Softball Baseball Batting Practice Trainer Videos

Softball Baseball Batting Practice Trainer Videos

Video shows the Hands Back Hitter baseball batting trainer. The Hands Back Hitter by Swing Buster is a great for all ages and ability levels. The HBH teaches and builds correct hitting fundamentals.



The Stayback Tee is designed to help teach and practice rotational hitting that can increase bat speed. The Stayback Tee helps the batter establish the proper axis to launch the swing. It virtually eliminates forward motion after swing initiation commonly called lunging. This enhances balance in the stride landing and allows the hitter to adjust to different speed pitches and maximize the power by leading with hips and turning into the ball.



Short video demonstration of the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball softball trainer, The BatAction offers high speed ball movement drills that are 100% Guaranteed to Improve batting averages, bat speed and hitting skill. Unit is suitable for all ages from t-ball to high scholo. Great for Little League team parctices and home backyard workouts. The BatAction is often called the "Backyard Basketball Goal" for baseball and softball players.




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Must Have Equipments For Softball Hitting

By Marc Dagenais

Softball is considered as one of the most popular games in the world. This is played by people of all ages all over the world. Even if it is a game that is hard to play, a lot of people are still enjoying playing softball because it brings tons of challenges.

We are all aware that there are many skills that you need to master first before you can learn to play the game well. They are quite hard and difficult to learn but if you are determined no matter how hard these skills can be, you can surely master them.

As we all know, softball hitting is considered as the hardest skill in softball. Well, it is not easy to hit that ball especially if you are faced with a great pitcher. But you must not forget that a great pitcher will be useless if you are an excellent hitter.

If you are planning to develop your skills in softball hitting, there are lots of things that you have to consider first. One among these things is your health. It is important that you are healthy enough before you decide to go on with this because you will need your physical strength. Aside from this, you must also ask yourself if your equipments are already complete. Softball hitting equipments are needed so that you can perform well. Here are the softball hitting equipments that every hitter like you must have:


Softball bat.
If a soldier needs a gun, you as a hitter need a bat. This will be your partner for every game. You can say that it can also be your key to win. There are many types of bat. There are bats that are made of wood, aluminum, composite materials like glass, and graphite. They are also of different sizes. Big bats will surely have a great impact but then it can affect your speed which is also important. In finding a bat, you must not just go on its brand name. go for the one that will suit you, a bat that can match you. You must see to it that you will not have any difficulty in using it and you are comfortable.

Gloves.
Hitters also need gloves in order to perform well. This can avoid you from having blisters which can greatly affect how you hit. This will make your task of holding the bat easier and you are sure that your grip will be tight with the gloves around. This will help in making you feel comfortable. Choose a glove that will match the size of your hands.

Protective gears.
You can find these protective gears at any sports equipment stores. They are used to protect players like you. We know that softball is a game that needs a lot of action. Because of this, you are close from having injuries. To avoid any untoward incident, you must use protective gears so that you will stay safe and protected even if you are out in there creating some action.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

College Softball - Am I Division I?

By Andy Pohl

Below are the athletic measurables and characteristics needed to play at each level of competition. These numbers were put together from general feedback by college coaches. While there certainly are exceptions to the given parameters, these numbers will give you a better idea as to where you stand and what you need to work on.



For the most part, college coaches are looking for pitchers, catchers, shortstops, and center fielders. Many college coaches will only recruit these four positions and move them to other positions once they arrive on campus. It is very important for high school softball players to be aware of this fact.

Division II Softball:

Pitchers: 58+ MPH; command of at least 3 pitches; sub 1.70 ERA
Catchers: 1.9 Pop Time or below, superior leadership ability
Middle Infielders: 3.0 or less Home to 1st
Corner Infielders: 3.0 or less Home to 1st, tremendous power potential
Centerfielders: 2.9 or less Home to 1st
Corner Outfielders: 3.0 or less Home to 1st, tremendous power potential

Division III and NAIA Softball:

Similar to baseball, the discrepancies in characteristics can be somewhat severe when it comes to schools competing at the DIII and NAIA level. Be sure to fully research each individual program to get a better idea as to what type of player they are looking for. With that being said, pitchers, catchers, and position players interested in competing at the DIII and/or NAIA level should strive to meet the following measurables.
Pitchers: 55+ MPH
Catchers: 2.0 Pop Time or below
Position Players: 3.0 or less Home to 1st

Andy Pohl - Co-Founder, DNA Sports

DNA Sports specializes in personalized baseball and softball skill programs, college recruiting education and preparation, and coaching clinics. Learn more: http://www.dnasportsonline.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Pohl


SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!

Softball Hitting - The Importance of Wearing Gloves

By Marc Dagenais

Softball hitting is one of the most fundamental skills in softball. A hitter must be good and excellent because most of the time, the victory of the whole team lies on his hands. The skill in softball hitting is not easy to learn. Before you see a softball hitter making a perfect swing out there in the field, he had already spent hundreds days and even nights just to do that. If you look at it from afar, it seems that softball hitting is very simple. You just need to swing, hit the ball and that's it. But it is more than that. It is more than what you perceive it to be.

If it is your first time to play softball and you choose to be a hitter, it will be a miracle if you happen to hit the ball that the pitcher throws on the first try. For sure you will miss it. What I am trying to say here is that softball hitting cannot be learned that fast. It will not just take hours. Sometimes it may even take hours or even years before one can perfect the art of softball hitting. Even professional players, no matter how famous or good they are do not stop practicing. There are lots of techniques that a player can do so that he will be able to improve his hitting prowess.

But before we go to those hitting techniques, this article will first focus on the equipments that are needed in softball hitting. Aside from the bat, the most important material that a softball hitter must have is the gloves.

Gloves have been introduced quite a few decades ago. They are proven to be helpful especially in the field of softball. Gloves are invented because players are tired of having hands that are full of blisters which are caused by the bat that they are holding. The blisters affect their performance during the game. This is the reason why gloves that can be used in sports are invented. They serve as the protection of the hands in the sport of softball.

It is really impossible to avoid blister, with so many swings that a hitter needs to do in every game. From then on, wearing of gloves for softball trainings and games became just an ordinary scenario. Some players are having second thoughts of using the gloves because sometimes they feel that they don't feel the bat correctly but as years pass by, several improvements on the glove happened. These improvements make wearing gloves a lot more comfortable for the players.

Today, players are always wearing them for each game. They said that because of the gloves, they now feel that their grip is better than before. Aside from that, even if they are doing a lot of practices, their hands are not experiencing any damages.

Gloves are really essential for every softball player particularly the hitter. Since this prevents them from having blisters, they are able to practice more. And because they can now practice more, they can now have more time to improve their skills in softball hitting.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais


SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!

Learn How to Pitch Faster and Smarter With These Fastpitch Softball Pitching Tips

By Marc Dagenais

So you want to pitch faster? You can choose to focus only on strengthening your muscles, or you can take a smarter option and take a complete approach to your pitching.

But before I get misunderstood, I'm not discounting the importance of strengthening your muscles to be able to pitch faster. What I'm saying is that it's not all there is to pitching. And becoming a smart pitcher means you can pitch more effectively with lesser effort.

Want to be a smart and efficient pitcher? Here are some tips I have for you:

1. Focus on the mechanics first. Many players focus too much on strength training to make them pitch faster. But nailing the mechanics before anything else should be your priority as a pitcher.

The proper pitching mechanics teaches you to throw the ball correctly. Throwing the ball correctly solves two problems: it teaches you how to throw the ball without exerting much effort, which at the same time minimizes your chance of injuries due to incorrect mechanics.

2. Do your warm-ups and stretches. How fun would it be to be able to pitch fast right out of the dugout? However, it doesn't work that way. If you want to pitch fast, you must do your warm-ups and stretches first.

Why? Because doing these helps loosen your muscles which helps you pitch better and prevent injuries due to pulled muscles.

3. Keep yourself relaxed. While stretches and warm-ups help loosen your muscles, tension can cause a reverse effect. So try to keep yourself relaxed before every game. Try to breathe regularly, loosen muscles on your upper back, neck and shoulders. If listening to music helps, you can do that too.

4. Improve the strength muscles involved in pitching. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not at all discounting the importance of strength training to improve your pitching speed. So work out your schedule to include training your muscles involved in pitching such as in your forearms, wrists and shoulders.

5. Don't forget accuracy. Although this isn't exactly an advice on how you can pitch faster, I just thought I'd remind you to take the time to focus on your pitches' accuracy as well. After all, pitching isn't just about speed, but also on how well you can pitch inside or outside the strike zone.

6. Vary your throws. An arsenal of different pitches is the bane of any batter out there. It keeps them guessing what you'll be throwing them next, especially in tight games. So work on having different pitching techniques and don't just focus on speed alone.

It takes more than just these short and quick tips on softball pitching to help you throw faster. It also takes a huge amount of time training and practicing incessantly until you refine your technique. So work on them and at the same time take into consideration the tips I have for you here. And I'm pretty sure how they will positively affect your game will be evident soon enough.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

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SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!

Fastpitch Camps - A Great Way to Improve Your Game and Get Recruited

By Gary V Hawkins

Each year there are some great fastpitch camps that take place around the country. At these camps, some of the best softball players around the region or even the country come together to get better and hopefully get some exposure to college coaches.

Most colleges and universities, from the very largest to small junior colleges (including community colleges), run their own fastpitch camps over the summer. These camps help players develop in all areas of their game and may even be able to help you get noticed by the college coaches.

These camps are usually ran by the school's head coach and are staffed by other college and high school coaches, as well as current college players. Fastpitch camps stress both team play and individual skill development.

One of the best things you can get out of a camp like this is an evaluation at the end of the week. These detailed skill evaluations are great for you to take back home and use as a guide for improvement, and to send out to college coaches if your skills were rated very high. These types of evaluations are even more valuable when they come from a fastpitch camp run by a third party not affiliated with any college or university. These type of camps are springing up all around the country.

Once you have a good evaluation in your hand, I strongly recommend that you start marketing and promoting yourself to college coaches. You can market and promote yourself simply by making contact with them and letting them know about you and more importantly, what you can do to help their softball program succeed.

Fastpitch camps are a great way to improve your game and a good evaluation is very valuable in the recruiting process. I recommend taking advantage of all the camps you can possibly attend.

Gary Hawkins is a well known recruiting and athletic scholarship expert and the author of a popular 17-page free report titled: "Five Secrets You Must Know To Get Recruited For Athletic Scholarships"

Head over to http://www.recruitedforscholarships.com/freereport.html to get your FREE copy now!

Gary Hawkins is passionate about helping high school student-athletes reach their dream of playing the sport they love at the college level. In his How To Get Recruited For Scholarships System, Gary teaches anyone how they can finally get the attention of college coaches and start being recruited for athletic scholarships, no matter what sport they play. Athletic success is within your reach - just visit http://www.recruitedforscholarships.com/ and pick up your copy today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_V_Hawkins

Fast Pitch Softball Hitting Drills with Crissy Rapp

On http://ClubHouseGAS.com ,
noted college player and coach talks about the basic drills for fast pitch softball hitting.



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Softball Hitting Tools to Boost Your Game

By Marc Dagenais

In any sports that you play, practice is essential as it helps hones a player's skills and techniques as well as his overall performance. And in softball, one of the most popular sports not only in the United States but all over the world, each and every player must sharpen all of his playing skills including softball hitting in order to be the best that he can be.

So, aside from solid exercise routines, softball throwing and practice games, here are some tools and devices that you can use in order to improve your game.

Swing Speed Radar

The swing speed radar is a state-of-art softball hitting electronic device that not only helps you determine your swing speed but it tells you what your optimum swinging speed is as it keeps track of the changes in the mechanic effects in your swing performance.

Whiphit

Do you want to make your batting skills more precise and consistent? Then, be sure to use the whiphit as it trains you to hit it with the proper swing technique. If you use this often in your practice sessions, then, you would be sure that your bat would make contact with the ball each and every time you play with short, fast and powerful swings.

Personal Pitcher

With the personal pitcher, you would be able to enhance hand-eye coordination, bat speed, muscle memory as well as timing. You can put this device on a regular camera tripod and load it with up to one hundred balls so that, you can practice hitting the balls at your own leisure and pacing.

Tee Stacker

Practice swinging without having to get new balls with the tee stacker as you can stack it up with a maximum of three balls all at once. This device would surely help you develop proper hitting skills.

Insider Bat

The insider bat is a tool that serves two purposes. The first one is to help you acquire muscle memory. And the second one is to help you determine your problem areas with regards to swinging. It is a great tool for coaches to get their players to enhance their swinging technique and at the same time, accurately determine their areas of improvement in swinging.

ATEC Bat Chute Trainer

The ATEC bat chute trainer is used to help you enhance upper body strength, which is crucial to your bat speed. Just simply attach this device to your bat and off you go.

Derek Jeter Solo Swing Training

The Derek Jeter Solo Swing Training device allows you to improve your batting skills and it is good for both kids and adults who love to put in time for softball practice. It also comes with other tools such as a free home plate and transport bag.

Derek Jeter Target Training Pogo

Do you want to hone your hand-eye coordination skills, swinging techniques as well as batting stance? You can with the Derek Jeter Target Training Pogo. In addition, this can enhance your bat speed, endurance, confidence and switch-hitting skills the more you use the Derek Jeter Target Training Pogo.

These are just some of the tools that Marc Dagenais, one of Canada's premier softball coach, offers. If you are interested to know more about these products as well as other softball hitting items that are available, you may visit http://www.softballtools.com

Marc Dagenais is a Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to sign-up to get our FREE softball pitching tips!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

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Softball Training Tips - Why Get Softball Specific Training

By Marc Dagenais

If you're a serious athlete, I'm sure that you're always looking for ways to improve the way you play softball. You immerse yourself in a lot of different workout methods, try different diets, and lots of other things just to give you an edge over other players who don't work as hard as you do.

But let me tell you something: sometimes, it's better to work smart than work hard. Working smart gives you the same exact results as working hard, only that you can do that in less time.

And that's what softball specific training is all about. It's all about softball training that's smart. It only gives you what you need to get the job done. You don't waste any of your time and effort on things that don't add anything to your over all game.

But let's get deeper into softball specific training. If you follow the right softball training tips and have proper training, then, you can reap a lot of benefits from it that I would like to share with you:

It prepares the exact muscles and other elements you need to play softball. You could lift weights all you want. You could run for miles at a time. These things are all good because they help you stay fit, but you should always ask yourself if these things help you become a better softball player.

With softball specific training, you're almost always guaranteed that you're getting the best results because this training focuses on elements that you need to perform well on the field. This includes strengthening muscles in your wrists so, you can throw the ball harder, and has a particular focus on sprinting over building endurance because you need to be able to perform quick movements as a softball player, and not run for miles over several hours.

It prevents the incidence of injuries. Injuries are the common enemy of softball players. One false move could send you to the hospital and sideline you for weeks. However, with the help of softball specific training, your risk of getting injured is minimized by a great deal.

Why is this so? That's because, again, softball specific training strengthens the muscles you need to play softball. And when these muscles get stronger, they will also be harder against common injuries such as pulled muscles. And more than that, you also protect yourself from overuse injuries because your muscles can put up a better fight against the wear and tear it goes through every time you play the game.

But should you still cross train?

What I shared with you are just reasons why softball specific training is good for you. But of course, you still need to blend it with cross training to give you even more edge against your opponents.

Cross training does for you a number of things: it develops the other muscles that you might otherwise neglect with softball specific training; and it prevents overuse injuries by using the other set of muscles for your cross training exercise.

All in all, softball specific training will help you get the most out of the exercises that you do. It's all about training smart. However, also remember to balance things out with cross training because it enables you to exercise muscles that might otherwise overlook with only softball specific training. Follow these softball training tips and you would be able to stay at the top of your game.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais



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Become a Better Coach With These Softball Coaching Tips

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By Marc Dagenais

Being a softball coach is one of the most satisfying jobs in the world. More than just helping a team win games, you also help in molding their character, the way they deal with winning and defeats and so much more.

That's why when you look at it, coaching can be quite a big responsibility as well. So you must continue on developing your coaching skills along with developing your team's skills.

Here are some tips that will help you get started:

1. Be a good motivator. You can never expect your team to win every game, no matter how good your team is. There will be off-days that will get your off your usual performance. And when this happens, you must motivate your team to push forward and never give up.

Being a good motivator doesn't necessarily mean you have to give your players dramatic speeches at the beginning of every game. It's enough that you tell them that they still have their chance of winning the next game after they've lost the last one.

2. Know your players well. Find out what the strengths and weaknesses of your every player. From there, work on making the most of your strengths and improving whatever aspects of the game your team is lacking.

3. Know who your opponents are. Scouting should also be a part of your strategy. The most fantastic plays would be put to waste if you don't know what's the best one you can use on your opponent. As much as you should devote time to knowing your players, you should also be familiar on how your opponents operate. Look for patterns; find out their strengths and their weaknesses.

4. Stay organized. From the way you conduct your trainings to your schedules, you must learn how to stay organized. You can gauge your team's success in reaching its goals much easier that way.

5. Set a good example. One of the challenges of being a coach is being the role model of your players. You might not realize it, but at least some of your players look up to you. That's why whatever piece of advice you have for them, you should practice too. Want them to follow a strict diet? Make sure you follow that strict diet too. Otherwise, you'd end up disappointing them and they'll quit believing every word you say.

6. Never forget the element of fun. Softball coaching can be a serious business, but you should never take the fun out of the game. From dealing with your players to conducting drills, these things should be fun. Your advice and drills are easier to remember that way.

There you have it, my tips on how you can become a better coach. Most of it deals with working with your team. The better you deal with your players, the easier it will be to coach them.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

Learn How to Pitch Faster and Smarter With These Fastpitch Softball Pitching Tips

www.HurricaneMachine.com

By Marc Dagenais

So you want to pitch faster? You can choose to focus only on strengthening your muscles, or you can take a smarter option and take a complete approach to your pitching.

But before I get misunderstood, I'm not discounting the importance of strengthening your muscles to be able to pitch faster. What I'm saying is that it's not all there is to pitching. And becoming a smart pitcher means you can pitch more effectively with lesser effort.

Want to be a smart and efficient pitcher? Here are some tips I have for you:

1. Focus on the mechanics first. Many players focus too much on strength training to make them pitch faster. But nailing the mechanics before anything else should be your priority as a pitcher.

The proper pitching mechanics teaches you to throw the ball correctly. Throwing the ball correctly solves two problems: it teaches you how to throw the ball without exerting much effort, which at the same time minimizes your chance of injuries due to incorrect mechanics.

2. Do your warm-ups and stretches. How fun would it be to be able to pitch fast right out of the dugout? However, it doesn't work that way. If you want to pitch fast, you must do your warm-ups and stretches first.

Why? Because doing these helps loosen your muscles which helps you pitch better and prevent injuries due to pulled muscles.

3. Keep yourself relaxed. While stretches and warm-ups help loosen your muscles, tension can cause a reverse effect. So try to keep yourself relaxed before every game. Try to breathe regularly, loosen muscles on your upper back, neck and shoulders. If listening to music helps, you can do that too.

4. Improve the strength muscles involved in pitching. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not at all discounting the importance of strength training to improve your pitching speed. So work out your schedule to include training your muscles involved in pitching such as in your forearms, wrists and shoulders.

5. Don't forget accuracy. Although this isn't exactly an advice on how you can pitch faster, I just thought I'd remind you to take the time to focus on your pitches' accuracy as well. After all, pitching isn't just about speed, but also on how well you can pitch inside or outside the strike zone.

6. Vary your throws. An arsenal of different pitches is the bane of any batter out there. It keeps them guessing what you'll be throwing them next, especially in tight games. So work on having different pitching techniques and don't just focus on speed alone.

It takes more than just these short and quick tips on softball pitching to help you throw faster. It also takes a huge amount of time training and practicing incessantly until you refine your technique. So work on them and at the same time take into consideration the tips I have for you here. And I'm pretty sure how they will positively affect your game will be evident soon enough.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

A Better You With Softball Training Aids

www.ZipnHit-Pro.com

By Marc Dagenais

Today, the surge of interest for softball is steadily increasing. Due to its wide popularity and well-publicized events, many are now into softball mania. Beginners, as well as the professionals do need to train. Beginners should train to learn and eventually master the skills needed in softball. The professional players need it for them to hone more of their skills and to keep at pace with their opponents.

In softball training, one should always do some routines to warm up themselves. This is a must in order to flex their muscles and stay away from any pains like muscle pain or back pains. Running, brisk walking, aerobics, and jogging are some of those routines. With softball training, exercising their arms, feet, and mind is required to wake up all those systems in the body.

While training, we use some tools or equipments in enhancing further our vigor, agility, stamina or speed. For a good softball player, just like any sports, one should have sound body and sound mind. Softball training aids like training bats, swing trainer, softball videos and power gloves and many more are made to help the coaches and the players to strengthen their abilities and serve as a substitute for those softball equipments.

No matter what position are you, one should really starts with batting. You do not know, you might then be doing it at some point of time. Batting aids are used to challenge and force you to correct the problems when it comes to swinging. By using the available training bats, one might begin with a pitching machine that varies the speed and the height of the pitches. With this training, you will learn how to estimate how fast the balls are being pitched and how high are they. You can also try weight rings that will test your endurance and strength.

Then move on to throwing aids. Just like batting, throwing or pitching is also important in softball training. You can use the catch-all nets. These are just simple mesh screens that allow you to pitch at full speed towards a target. You can make use of cans as an alternative if there are no catch-nets. Place the cans in different heights and be it your target. Getting a throwing sleeve will also help by keeping your arm warm and correcting your pitching form as you throw.

Same as other sports, the more you train your softball skills, the better you play. Softball training aids can help you improve your skills to a higher level by correcting your poor form, intensifying the softball drills and most important, allow you to practice by yourself!

Gripping the balls should also be a part of your softball training. Rotate the balls into some of your softball drills and exercises. The heavier balls force you to improve your strength. Plus, training balls are inexpensive ones.

Watch how the professionals play. Get some softball videos. They are great aids for training. By looking at their ways and techniques, one would always benefit from it. Find training videos that would teach how to do it the better way! Consider videoing yourself and compare it to the best players.

Marc Dagenais, MHK, CSCS, is a softball peak performance coach that helps players and teams hit with more power, run faster, throw harder, become mentally tougher, and be more dominant on the softball field. Visit us to get tons of great FREE softball drills to boost your game!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

Baseball & Softball Coaches Equipment - Magnetic Lineup Board Review

Baseball & Softball Coaches Equipment - Magnetic Lineup Board Review
By Jim Moyer

If you don’t have an easy to read line-up posted in the dugout you are hurting yourself, your players, and subsequently your team by allowing yourself and the team to be distracted from the game. Let’s face it, it’s information that you want to have ready access to, and you want your players to have ready access to as well. So why are you keeping this vital information on a scratch piece of paper or on a carbon copy that is barely legible?

The best magnetic lineup board is about 8.5" x 14" and consists of a position diagram of the softball field on the top, positions for a batting order on the bottom, and a hook so it can be easily hung in the dugout for everyone to see. You simply place magnets with the player’s names in the position on the diagram that they will be playing. If you will be subbing in to a position you can go ahead and put the sub’s magnetic above or below the starter’s magnet. The same is true with the batting order. If you know you will be subbing in for a hitter just put the sub’s magnet next to the starter’s magnet.

The real beauty to a magnetic lineup board is before the game has started when you are putting together your game strategy. After making your initial batting order it’s very easy to adjust for who’s hot and who’s not, or if you need a bunter in the second or third position, and if you change the batting order will that change who you want to play on defense and where you can make those changes. You can also see the effect your substitutions will have on positions and the batting order. What you used to have to envision in your mind you can now see on the board, both offensively and defensively and for the entirety of the game not just the start of the game. It let’s you create your game strategy prior to the game. It’s called HAVING A PLAN.

Hey Coach, Listen Up

The decisions you make in determining your lineup WILL AFFECT the outcome of the game. Once the game has started there’s not much opportunity to correct a poor batting order. Sometimes it’s easy to put together a line up. Other times, we’ve spent 10 or 15 minutes maneuvering players around on our magnetic lineup board to assess the strengths and weaknesses and determining what we needed for the upcoming game. I can’t imagine going through this exercise with paper and pen.

Whether your fastpitch softball team, or baseball team, is a beginning team or a highly skilled tournament team, putting your players in the right positions, building the best batting order, and having a plan for your substitutions, will decide the outcome of many fastpitch softball games. A magnetic lineup board costs about $20.00. Twenty dollars is a cheap investment to KNOW that you have given your team their best opportunity to win. Hey, it’s worth the twenty bucks just not to have to answer the question "who do I bat after" 500 times during the season.

There are two magnetic lineup boards on the market. The Easton brand and the Coacher brand. They both cost about $20.00, HOWEVER, the Coacher board is the clear winner. The Easton board does not have a field diagram which prevents you from visualizing the starting defense and, just as important, the defense after substitutions have been made. The Coacher board does have the field diagram.

In conclusion, I would grade the Easton board a C because it is better than using a piece of paper. The Coacher board gets an A+ as it is the complete package and the superior product. For the same investment, you have the choice of the Mercedes or the Pinto.

Having coached over 500 youth fastpitch softball games, Coach Jim decided to put his insight online to allow parent/coaches to draw on his unique experience. At http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/coaching-fastpitch-softball-successfully.html he has compiled a comprehensive list of softball game strategies, softball drills, softball tips, and techniques that are sure to help any coach become successful.

Visit http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/softball-equipment.html for numerous reviews on softball equipment, softball bats, pitching machines and other essential coaching tools, to make your team a Winning team. Before you make any softball equipment purchases be sure to read Jim's review to make sure you don't buy the wrong equipment.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Moyer

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Softball Training - Learning the Right Attitude

Softball Training - Learning the Right Attitude

By Marc Dagenais

In softball training, you will not only train your body but your mind as well. You will not only need to know the right mechanics, you also need to know what should be the right attitude while undergoing training or while you are playing.

Here are some things you should do and some attitude that you must possess in order for your softball training to be successful:

· Dream and turn that dream into reality. Dreams are the reasons why you keep on hoping. If you dream that you will become a good softball player then you will. Be positive about it. Don't just dream because dreaming is only the beginning. You need to do everything to attain that dream.

· Commit yourself. If you decided to become a softball player then you must list some things that you want to achieve or skills that you want to possess and then commit yourself into this.

· Face your fears and your flaws. Identify what are the things that serve as a hindrance for you to achieve your goals and learn to face them one by one. Find a way to solve them and remove them. Don't let them conquer you; it should be the other way around.

· Plan. In all the things that you even in softball training or practicing, you must create plans. Successful people that you know nowadays succeed because they made concrete plans on their life. You would be like them if you will start making plans now. if you have a plan everything will be clear for you.

· Write down some notes about your experiences and improvements during softball training. Doing this will let you know what are the things that you have improved and what are the things that you still need to improve.

· Listen to the people around you. Our friends and all the people that surround us usually have great impact on us. If they are there to support and guide you then you must try to listen to them. Knowing that there are people who support and believe in you can really boosts your self confidence.

· Develop a good lifestyle. Bad lifestyle can affect how you play softball so you must learn to sacrifice. Partying all night, smoking, and drinking alcohol will not do you any good especially if you are a player.

· Have self- discipline. This is a characteristic that every person not only softball players must possess. This is like a magic ingredient that makes everything possible and makes every goal reachable.

Follow those softball training tips and for sure there's a big change that will come out in you, not for the worst but for the best.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

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Tools to Use to Improve Your Softball Pitching Prowess

Tools to Use to Improve Your Softball Pitching Prowess

By Marc Dagenais

Among all the roles in the softball team, one of the important, crucial ones is softball pitching where it doesn't only involve simple case of ball throwing. It involves agility, endurance and strength as to how to pitch the ball properly so, that the opposing hitter's bat won't be able to collide with the ball.

There are different ways to pitch a ball. You can do a fastpitch drop, which involves taking a short stride to increase the level of your release point and leaning a bit forward upon release of the ball so, that your head and shoulders are over your front foot. You can also do fastpitch rise where the ball would be able to spin upon release if you spread your fingers more on the ball and squeezing it out of your fingers. In addition, you can do a fastpitch curve where the movement of your wrist and shoulders make the ball spin more.

Other than taking in these softball pitching tips and putting them into practice, here are some softball pitching equipment that you can use to improve your game.

Throw Max

The throw max is a tool that assists players on how to throw the ball in a correct manner by letting them experience this themselves. This way, they would be able to develop a stronger muscle memory in an easier and more consistent way without risking injury.

Power Throw-Ball Softball

This excellent tool helps players enhance strength, especially the shoulders, and endurance so that, they would be more used to the throwing motion.

Rev Fire

Rev Fire is a wonderful tool that you can use to monitor your speed in throwing a ball. This includes three softballs as well as a monitor provides you quick feedback on how quick you pitch a ball.

Glove Radar

Glove radar is an electronic gadget that accurately measures the throwing speed of not just pitchers but also of infielders, outfielders as well as catchers. It's easy to use as you just have to attach it to any glove that you use when practicing the sport.

Weighted Softball Training Ball

The weighted softball training ball can be used either for enhancing shoulder strength or for shoulder rehabilitation. The set is composed of four balls that weigh about nine to 12 ounces so, you can different balls once your arm strength improves.

Xelerator

The Xelerator is a lighter, softer and shorter tool that you can use when practicing throwing motions as it aids you in learning overhand and snap motions without stressing out your shoulders at the same time.

Tightspin Trainer

The Tightspin Trainer allows players to improve their ball throwing capabilities as it increases your speed as well as the rate of the spin.

Finch Windmill

The Finch Windmill aids you in improving your throwing prowess, making it harder and faster as it enhances muscle strength, endurance and balance of the whole body. You would see a difference in you when you use this regularly.

What are you waiting for? Improve your game with these softball pitching tools.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

Turn Batting Practice Into HITTING Practice

Turn Batting Practice Into HITTING Practice
By Jim Moyer

If your batting practice consists of either having your pitcher or a coach pitch to the hitters I am going to change your life forever. Yes, there is a place for this type of practice session but it is RARE. There is no doubt that the more live pitching your hitters see the better they will be able to adjust to different pitchers in a game. HOWEVER, your players need repetition, muscle memory, and enough swings that the coach can determine the flaws in their swing and take corrective action.

The drawbacks of having your pitcher throw batting practice are numerous. Your pitcher probably only throws 50% to 60% of his/her pitches for strikes. That’s a LOT of dead time watching the pitcher throw and the catcher retrieving wild pitches. In a two hour practice each player might get to take ten swings. Hardly enough to build fundamentals or develop muscle memory. You are also faced with having a player get hit by a pitch and thereby become afraid of the ball — WHO NEEDS THAT?!?! And then there is the little problem of all of your other players becoming completely bored while they just stand around waiting and watching. And how about the psychological affect on your pitcher if the batters are hitting the ball…great, now your pitcher feels like a failure.

Okay, then how about if we have a coach pitch? It’s better than having your pitcher pitch but not much. Typically, coaches pitch much slower than what the players face in a game. The coach is relatively distracted from coaching the hitter because he is focused on trying to lob the ball over the plate. How can you watch the batter's feet, hip movement, and arm movement if you are concentrating on making a good pitch? And don’t be fooled into thinking the coach is throwing lots of strikes. Honestly, he’s probably not as consistent as the pitcher.

Enter the Louisville Slugger Pitching Machine. This tool has revolutionized batting practice for the average team. Don’t panic about the cost as it’s only about $150. If you don’t have the money tell the parents you are taking up a collection and everyone needs to chip in $15.00. It is absolutely the PERFECT batting practice tool. It is spring-loaded so you won’t need electricity. It’s very lightweight so it’s easy to carry to the field and it sets up in about 2 minutes. It throws all sizes of balls and you can control the speed from about 20 mph up to about 45 mph. If there is any way possible, you MUST get your hands on this pitching machine.

How is a spring loaded pitching machine going to help my team? You will easily triple the number of swings your hitters get to take. You can have any parent operate the machine which will free you up to stand near the hitter and observe and coach. No more wild pitches and wasting time while the catcher retrieves the ball. They are all strikes. This means your hitters will be hitting and your fielders will stay engaged and have more practice fielding. In case you just glanced over this, let me reiterate these two points: THE COACH CAN CONCENTRATE ON INSTRUCTING THE HITTER and THE HITTER GETS 3X AS MANY SWINGS.

"It’s easy to hit pitches that are grooved right down the middle." I hear that a lot and let me say that argument doesn’t hold water with the Louisville Slugger Pitching Machine and here is why: Ball Positioning. When you load the ball onto the throwing lever you can make the pitch break inside, outside, drop or rise. Yep, it’s true. Just load the ball with the seams rotated to the left or right for a breaking ball and rotate the seams forward or back for a high or low pitch.

For advanced batting practice you might be working on hitting all outside pitches, or all inside pitches. Try that with your girl pitcher or coach pitcher and see how much luck you have! More than likely you will just end up frustrated at whoever is pitching and will not have achieved any of the practice you were hoping for. But with the right pitching achine, you can throw consistently to any part of the plate.

Still not convinced? I use the Louisville Slugger Pitching Machine to divide up my team and play scrimmages. We can usually play an inning in 8-10 minutes. It’s a great way to end a practice. With about 30 minutes left in practice just divide up and play three or four quick innings. The girls love it.

Still need more? I’ve even adjusted the settings on the Louisville Slugger pitching machine to throw fly balls. By the way, this is a great practice drill that can be run by any parent. Set the machine up around home plate, adjust the settings accordingly, throw a couple and go mark where the ball lands. Then from the spot where the ball lands, place a cone about 15’ in front, behind, to the left and to the right. The player stands at the cone and when you shoot the ball she runs to catch it, then she moves to another cone, etc. This is excellent practice for moving to the ball.

I LOVE this little pitching machine. It will increase your team’s batting average tremendously. I have used the Louisville Slugger Pitching Machine with girls age 7 all the way to age 14. It’s going to turn your batters into HITTERS and it’s going to turn your boring batting practice into a time of real achievement and fun.

Oh, did I mention this little rule? In Fastpitch Softball, whoever scores the most runs is the winner. Increase your softball team’s hitting skills and you will most definitely WIN MORE GAMES.

Jim Moyer is the author of http://www.mysoftballcoach.com

Having coached over 500 youth fastpitch softball games, Jim decided to put the information online to allow parent/coaches to draw on his unique experience.

Visit http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/softball-equipment.html for reviews on more pitching machines and other essential coaching tools, and learn many skills, drills and game strategies to make your team a Winning team.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Moyer

Coaching Girls Softball - Coach Pitching

The benefits to coaching a young girls softball team and how it can help you in life and the business world. Here's what I learned from coaching softball.

By Lisa A Mason

This season I had the benefit of coaching my oldest daughter's Coach Pitch softball team. Coach Pitch is the league for girls aged 6-8 and as the name suggests, there is a coach pitcher with girls filling all other positions. This is the next step up from T-ball in our Parks and Recreation league.

The leagues are ran completely by volunteers, most often the parents of the children who play and it's a much more difficult task than some might think before they have tried it for themselves. However, it can also be a very rewarding experience if you take the time and energy to learn from it.

The first thing to know about coaching this age group is that many of the girls will be playing for the first time. Even those who have played in the past are likely going to forget many of the rules and regulations. Even when you tell them, they have short attention spans and short memories. You may have to tell them again and again.

Patiently and politely recite the rules that you expect them to remember over and over with each practice and game. There is also a lot of hands-on coaching happening during the games. Girls are going to look to you in the middle of a play to tell them what to do. You need to be loud enough to be heard over the crowd and be sure to use their names loudly and clearly so they know what you're asking them to do.

At this age, there will often be a lot of tears. Bumps, scrapes, disappointments, hurt feelings and sometimes teasing will all come into play. Try to treat each girl equally and always be sensitive to their emotions. There's a time to tell them to be tough and keep playing and there are times when a girl may just need to sit out for a break. You can't push them too hard at this age or they will give up and become discouraged.

Remember that it's all about fun. Some parents and coaches push so hard for wins and being "top" of the league that they forget that it's about fun for the girls. At 6-8 years old, few girls will be thinking about going pro. They just want to have a good time and as parents and coaches, it's our job to ensure they have a safe environment in which to do so.

Lisa Mason is a freelance writer with a specialty in Internet content and SEO articles. She has written thousands of articles, hundreds of ebooks and thousands of website pages and related content. She has also authored her own books and works as a consultant to other writers, Internet marketers and Internet businesses.

Lisa Mason, Professional wordsmith for hire: gamer, wife, mother, entrepreneur, published poet, co-owner of game guides company (http://www.liti4.com), public speaker and Internet business consultant. You can learn more or follow Lisa's blog from her website: http://www.freelancewriter4hire.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_A_Mason

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Softball Training - Essential Principles

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An important underlying in any system of thought is the ability to decide on when do you want to start something that you have long wanted to happen. If you are a person who likes softball a lot and you always dream of becoming one of the best players, then you should never waste time doing it. Life is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is already high time for you to weed out your choices and leave the best option there is. Intelligent selection will surely make your efforts be paid off in a short span of time.

By Marc Dagenais

In any sports, you have to get started with the basic principles and fundamental skills. The techniques should be learned so that improvement will be known and realized. But it is not always about learning the different technicalities of softball. It is also about engaging yourself to softball training that boost the mind, body and spirit. These point out to the learning of the basic principles and values that every softball player should have.

Softball training is also about the knowing of the essential principles like the following. Along with these attitudes, you must nurture every learning experience with the correct environmental feedbacks. Here they are:

· Set your goals creatively. If you want to become the best softball player in your team, you must lay down the standard by having the goals and creatively set them up for the improvement of your existing skills. Creativity in the implementation of the different softball training skills is vital since it will help you become more competitive using the various ways you have set in your goals. You must have a flexible imagination, too.

· Dream big dreams. Be optimistic. Do not perceive softball challenges as problems. Look at them as spices of life. An optimistic person goes a long way. No challenge is too big to overcome.

· Be brave enough to confront challenge. You have to be dauntless with the different softball disputes. These may help you in the achievement of a much better you. Running away from every problem will just give you much more problem.

· You must also have discipline and perseverance in all your softball training and softball games as well. A player without the power to discipline himself will not become a winner in the end. Perseverance also comes along with the discipline. It means that if you stick with the decision of the team, you display respect to them. If you also have anything to suggest, they will do the same thing as you did. So, what really comes around goes around.

· Never let failure become an alternative to your softball training. You must always learn that you are there because there is something special in you. That special something might be the much awaited weapon of the team in order for you to win. Who knows? So, just believe in yourself that you are great. Eventually, all things will fall into their proper places.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

Fastpitch Softball Hitting Drill - Hands to the Ball

The dreaded Golf Swing is a common problem for Softball players. You know what I'm talking about, the player consistently misses below the ball by four or five inches. You have talked to them about taking their hands straight to the ball and about swinging level, yet time after time they are underneath the ball.

By Jim Moyer

You finally decide the girl is a complete moron and is unable to process the valuable information you are giving her or you determine that she must enjoy bringing you pain and misery.

Your Hitter is probably into the pain and misery he/she is causing you, but on the outside chance that's it's just a bad batting habit you should try this Hands to the Ball drill.

During your next batting practice, place your hitting tee directly behind home plate (touching the back corner of the plate) and pull the tee up to about mid-thigh. Now when the girl swings she must take her hands and bat over the tee without hitting the tee. Now break out the pitching machine and start throwing batting practice. If she drops her hands or the bat head she will hit the tee. Aaaahhhhh, success! Now she can process what you have been telling her for so long. It really won't take too many swings for her to correct the problem, however you may need to do this hitting drill at several batting practices.


www.Softballrus.com

This same procedure can be used in soft toss or in hitting from a tee. Just place a hitting tee behind the home plate so he/she can't drop her hands without hitting the back tee.

I have to admit, the first few swings are hysterical. The player thinks the coach is crazy for putting a tee behind her. In her mind you are NUTS thinking she is going to hit the tee. Then on that first pitch when she sends the tee tumbling forward the hitter will have a look of complete astonishment and disbelief. By the third or fourth swing a look of total disgust will have replaced the disbelief. By the sixth or seventh swing the player will finally own up to having poor hitting mechanics. Now, she is making real progress. Just like any 10 Step corrective plan, the first step is to admit there is a problem.

If you have a player with a great golf swing, it may take several sessions to re-train her muscles to swing correctly. Just stick with this drill. The player will absolutely hate hitting that tee and will be working very hard to correct the problem. In all of my years of coaching fastpitch softball and baseball, I have found this to be the single best drill for correcting the "golf swing" strikeouts.

Should she continue to hit the tee, she may very well just enjoy watching you pull your hair out. :-) Then again, you may be ruining the next Tiger Woods. But this isn't a golf team, it's Baseball or Fastpitch Softball and you need hitters, not golfers.

Jim Moyer is the author of http://www.mysoftballcoach.com Having coached over 500 youth fastpitch softball games, Jim decided to put the information online to allow parent/coaches to draw on his unique experience. See http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/play-softball.html for more fastpitch softball tips, drills and essential coaching strategies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Moyer

Off Season Softball Workout Routine

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The off season is the perfect day to begin your softball training routine. By starting now, you will be in prime shape when your team takes the field for the first time and you will find yourself hitting the ball farther and harder and your reflexes will be quicker, allowing you to make plays you may not have been able to make last season.

By Evan Pfaff

The off season is the perfect day to begin your softball training routine.

By starting now, you will be in prime shape when your team takes the field for the first time and you will find yourself hitting the ball farther and harder and your reflexes will be quicker, allowing you to make plays you may not have been able to make last season.

The most important muscles you need to hone for hitting are your legs and abdominal area. To get these muscles softball-ready, short powerful reps are recommended.

You will want to break these sets up, and not do them all in one day, or your muscles will be overworked and you will get less of a workout towards the end of your routine. You will probably want to lift every other day, and do cardio on your off days. It is also a good idea to rest your muscles, so your week may consist of Monday, Wednesday, Friday lifting and then cardio on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays while taking Sunday off. You can mix up these days to meet your schedule, but make sure you are working out regularly if you want to impress your teammates come game time.

As with any routine, the weight you lift is 100% based on your body. Do try and increase your weight every few weeks, so that you are getting stronger and working your muscles out to their max.

The sets you will want to focus on are:
Squats
Deadlift
Rows
Bench Press
Incline Bench Press
Wrist Curls (really good for hitting)
Hammer Curls
Shoulder Presses

Don't wait for your manager or commish to contact you about playing next season. Prepare today, so that when the ump yells "PLAY BALL!" you will already be at the top of your game.

Keep sporting!

Evan Pfaff is co-owner of Who's In First.

Who's In First is an online league management system for leagues of all sizes and sports. Our state-of-the-art software enables league managers the ability to quickly create and deploy schedules and standings over the Internet.

Visit Who's In First, http://www.whosinfirst.com, today for a free demonstration and to learn why Who's In First is the best choice for your league.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Evan_Pfaff

Softball Hitting TipsExecute Perfect Hits

By Marc Dagenais

As we all might know, softball hitting needs a lot from the hitter. The physical skill, technique and output are indeed very important but it would be executed 100% at its full potential without the right mentality and way of thinking... Being mentally tough and fit in softball hitting requires not only focus but other mental approaches as well and here are some of them that will most definitely be of great help to you and to every softball hitter in the world.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #1 - Be Optimistic

Being and staying positive all the time will most certainly result into several successful bats. If your mind knows and believes that you will make a perfect and power-filled hit then it most likely will happen. Remember that what the mind can conceive, it can achieve. So dump the negative attitude and put on the positive one.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #2 - Forget the Past, Focus on the Present

You might not know it but softball hitters miss a hit twice more than landing a hit. That is a given but and that is okay. But what is not okay is for you to dwell in those past misses and mistakes as that will only cause poorer performance again and again. Focus on the present hitting opportunity and give it your all.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #3 - Focus on the Pitcher and the Ball

When it comes to the effective hitting of softball, it is best to give your 101% focus and sight on the pitcher and the ball he or she is holding. Neglect all external distractions and watch out for the movement and ball angle the pitcher is about to do and calculate the possible directions the ball will go after it is thrown. This mental approach will contribute a lot to a successful softball hit.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #4 - Manage your Emotions

Do not let the pitcher see that you are getting frustrated and that you are losing hope every time you miss. That will only give the enemy pitcher more drive to give hard to hit pitches. So manage your emotions and show the pitcher that you are calm and ready to hit that softball anytime.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #5 - Learn How To Anticipate

Anticipation of possible future events in playing softball is a great skill and asset most especially for softball hitters. One can easily turn the tides of the game if he or she can get one step ahead of the pitcher or any opponent for that matter. And one way of acquiring and learning how to anticipate is through making back up plans and situation analysis. Make at least three back up plans in case your expectations change. And, carefully analyze everything from the actions of the pitcher to the body language of the opposing team as well. This will help a lot for you to be able to deliver a powerful hit to amaze everyone.

Remember that being mentally tough plus physically fit and capable is the secret to every softball hitting tips and success as well as to all of softball. So strive to nourish both qualities and be the best softball player of the future. So, strengthen up the brain and build up your muscles and softball playing skills together and never neglect either one of them.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills!

Article Source: As we all might know, softball hitting needs a lot from the hitter. The physical skill, technique and output are indeed very important but it would be executed 100% at its full potential without the right mentality and way of thinking... Being mentally tough and fit in softball hitting requires not only focus but other mental approaches as well and here are some of them that will most definitely be of great help to you and to every softball hitter in the world.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #1 - Be Optimistic

Being and staying positive all the time will most certainly result into several successful bats. If your mind knows and believes that you will make a perfect and power-filled hit then it most likely will happen. Remember that what the mind can conceive, it can achieve. So dump the negative attitude and put on the positive one.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #2 - Forget the Past, Focus on the Present

You might not know it but softball hitters miss a hit twice more than landing a hit. That is a given but and that is okay. But what is not okay is for you to dwell in those past misses and mistakes as that will only cause poorer performance again and again. Focus on the present hitting opportunity and give it your all.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #3 - Focus on the Pitcher and the Ball

When it comes to the effective hitting of softball, it is best to give your 101% focus and sight on the pitcher and the ball he or she is holding. Neglect all external distractions and watch out for the movement and ball angle the pitcher is about to do and calculate the possible directions the ball will go after it is thrown. This mental approach will contribute a lot to a successful softball hit.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #4 - Manage your Emotions

Do not let the pitcher see that you are getting frustrated and that you are losing hope every time you miss. That will only give the enemy pitcher more drive to give hard to hit pitches. So manage your emotions and show the pitcher that you are calm and ready to hit that softball anytime.

Softball Hitting Mental Approach #5 - Learn How To Anticipate

Anticipation of possible future events in playing softball is a great skill and asset most especially for softball hitters. One can easily turn the tides of the game if he or she can get one step ahead of the pitcher or any opponent for that matter. And one way of acquiring and learning how to anticipate is through making back up plans and situation analysis. Make at least three back up plans in case your expectations change. And, carefully analyze everything from the actions of the pitcher to the body language of the opposing team as well. This will help a lot for you to be able to deliver a powerful hit to amaze everyone.

Remember that being mentally tough plus physically fit and capable is the secret to every softball hitting tips and success as well as to all of softball. So strive to nourish both qualities and be the best softball player of the future. So, strengthen up the brain and build up your muscles and softball playing skills together and never neglect either one of them.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

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Important Tips For Softball Training

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By Marc Dagenais

Softball is said to be one of the most popular sports not only in the United States but also around the world. It is a sport that is enjoyed by many. But in order for you to become one of the best and competitive players of softball, you need first to undergo a lot of trainings.

Training in softball is very important. And I am telling you, it is not easy. You need this training to learn some new techniques in this game and to improve the way you play.

Here are some important tips for you to have an effective training:

Take it seriously. It means you need to have time for your training, let's say 2-3 times in a week. You must always put a lot of effort. Softball is not just a recreation, it is a sport.

Take time to relax. After an intense workout you must also spend some time to relax. Overdoing your training is not good. It is natural for us human to be tired and feel pain. You must listen to your body because if not there will be a big tendency that you will suffer in the future.

Have some motivators. A motivator can help if you are undergoing training. You can use music as your motivator. It is a good and effective motivator because it will help you to become more focus with your training and will prevent you from distractions.

Have self-discipline. The secret behind every man success is self discipline. Don't wait for anyone to tell you what to do. Have the initiative and be persistent. Don't let temptations ruin you.

Eat right. It will be ideal for a person especially a softball player to eat food with a lot of proteins and carbohydrates. The food that you will eat will serve as the fuel for your body. You must eat 15-30 minutes of the end of your trainings and competitions because that will be a great way for your body to recover because during those times your body needs to be energized. You must also drink some sports drink because it will not only hydrate you it will also replace electrolytes.

Choose the right gear and equipment. You will perform a lot better at all areas of the game like softball pitching and hitting if you have the right gear and equipment with you.

Use your time wisely. There are seven days for each week and 24 hours for each day. That will be a lot of time for you to prepare and train. Using it wisely will help you to attain success quicker.

Marc Dagneais is Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to access our directory of FREE softball drills

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais

Strength Training Develops Solid Softball Players

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By Lynn VanDyke

Softball is a popular sport these days. Corporations, adult leagues and inner-city competitions are fueling the demand for skilled and competitive players. While softball may be experiencing a surge of interest, the basic techniques to improve your game and gain a competitive edge have remained the same.
Many do not realize that basic softball movements such as batting and throwing are not a directly related to arm strength. The movement begins in the legs. The power is then transferred into the hips, the torso, the upper back, the chest, the shoulders and then the arms.

A proper softball strength training routine will include an exercise for each muscle group. During the off-season, athletes will be able to strength train 2-3 times per week. Training should be reduced to 1-2 times per week during the season. Each exercise should be performed 8-12 times for 1-3 sets.

Quickness, speed, agility, balance, explosiveness, and power will be enhanced as the strength training program progresses. Below is a list of sample exercises for the commonly used muscles in softball. There are many other exercises you could perform, but this will provide a starting point.

Quadriceps- Squats, One-Legged Squats, Jump SquatsHams & Glutes- Lunges, Explosive Lunges, Bridge on BallHip Adductors/Abductors- Lying Side Leg Raises, Ball SqueezeObliques- Oblique Crunch on BallRectus Abdominis- Ball Crunch, 180 Ball CrunchErector Spinae- Plank PoseDeltoids- Shoulder Press, Military PressPectoralis Major- Chest Fly, Chest Press, Push upsLatissimus Dorsi- Bent Over Row, Reverse FlyTriceps- Overhead Extensions, Skull crushersBiceps- Bicep Curl, Hammer CurlA powerful softball strength training program will produce powerful players. Use a full ROM (range of motion) for each exercise. Generally free weights provide a better ROM than machines, but use which ever feels best to you. The ultimate goal is to create a solid program that will deliver a well-rounded athlete.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Lynn VanDyke is the proud owner of http://strength-training-woman.com . Her expertise in strength training and fitness is quickly becoming recognized by industry leaders. You may grab your free strength training log by visiting her site.
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Lynn VanDyke delivers a strength training article for any athlete, but specifically geared towards softball and baseball players. It provides general guidelines and sample exercises for sport specific situations.

Getting To Know Softball Fastpitch Gloves

Most fastpitch gloves have lighter weight yet long-lasting inside and back components. This makes the gloves more manageable for female and male hand shapes, yet maintains top grained leather where it's needed the most.

Softball fastpitch gloves are now made to particularly cater to the sport as never before since softball leagues have gained in number nationwide. Every short stop knows if the ball is coming at you, you better be prepared to put the stop on that ball before it gets lost into the limitless and wide potential for missing the out by zipping by you into right field.

Go for the burn might fit in those instances when you don't wish to miss. Being sure you've got the proper glove to back up your lightning reflexes. As with any glove, softball fastpitch players know they are not looking to grab the ball, which is what the web pocket is for.

An infielder needs to be qualified to stop the ball, and that means putting it in your palm. The softball fastpitch glove is in the manner of the pancake glove, almost flat, with a thick padded pocket so you can catch the ball every time. Caring for your glove is as consequential as your play.

You want a glove for lighter weight yet durable inside and back components. This makes the gloves more manageable for female hand shapes, yet maintains top grained leather where it's needed the most.

Here is just one example of a very good glove. ABU73 CRYSTL BUSTOS - 12.75 INCH 12.75-inch pattern Game Day Reptilian glove of Crystl Bustos, 2000 USA Gold Medalist, 2001 WPSL Gold Team, 2000-02 Team USA. B-hive web, open back w/ Grasp Clasp wrist system. Uses the same USA Steerhide leather pocket and web as professional models for durability and quality, with leather/blend for the back/inside to keep the glove light and easy to break in.

Softball fastpitch gloves are going to benefit from a good leather oil to bring out the oils used in the manufacturing of most gloves, and keeping your glove softer will just enhance your play. With the good luck you'll be building in playing with your glove, caring for it with regular saddle soap or oil treatments can keep your favorite glove in your game longer!

Light weight, easy to break-in and available in a variety of designs, you're sure to find the softball glove that's right for you. Left-handed gloves (left hand throw) available on most models.
William Smith lives in Florida with his wife and three cats. William writes frequently on many subjects that may be of interest to all. Discover all the joys and secrets of baseball at Baseball's Holy Grail

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/getting-to-know-softball-fastpitch-gloves-19671.ht