistake, Steve Padilla a teammate of D'Arcy's for many years, good velocity but pinpoint accuracy with a very heavy and sharp breaking dropball, Jimmy Moore, in my opinion a lot like Padilla in terms of velocity but with great command of every movement pitch, Peter Finn, lefty with solid velocity and excellent movement, Peter Meredith, probably the best velocity of all with a wicked riseball... All of these men could get the ball up to the plate in a hurry, but more importantly they got it there with movement. I also had the good fortune of facing the late Eddie Feigner probably the most recognized name in the game of fastpitch softball as he barn stormed the country for many years known as "The King and His Court" just him and four other players. Before he became more of a show he was the real deal when it came to velocity and movement, here's what he said in 1967 (a good 20 years before I faced him) after striking out Major League Baseball Stars and future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Maury Wills, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente in succession. "It was a mismatch," Mr. Feigner says "A baseball batter has no concept of how to hit a fastball that rises like mine, or sliders and curves that break 18 inches." Just for fun google these fastpitch softball names and you'll see for yourself that their softball pitching credentials are long and deep, and trust me it wasn't because they just threw hard and fast.

It's topics like "how to throw a fastball in fastpitch softball" that provoked us to start The Softball Clinic website. The girls fastpitch softball game has exploded and within the last 10 years so have the opportunist looking to make a fast buck on the internet. You'll find hundreds of websites out there, most of them selling softball bats along with numerous softball websites that offer softball forums where we can ask questions to improve our daughters game, or improve our coaching knowledge as we volunteer our time to assist with our daughters softball team. But as I mentioned earlier, when you read or hear about a fastpitch softball pitching instructor that teaches a mean fastball you're going to want to ask more questions..

Every Pitch in fastpitch softball should have movement! Yes, even the change up! When you're searching for a softball pitching instructor in or near your home town or surfing the net for "do it yourself answers" make sure you're looking for a pitching coach or website that is discussing instruction on the movement of the pitch along with the basic fundamentals and mechanics of the fastpitch softball pitching motion and pitching grips that will allow your daughter or the youngster you're coaching to begin seeing results as soon as they learn to get the ball near the strike zone on a consistent basis. The first grip they should learn is the grip of the peal drop! Along with this grip the pitching instructor should also have the knowledge to be teaching them the correct body position to get the most movement from this fastpitch softball pitch at the release point! Don't be afraid to ask questions! After all it's your money...

At The Softball Clinic our goal is to provide you the best fastpitch softball instruction and information and sometimes that may require us to point you away from our site to other sites that we feel provide solid information. Two softball websites that we would endorse for pitching out of the thousands that are out there are House of Pitching and Jerrys Fastpitch. If you were to google or yahoo "fastpitch softball pitching" House of Pitching won't pop up until site 103 and Jerry's Fastpitch at 187, so as you can see from our point of view sometimes the best instruction can get lost in the popularity of web. I never had the opportunity to face Bill Hillhouse as he was just coming into the game of Mens Major Division fastpitch softball as my career was ending, but after reading his stuff and asking around from those that I respect in the game, and that saw him pitch he clearly gets it and is worth looking into. As for Jerry Johnson, I wouldn't know him if he were standing next to me in the grocery check out line, but he too seems to have a solid understanding of the game as I study his site.

Lastly, I will share a conversation I had with Rich Balswick a former MVP pitcher in the Mens Major Division National Tournament and current fastpitch softball pitching instructor, who's list of pitching students that have gone on to be major college stars at Division One schools around the country could be considered the "who's who" list of pitching instructors said " there is no such thing as a fastball in fastpitch softball!" "There are pitches thrown with great velocity, but they all have movement!"

Fastpitch Softball is a great game and there is nothing more rewarding then teaching the game so that the softball player can get positive results, and the next time someone tells you that they can teach your daughter how to throw a fastball in fastpitch softball, just smile and head on down the road.

2009 Copyright. The Softball Clinic. All rights reserved.

Ed Monroe is a contributor to The Softball Clinic and former A/Major Division player.

All I want for Christmas is to learn to hit the riseball

2008-12-21T05:38:00Z

Ok so maybe that didn't make the top of your Christmas list, but I'm sure as soon as all the Christmas wrapping is stuffed into the garbage can and your softball thoughts turn to a new fastpitch softball season this thought will begin to creep into your mind. The riseball in fastpitch softball is the pitchers out pitch, but when understood from the hitters perspective as to what you're looking for, and how you can identify this pitch it also becomes the hitters "out pitch" .... as in out of the park pitch...

I recently had the opportunity to hear Mike Candrea speak on hitting at a coaches seminar in Las Vegas. It was a real pleasure to hear him go into detail on the swing, and when I say detail, his depth of knowledge on the mechanics of getting the bat through the hitting zone may be unrivaled. The following day Olympic Pitching Coach Chuck D'Arcy spoke on pitching, and as he was speaking I began to have flashbacks on hitting the rise ball. You see 20 years ago I was just like you, with the passing of Christmas and New Years meant that another Fastpitch Softball season in California was right around the corner, which also meant that it wouldn't be long before I would be seeing Chuck D'Arcy and other quality pitchers of that era in the pitchers circle reaching back a letting that rise ball go.

There is nothing like the challenge of stepping into the batters box and knowing that you're about to receive a steady diet of that particular pitchers best stuff, and in my humble opinion D'Arcy's best stuff was that wicked rise ball and the various levels he could throw it within the strike zone and with pinpoint control. If you never saw him throw and only looked at his ASA Hall of Fame statistics you would swear that this person had to be about six foot five, when in reality he's about five foot eight, he may say five ten, but it doesn't matter, when he began his motion and delivered the pitch he was the master of rotation and location with the velocity of a seven footer.

This coming softball season as you break out that new softball bat that Santa brought you, you too will be facing your very own Chuck D'Arcy, every level of play has that kid in the circle that can do something special with the softball. As hitters its our job to give ourself the best opportunity to be successful inside any situation. I like to say the higher level you play the smaller the score, which makes every at bat that much more critical for you and your team. To become the best hitter you can be it is critical that you learn to groove the proper swing mechanics with soft toss, tee drills, live pitching BP etc.. and as you're training your hitting muscles learn to train your eyes to see more than just a yellow ball being thrown towards the plate.. train your eyes to pick up the rotation of the pitch..and distinguish what pitch the pitcher is attempting to throw. Currently on the Free eVideo page at The Softball Clinic.com we have a short video that we believe will help you do just that, and we hope you check it out..

Below you'll find a couple of simple tips that I'm confident will help you in hitting the riseball, but the first and most important tip is learning to pick up the riseball rotation as soon as it leaves the pitchers hand as I mentioned above..

Bunting Situation:

Learn to pick up the rotation of the pitch (yes, I'm wearing this out, but it's easy to do and the most important step in becoming a successful riseball hitter)
Make sure you Square with your bat at the top of your strike zone! Do not bunt at any pitch higher than your bat! In sacrafice bunt situations the riseball is the pitchers best friend because it's difficult for the hitter to get on top of the ball and very often creates a pop up. Understand this and DO NOT bunt at pitches higher than your bat set properly at the top of your strike zone.

Hitting - Slap Hitting or Drag Bunt Situations:

Learn to pick up the rotation of the pitch... Yes, learning to pick up the rotation is the key to successful riseball hitting! Check out the short video here.
Comfortably set your hands at the top of your strike zone in your stance, by doing this along with learning to pick up the rotation of the pitch you'll soon notice that you're not chasing pitches that are moving above your hands and out of the strike zone. This rule works for the Slap and Drag Bunt as well.

From all of us at The Softball Clinic we hope this Holiday Season brings you Joy, Health, Happiness and a .300 batting average in 2009!

Ed Monroe is a former A/Major Divison Fastpitch Softball player and contributor to The Softball Clinic.com

2008 Copyright. The Softball Clinic.com. All rights reserved

2 Steps to Contact

2008-12-14T07:15:00Z

2 Steps to Contact.... Your successful approach to Slap Hitting..

This one minute podcast lesson will focus on the proper Slap Hitting footwork....

Fastpitch Softball

2008-10-17T02:40:00Z

Fastpitch Softball just google it! Ok, probably not as strong as the Nike "Just do it", but pretty amazing if you ask me. No, not for any marketing campagin to promote softball or to get fastpitch softball back into the Olympics, but rather as testiment to the ever growing popularity of the sport of girls fastpitch softball.

Do you know how many results you'll find by googling Fastpitch Softball? Only 693,000, yes, over a half a million websites and blogs are dedicated to the sport of fastpitch softball. Some promoting fastpitch softball products, like softball bats and balls, others promoting their club teams, and of course many promoting fastpitch softball instruction.

If you would have told me 20 years ago that the fastpitch softball would have such an impact on the general population I don't think I would have believed you. Not because the sport isn't exciting, but because it was during a time when the game was dominated by men's fastpitch and the men's game was truly dying out. Young quality male pitchers (at least on the west coast) weren't being developed and the popularity of men's slowpitch softball was on the rise to the point where many rec leagues eliminated mens fastpitch softball all together.

Thankfully though as the mens fastpitch game faded many of these fine athletes turned their focus to womens fastpitch softball, and along with the quality female high school and college softball coaches of this era they have not only preserved fastpitch softball, but have made it arguably the most exciting female sport played today!

Which brings me back to the 693,000 fastpitch softball websites, clearly if you're looking for a softball bat or softball glove, more choices that offer competitive prices can be a good thing, especially in todays economy, fastpitch softball can be expensive and more choices can be a benefit to the consumer. However, when you're doing your research on softball tips, softball training, softball camps and softball clinics to improve your daughters game it's important to understand that there's as much bad softball information available today as there is good, and more choices can make it very confusing. While I believe every fastpitch softball website that offers instruction is well intended, I would respectfully encourage you to focus on the softball websites, blogs and forums that offer tested instruction from coaches and players who have been successful at the higher levels.

Good luck in your continued search for the best softball information and your future endeavors as a player, coach, or softball parent... "Fastpitch Softball, Just google it!" Ok, it might catch on.

Copyright 2008. The Softball Clinic. All rights reserved.

Slap Hitting

2008-10-16T00:35:00Z

Softball Instruction- Slap Hitting

So you've decided that you're going to make a slap hitter out of one of your Fastpitch Softball players. You arrived at this decision because your fastpitch softball player possesses the following traits.

1) The Softball player is a natural left-handed hitter and has very good speed, but not much pop in her swing.
2) The Softball player is a natural right-handed hitter, not much pop in her swing, but has very good hand-eye coordination and has better than average running speed.

I find these 2 items to be the most common threads in making a Slap Softball hitter. Now, by no stretch of the imagination is this gospel, or the only two reasons! I'm sure someone reading this will say they have a very coordinated right-handed hitter that can hit with power, for average and is fast as lightning and they should be turned around also... ladies and gentlemen I give you United States Olympian Natasha Watley...

My point here is that there are the few exceptions to every rule but the two basic reasons for turning a kid into solely a Softball Slap hitter are outlined above. Clearly as you can see they both have the common denominator of speed and hand-eye coordination as the primary ingredient.

Fastpitch Softball Teams with effective Slap Hitters put a tremendous amount of pressure on the opposing defense. So let's take a look at how we go about teaching this style of Softball hitting.

Fastpitch Softball Slap Hitting - The Feet Matter

Understanding the use of the feet and how to start the crossover step along with the timing of the swing will be your starting point. Some will teach (step back or drop step) towards your left foot with your right foot, as a timing mechanism, then cross over with the left foot, some will teach step away from the plate with the right foot (clear step) and then cross over with the left foot. The main and most important ingredient here is the left foot cross over. This step MUST be towards the pitcher! I personally prefer and teach the first example (step back or drop step) rather than the clear step, primarily because I find it easier to teach the drag bunt from this approach (see Drag Bunt below.) Be sure they are not trying to run before making contact. The hands move forward with the crossover step. The batter is stepping toward the pitcher, not first base. The slap hitter wants to make contact before she reaches the front of the batters box. The ideal position is her left foot is down at contact and her right foot is in the air, this will maximize her head start and prevent her from being called out for being out of the batters box.

Fastpitch Softball Slap Hitting - Keep the shoulders Square

The slap hitter must turn her hips (belly button) to the pitcher while keeping her shoulders closed (as in stationary stance) to the ball. The hands start out high and fairly close to the body. The slap swing is not a violent hack, but rather a controlled, smooth, inside out -- and slightly downward attack on the ball. It's important to let the ball get a little deeper into the strike zone, not out in front as you would on a stationary swing.

The classic slap swing produces a chopping ground ball to the left side of the infield, allowing the batter to race the fielding infielder and the throw to first base all in under 3 seconds. The slapper MUST keep their shoulders closed on the stride towards the pitcher opening up too soon trying to run to first will make it impossible to reach pitches on the outside half of the plate.

Fastpitch Softball Slap Hitting - Drag Bunt

Using the same technique as outlined above its also very important to teach your Fastpitch Softball Slap Hitter how to drag bunt. This is an effective strategy that will keep the 1st and 3rd basemen honest and bring greater value to your softball slap hitter as an offensive threat.

In teaching the drag bunt be sure your Softball player has her hips (belly button) to the pitcher while keeping her shoulders closed (as in stationary stance) to the ball while maintaining a cross over step towards the pitcher! The hands start out high and fairly close to the body just like in the Slap positon (we start with the hands high in all of thee approaches so that they learn to drop the softball bat on top of the pitched ball sending it downward to hopefully prevent the pop-up.) From here rather than slap swing, teach them to catch the top of the ball in front of them with the barrel of the bat. As they advance teach them to guide the ball towards the 3rd base line by leading with the knob of the bat at contact, or the 1st base line, while leading with the barrel of the bat at contact.

The most important points here are that they are catching or absorbing the top of the pitched ball rather than trying to swing. Their feet and body mechanics will be the same as outlined above.

Fastpitch Softball Slap Hitting - Power Slap

The "Fastpitch Softball Power Slap" like the "Drag Bunt" is used to keep the defenses honest. The Fastpitch Softball Power Slap like the drag bunt starts with the very same foot work and body position as outline above for the Slap. The batter uses the crossover step towards the pitcher, hips open, shoulders closed only here rather than take a softer chopping swing, the fastpitch softball player takes a full swing to drive the ball through the pulled-in infield. As with the slap and the drag bunt the softball hitters focus is the top half of the ball, which will produce a hard grounder or line drive off of the softball bat.

Fastpitch Softball Slap Hitting - Be Patient

Fastpitch Softball coaches be patient with this instruction, build a solid foundation and understanding of the process with your players.

A Couple of Excellent Slap Hitting Drills to get started:

A good drill for the right-handed hitter that you're turning around is to put their fielding glove on before you give them a bat. With their glove on have them get in the box against a pitching machine. Concentrate on their foot work, with the left foot crossing over and stepping towards the pitcher, keep their shoulders closed, hips open and have them catch the ball with their glove. This will train the closed shoulders and feet before they try to swing, it also gives them a feel of the left hand in the approach.
Nothing can replace tee work! Off of the tee have your young slap hitter work on her body mechanics. Do Not Start them out full speed! Have them walk through 1/4 speed and build from there. Allow them to feel this process and ingrain the proper muscle memory, and please don't measure them on making contact. Once they get the feel of the cross over step towards the pitcher, hips and belly button pointed towards the pitcher and shoulders closed you'll see their contact and Slap Hitting coordination improve rapidly.

I hope you found this helpful, don't expect them to be world beaters overnight, but with a solid focus on the foundation of the process in a few short weeks your softball line up will have another weapon that will keep the opposing defense honest.. Remember, it's a game keep it fun..

Copyright 2008. The Softball Clinic/R. Gates. All rights reserved

Fastpitch Softball Recruiting Myths Exposed

2008-10-11T19:32:00Z

Fastpitch Softball College Recruiting

Today's world of fastpitch softball is an extremely competitive market. The explosion in the amount of young athletes now participating in our beloved sport is unbelievable! With that comes the added pressure of competing for the beloved college scholarship.

In today's discussion I will talk about some common myths in the recruiting process. As a travel ball and high school coach for the past decade I have first hand experience in the recruiting world and have dealt with many recruiting adventures!

Myth #1: College Coaches will find you if you're that good. As I said in the opening, the number of young females now playing fastpitch softball is mind boggling. Now consider how many college coaches there are out there. Many coaches don't have the time to "stumble" upon the next great player. Showcase tournaments have become prime spots for college coaches to set up recruiting bases. At many of the premier showcase tournaments (Surf City, Fireworks, etc) there can be upwards of 100+ teams playing in one weekend. Many of these teams have girls who are recruitable playing. But that's not enough! The girls who are driven to get seen have been in contact with coaches, emailed schedules and even called. So to expose the first myth today: even if you are "that" good, you still need to market yourself to coaches.

Myth #2: If you get a scholarship it's a full ride. Colleges are only given a certain amount of scholarship money each year. Depending on what division they can get anywhere from 13 full scholarships to a handful. Now we all know it takes more than 13 players to make up a college team. Many carry upwards of 20-25 players. So what this translates into is coaches becoming smart with their money and splitting it over those 25 players. Yes, the full ride is out there but it's not a common practice among coaches.

Myth #3: If you don't play perfect they won't recruit you When a coach actually does show up to finally check you out, many players feel like they must hit homeruns or strike out every batter. That is simply not the case. College coaches most likely know what you're capable of on the field before they even take the time to watch you. What the coaches are looking for now are the small things: how do you interact with the team, how do you respond to adversity, how do you treat your teammates and even coaches/parents. If you do happen to blast a couple of balls or strikeout the side then the coach will likely feel it was a trip that was worthwhile!

Myth #4: Letters=Recruiting So you've opened the mail and found a letter from your favorite University. This doesn't necessarily mean that they are actively recruiting you. A school will have a list of potential players and send out "generic" letters to all of those players who they might be interested in. A player is being recruited when coaches actually contact players or take time to come watch you play. Letters=Interest!

Myth #5: Freshman year is too early to start the process. It's never too early to start looking at schools you might be interested in. The recruiting game has become so much more competitive that you don't want to ever fall behind. Girls are committing to schools earlier and earlier and it won't stop. The key is to set realistic goals and find schools that suit your interests in the classroom and on the ball field!

Myth #6: I have to be the best on my team to get a scholarship. How many times have we heard the story of a scout heading out to watch one player and ending up signing a different player. Coaches head out to find players they feel will fit the best into their program.

Myth #7: My coach will get me a scholarship. While many times it does come down to a coach, travel ball or high school, being able to help sell an athlete to a college coach, it is still up to the player. The player must make a video, contact coaches, promote herself as much as the coach does.

Hope you can take some good from these 5 major myths exposed! Till next time, thanks for stopping by The Softball Clinic

Copyright 2008. The Softball Clinic / A. Gamer. All rights reserved

Fastpitch Softball Pitching - Fielding your position

2008-10-10T00:09:00Z

Fastpitch Softball Pitching - Fielding your position

This Softball Clinic lesson will focus on the Fastpitch softball pitcher, not on the mechanics of how to throw a rise ball, drop ball, or change up, but rather on a particular defensive softball drill that will improve the confidence of the fastpitch softball pitcher. The beauty of this drill is that incorporates both fastpitch softball pitching practice and softball fielding practice within the same drill.

Go to any Girls Fastpitch Softball tournament and you'll see more and more fastpitch softball pitchers wearing protective head gear very similar to a clear catchers mask. Our top priority should and must be the safety of the developing player, however over protection can be equally as dangerous to the players development. I fully support protective gear (for the defensive player) if the athlete has been injured and is using it to get back into the game, I'm not as supportive of these softball products if they're being used as a shield. My reasoning here is that it masks (no pun intended) the confidence growth that is essential to the development of the quality fastpitch softball player.

Let's look at a drill that will instill defensive confidence in the fastpitch softball pitcher.

This drill is good for all levels from the beginning 10 and under pitcher to the 18 Gold or College faspitch softball pitcher.
Here's how it works:

Step One: Allow the pitcher to warm up properly before you start the drill allow her to get fully loose. If you're doing a 50 pitch session with your fastpitch softball pitcher use the first 25 pitches to focus on rotation of the pitch, body mechanics for the proper release of the pitch, location of the pitch etc.. This will put her in the frame of mind that we want for this drill. The second 25 pitches we want the same focus on every pitch, hitting our spots, striding out and maintaining our angles through release of the pitch etc. but we're now going to add another element.

Step Two: we now add a third person to the drill, dads while you're sitting on the ball bucket catching your young developing star ask mom or a sibling to come stand behind you with some softball sized whiffle balls, as your pitcher throws the pitch (still focusing on the items outlined above) have the third person throw a whiffle ball towards the pitcher just before you catch the pitch. Start out with light throws and work up to more aggressive throws as the pitcher develops. The goal here is to have the pitcher focus 1) on the execution of the pitch and staying balanced through the process and 2) to understand once the pitch has been released that they are now a defensive player and to be prepared for a ball coming back to you.

For the higher level of player a light flight ball and a pitching machine works well. Make this drill part of your pitching focus a couple times a week and you'll see a dramatic change in your players defensive ability but more importantly in their confidence to handle the situation.

Footnote: teach your faspitch softball pitcher to work the edges of the plate and not dead red middle, this will make them more effective as a pitcher and less likely to have a screaming line drive come right back at them.
You'll be able to see a sample of this lesson at The Softball Clinic in the very near future.

Remember that confidence breeds confidence, instill it into your fastpitch softball player today!

Copyright 2008. The Softball Clinic/R.Gates. All rights reserved

How to Slap Hit

2008-10-02T20:10:00Z

This is part 3 of a 3 parts series from R. Gates of The Softball Clinic

How to Slap Hit Overview

In the two previous How to Slap Hit articles we discussed the reasons why to slap hit and the importance of building a solid foundation with the correct foot work. In this Fastpitch Softball how to slap hit post our focus will be on the upper body.

In the game of fastpitch softball the slap hitter is of tremendous value to the offensive line up. An effective slap hitter creates havoc with the defensive infield. In today's game of girl's fastpitch softball, be it Tournament Play, High School Softball, or College Softball many coaches are using this type of hitter at the top and bottom of their line ups. Understanding that the lead off hitter is only the lead off hitter during her first at bat, many coaches see the value of the speed of a slap hitter hitting in the 8 & 9 holes of the batting order allowing their line ups to turn over with speed throughout the game.

We'll discuss in detail offensive line up strategies in future posts, but for now let's look at how the upper body works in the Slap hitting swing.

How to Slap Hit - The Hands

Now that we've built the foundation of the Slap Hit swing and understand the proper foot work that will allow your Slap Hitter to:

Cover the entire strike zone
Keep the her feet in the box during contact and
Put their body in the best position for the sprint to first

Let's look at the hands of a slap hitter:

We want to be sure when teaching slap hitting that we instruct the hitter to get her hands at the top of the strike zone as she settles into her stance. With the hands set in this position the slap hitter will be in position to do two very important things within the at bat:

recognize any pitch that is traveling towards home plate that is higher than her hands will be a ball and is not a pitch to chase and
will position the slap hitters hands in the best position to drop them and the barrel of the softball bat onto the ball

As slap hitters we're looking to pound the softball into the ground, and if we set up with our hands to low in our stance we've created a instant hole in our approach to the ball and any good rise ball pitcher will have their way with us.

lastly we want to take our hands to the top of the pitched ball, this will allow the desired contact with the barrel of the softball bat.

How to Slap Hit - The Shoulders

Now that slap hitters feet are moving towards the pitch (not down the first base line) and our hands are set high in our stance (at the top of the slap hitters strike zone) to make our downward slap or swing we don't want to ruin this at bat by letting our shoulders to something that will prevent a successful at bat.

As the left leg crosses over towards the pitch and the lower body begins to slightly open, our hands will begin moving towards the pitch to begin our slap swing it's critical that we keep our right shoulder closed. Don't think run before contact! If your slap hitter pulls her right shoulder open before contact you'll...

lose outside corner plate coverage
pull the middle to inside pitch towards the right side of the infield giving the advantage to the defense.

Keeping your slap hitters shoulders closed through contact will encourage an inside out slap swing and provide your slap hitter with the best opportunity of a successful at bat.

How to Slap Hit - The Head and Eyes

Lastly we spend a lot of time talking about slap hit swing mechanics or swing mechanics of the the body period when we're talking about fastpitch softball hitting, but without good vision you can have most finely tuned approach to hitting the softball and never make solid, consistent contact with the ball.

Particularly with slap hitters this is important, because unlike the stationary fastpitch softball swing, the slap hitter is moving. In this movement that we've discussed it is critical that the head and eyes remain still as they move toward the pitched ball, even a little bounce of the head and eyes in the stride will give the advantage to the pitcher.

Teach your hitters to do these outlined fundamentals and in a very short time you'll be seeing positive slap hitting results.

How to improve your fastpitch hitting

2008-09-23T18:04:00Z

How to improve your Fastpitch Softball hitting: Understanding the Pitchers release point..

Welcome to the blog at The Softball Clinic this lesson is targeted to the developing 10/12 - 14/16 player.

A Fastpitch Softball pitcher unlike that of a baseball pitcher must have a consistent arm slot when releasing the pitch as indentified in the USSSA rule book as:

Rule 7. Pitching Rule

F. A LEGAL DELIVERY – shall be a pitched ball that is delivered to the batter with an underhand motion.

a. The release of the ball and the follow-through of the hand and wrist must be forwarded past the vertical line of the body.

b. The hand shall be below the hip and the wrist not farther from the body than the elbow.

c. The pitch is completed with a step toward the batter.

This same explanation will be found in the ASA Fastpitch Softball rule book as well.

Let me show you how you can improve your fastpitch softball hitting by understanding this rule. This is the first part of two part series that will focus on the release point of the fastpitch softball pitcher and understanding how the pitch will move from this release point.

The Fastpitch Softball Pitchers Release Point:

Whether you desire to be a left handed slap hitter, or a right handed power hitter understanding the fastpitch softball pitchers release point will enable you to improve your fastpitch softball hitting skills.

I’ve asked many young softball hitters what they’re looking at when they step into the batters box and you’d be surprised with the answers that are given. More kids particularly the younger 10 to 12 and even to the 14 year old age group are watching the entire pitcher or the pitchers entire pitching motion prior to her delivering the pitch.

As the pitchers develop in these age groups this is a tremendous advantage for the pitcher because the hitter isn’t picking up the pitched ball until its a quarter or half way to home plate.

When you understand item B in the rule as it’s outlined above you can see that a fastpitch softball pitcher unlike the baseball pitcher must release the ball from a certain arm position on every pitch, whether right handed or left handed it will becoming just off of the thigh.

I call this the 36 inch rule of fastpitch softball when someone is trying to convince me that their kid should be a switch hitter, not a slap hitter but a switch hitter in the Mickey Mantel or for a more contemporary player Lance Bergman sense of the word. I’ll discuss the pros and cons of softball switch hitting as I see them in future posts.

When should hitters be taught to pick up the Fastpitch Softball pitchers release point and why?

Understanding that this is where the pitch will be coming from and teaching the kids to only look in this area while they’re at bat will increase their odds of a successful at bat. We should be teaching our kids this very basic fundamental of the at bat as soon as they begin to see live fastpitch softball pitching.

Reinforcing that by focusing in on the release point of the pitch we’ll see the ball longer enhancing our opportunities of making contact with the pitch. Additionally as the young hitter develops and trains themselves to only watch the release point of the pitcher during each at bat, our next focus will be zeroing in their eyes on the rotation of the pitch so that they’ll have an understanding of what the pitcher is trying to throw and the movement of that particular pitch as it comes towards home plate.

Again like switch hitting we’ll go deeper into recognizing rotation of the pitch in future posts.

At what point during my at bat should I be looking for the Fastpitch Softball Pitchers release point:

While the opposing pitcher is going through her warm ups in between innings, or while our hitters are on deck waiting for their turn to hit we should teach them to be looking for that particular pitchers release point, once they step into the batters box this is all they are focusing on.

If it’s a left handed pitcher we’re teaching them to pick up the release point off of the left thigh, if it’s a right handed pitcher we’re picking up the release point off of the right thigh.

We’re paying zero attention to the gyrations of the wind up of the pitcher, other than recognizing that the pitching process has started and the ball will soon becoming out of the identified release area towards home plate..

The Softball Clinic

I hope you young hitters and parents of young softball hitters found this to be helpful.

As I said earlier whether you’re learning how to slap hit or becoming a power hitter using some of the best softball bats on the market today, training yourself to pick up the pitchers release point will make the game of fastpitch softball much more enjoyable.