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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

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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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Become a Better Coach With These Softball Coaching Tips


www.Bataction.com

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

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

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

Sunday, September 6, 2009

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