Fastpitch Softball Training Equipment: January 2010

Monday, January 25, 2010

Tips For Improving Baseball Or Softball Bat Speed

By Jeff LeRiche

While there are plenty of softball and baseball players out there who will claim to have hit a home run, there are just as many who will truthfully admit that they have never hit a home run. Whichever club you find yourself in, hitting the ball over the fence will always require significant bat speed.

Okay we all know that chicks did the long ball, go big or go home and all that. But how about winning games? Facing a team that consistently utilizes the entire field effectively while stringing together hit after hit, coupled with smart base running applies pressure to a defense with the added benefit of frustrating the opposition too.

That said every softball or baseball player should strive to be as complete as player as they can be. Why limit yourself to being just one thing or another? Do not put limitations on your ball hitting potential. Putting one over the wall should not define your value to your team or you as a softball player. Many will tell you there is nothing better than absolutely destroying a ball and sending it to where it deserves to go. If you are ever fortunate enough to hit a few out of the yard, you will most likely still vividly recall that first bomb you hit in a game.

No matter what you are trying to accomplish at the plate, your plan should include hitting the ball hard every time you swing. The best hitters in any game will be trying to crush the ball every time. Sometimes the result is a 400′+ bomb other times a laser in the gap or screaming humpy in front of the outfield. The fact is that you don't get anything positive done at the plate without bat speed.

Here are a few tips, which with practice should help you to improve your bat speed:

Keep your hands loose. Maintaining a loose grip on the softball or baseball bat will gain you 5 mph of bat speed and 5-10 mph of ball speed. Tension in your hands will cost you bat speed.

Push with your back hand while pulling with your front hand. The push will increase your power and improve your follow through.

Release your top hand off the bat. Doing this will allow you more extension which translates to more power.

Keep your hands out in front of the bat. Throw your hands at the ball so that the bat head is the last thing that comes through the zone.

Hit the bottom half of the ball. This creates back spin which will carry the ball farther.

Shift your weight. Make sure you are shifting your weight from your back foot to your front foot.

Make contact slightly in front of where you are standing. This point is where you will be generating max bat speed. Too far in front and the bat will be decelerating when you hit the ball. Too early in your swing, and you will not be generating enough speed and leverage.

Adjust your grip. Drop your pinky finger off the knob to get more leverage.

Choose pitches in your "power zone". You have a zone where you hit with the most power. Learn it in batting practice, be patient & really work on pitch selection.

Head on the ball. Start your swing with your chin on your front shoulder, and end with your chin on your back shoulder. This will keep your head down on the ball and prevent you from opening up too soon & losing power.

Range of motion- Start with the bat back as far as you can. That complete range of motion will allow you to create as much momentum as you can prior to contact.

Each improvement or piece of knowledge that you add to your arsenal can mean one, maybe two, maybe even five mph to your bat speed. It is those incremental gains that you make to your bat and ball speed that gradually make you a better softball or baseball player. Nobody ever knows the limits of their potential. You will be surprised what you are capable of if you apply proven techniques and practice hard. If you desire to hit with more power and consistency, you can and will. It is up to you!

Jeff LeRiche is the President and Founder of OTC Sports, a premier baseball and softball bat retailer. With deep passion for the sport, Jeff managed and played on his own team traveling the country for the better part of a decade. He has served on various softball associations and boards including several years as the State Director. After years as the ultimate baseball/softball road warrior, Jeff held the position of DeMarini National Manager of Slowpitch Softball and during this period he became the voice of DeMarini slowpitch. Having recently ventured out on his own with OTC Sports, LeRiche strives to bring the best baseball and softball bats and accessories to players of all types and levels. Jeff continues to bring his passion and love for the game to OTC Sports everyday. For more information, see http://www.otcsports.com.

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

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Friday, January 22, 2010

our Little-Known Baseball/Softball Training Secrets, PART 1

Four Little-Known Baseball/Softball Training Secrets, PART 1
By Steve Zawrotny

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Train for POWER

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Baseball and softball are not games of strength, but of EXPLOSIVE POWER. Just how strong do you have to be to pick up a 5 oz baseball, or a 30 oz bat? On the other hand, propelling that 5 oz ball 90+ mph, or hitting a ball 400+ feet with that 30 oz bat requires tremendous power - the ability to perform work. In this case, the work of playing baseball and softball at a high level.

In both games, while they can be slow in duration, the various activities that comprise a game are short and quick. Rarely does a play take longer than 6 or 7 seconds. There are exceptions, of course - an inside the park homer, or an extended rundown or "pickle." But, for the most part, things happen very quickly on the diamond.

Why does this matter to you?

Well, let me ask you this: how often have you heard coaches tell pitchers to condition themselves by running laps - Long, Slow Distance (LSD) training, or to spend a lot of time pedaling a bike?

If you've been around as long as I have, you've seen this a lot. Here's the problems: these coaches (and many players) incorrectly think that LSD (or aerobic) conditioning improves player performance. In fact, studies show the aerobic demands (the amount of oxygen needed by the body) of baseball and softball to be very low.

In fact, the oxygen uptake of a baseball pitcher (the most active position) is a low 45% of the maximum needed. Apparently the rest pitchers get between each pitch and in-between innings is sufficient to replenish the main energy system used.

Baseball and softball are considered to be "alactic anaerobic" sports in terms of the energy system utilized, with pitchers in both sports the busiest players on the field. What this means is that there is little to no lactic acid buildup as a result of this activity. That burning feeling you get when you lift weights really hard is a result of a buildup of lactic acid, a by-product of that (and other) short-term, intense types of exercise.

Have you ever heard of a ball player complaining of this problem?

Consider the baseball pitcher: it takes about 0.15 seconds from the time the front foot contacts the ground until the ball is released. Very little lactic acid can be built up in this short burst of activity. The primary source of fatigue in pitching is not metabolic, but neural. [1]

Again, why does this matter to you?

Because studies show that LSD training significantly detracts from power, strength, and speed development.

Reduce these characteristics, and you educe your ability to throw with high velocity, hit with power, and run at high speed. Look at the bodies of sprinters vs. marathoners. You don't have to be built like a sprinter to be successful as a ball player, but this illustrates how training affects one's body, conditioning, and hence, ability to perform.

Put another way: Train Slow, Perform Slow.

As mentioned earlier, aside from the game itself (which can be be long and slow) things happen quickly on the ball field. Playing softball and baseball requires high velocity, ballistic movements like throwing a fast, well located pitch, taking a hard swing at this high velocity pitch, and exploding out of the batter's box to sprint down the first base line.

So how should you train?

To augment the aforementioned activities, concentrate on developing power, flexibility, and speed. Weight lifting, plyometrics, flexibility, and short burst sprint interval training should form the basis of conditioning for baseball and softball players.

[1] Gambetta, V. A Big Windup. Training & Conditioning, p. 43 March 2003

Steve Zawrotny, MS, CSCS 405.373.3253 steve@baseballfit.com FREE REPORT: "Harmful Resistance Exercises Baseball/Softball Players Should Avoid" VISIT: http://www.BaseballFit.com

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Benefits of Practicing Softball Drills With Your Teammates

HandsBackHitter.com

By Marc Dagenais

Softball drills are very important if you really want to be skillful in the whole game of softball.
There are a lot of benefits that one can get if he is practicing the different softball drills. With these drills, you are able to practice different moves in softball, not just one, but all moves in softball.

By practicing this sequence of actions regularly with your teammates, you are not only able to enhance the one that you are strong with. You also have the opportunity to get to know the other drills in softball and in addition, you are given ways to improve them as well if you are not that much good at them. And because of the fact that you are practicing with your teammates, it is not only you who is actually learning. Even your co-players also do have chances to learn about the different skills in softball aside from the one that they are good at - the one that they have been plying for a long time in the real softball battlefield.

Another benefit that you can actually get when you and your team are practicing these drills aside from the one mentioned above is, you have more chances to be closer with your co-players (well that is if you are somewhat sentimental). As you are constantly practicing with your teammates, you have more time to be with one another and that will make you closer making you build a more solid team.

Another benefit that is somewhat related to the latterly mentioned is, as you are now closer to your teammates, you also have better chances of understanding each other more. You can simply know what is on the mind of the other therefore making you understand their strategy and in the end, making you to work as one. This is very important in a team so because if you can fully understand what the other co-players are thinking, it will be easier for you to work spontaneously as a team. There will be no blaming of certain this and that because you are working as a team.

There are truly a lot of benefits when you are practicing these softball drills with your teammates, and not to forget your coach as well. It does not only give you a chance to be apt in all the different drills in softball. It also gives you chances to meet get to know more of your teammates, and once you are already familiar with them; it will be easier for you to work as one. It will be easier for you to work as a team. As you have more time of getting to know one another and practicing and playing with one another, you will have better chances to fulfill the mission of every playing team. And that is to make their every game worthwhile - to make every game, a game of their life.

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!
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Coaching Tips For Girls Fast Pitch Softball

By Marc Dagenais

Coaching softball can take its toll on coaches if they don't handle situations the right way. Disruptive players, team slumps, getting your players to buy into your system and other issues can cause serious problems to coaches if they don't handle them the right way. Therefore,it's important that coaches make the right decisions regarding these issues and anything else that might present itself as a challenge to the team. Here are some softball coaching tips for coaches to use when facing tough obstacles.

Tip 1 - Spread the captain's role around. You don't need to have team captains, but if you want to take that road to build self-esteem and enthusuasm, be sure that all the players get an opportunity - especially if you're teaching young children. (When you're teaching more advanced level, you can feel good with the team captains being in that role all season long.) Giving children the chance to lead practice warm-ups or the chance to demonstrate a certain drill puts everyone on the same footing, and it decreases the chance that certain kids will feel less important than some of their teammates.

Tip 2 - Coach Within Yourself. You can't be someone you're not, or conduct yourself as a coach they way you see someone else do it. Get comfortable with yourself and do it your way.

Tip 3 - Downplay wins and losses. When coaching softball, escpecially at the younger levels, coaches have to learn to ignore the scoreboard and focus on teaching and making the game fun. If all you think about is the score then your players will eventually notice. If you make it known that the score is not important to you whether you're winning or losing by a lot of runs then your players will follow your lead.

Tip 4 - Create Pride In Your Program. Do it the hard way: through hard work and success; through items of clothing - sweatshirts, jackets, t-shirts and uniforms - with neat team logos; through publicity, through your own effort.

Tip 5 - You want to be a little nervous. Adults get nervous before they have to make big presentations to clients, trying to close business deals, or asking the boss for a raise. That's because we really care a lot about what happens (especially when it comes to getting a pay raise!) Players experience the same jitters before softball games because they have a desire to do well. Let your players know that being nervous before the opening pitch is okay and normal. Being nervous is a good sign that shows they care about the game. Pros and kids alike get nervous before games! To fight pre-game edginess, tell your players to take a few deep breaths, which helps calm the body and relax the muscles.

Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that provides softball tips, softball drills, and information on techniques for hitting, pitching, coaching, and training through his blog at http://www.softballperformance.com/blog

He also 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. You can sign-up to get his FREE Softball Tips at http://www.softballperformance.com/softball-tips.html Go Sign-up Now!

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Sunday, January 10, 2010

What to Consider When Choosing Fastpitch Softball Equipment

By Scott Mathewson

Before purchasing your Fastpitch softball equipment, here are some tips to consider before making your final selections.

Most companies now are really concentrating on the growing popularity of the game of Fastpitch softball. They have dedicated a great deal of research and development into the proper fit and the demands of the female athlete. In many of the top vendors, such as Mizuno, Easton, Louisville, Ringor and Schutt they have sections of their inventory dedicated specifically to female athletes.

Selecting fastpitch softball bats is pretty straightforward. All bats legal for fastpitch play must be stamped with an official softball on the bat. The one thing to keep in mind is if the bat is a slow-pitch or fastpitch bat. Most but not all slow-pitch bats are legal in fastpitch play, but must have an ASA stamp on the bat.

Choosing catchers gear in the past was simple because the vendors did not make female specific catchers gear. Today you have a wide variety of choices from manufactures who make catchers gear specifically for fastpitch softball. The cut and fit is designed to properly fit a female frame. Keep in mind when looking for gear for your girl’s team.

When looking for fielding gloves the same is true. Top manufactures like Mizuno, Glovesmith, Louisville Slugger, and Rawlings make female specific gloves in their choices. Typically the gloves are a little larger to accommodate a larger ball than a baseball. The pocket and web of these gloves are usually deeper and wider than a baseball glove. The fingerstalls are narrower and shorter to help fit the smaller hand of females. The size range on these gloves usually ranges from 12"-13.5". Most manufactures try to put an adjustable strap on these specific gloves to allow the athlete to fit the glove down on their wrist for a secure fit. Female athletes can keep this choice in mind when selecting a fastpitch fielding glove.

Making a choice on new bating gloves is very similar to a fielding glove. If you are having trouble finding batting glove, the finger stalls and wrist opening are smaller to fit a female hand better.

A few companies Mizuno, Ringor, make female specific softball shoes. These shoes are not as wide as a unisex. Shoes and are developed by top female Olympic athletes to fit and perform to the demands of fastpitch softball players at all levels.

Keep in mind that you have choices when you are getting ready to make purchases for your female athletes. In today’s market you have a wide variety of choices from different companies that will accommodate your needs. The fit and performance is worth the time spent in choosing the right equipment.

Scott Mathewson is owner of Prime Time Sporting Goods an online and offline supplier of baseball and softball gear and equipment in Omaha, NE, home of the College World Series. Scott knows baseball and you can find find him in his store and get great information from the Coaches Corner - THE source for baseball and softball information and commentary For Fastpitch products see their huge selection.

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Saturday, January 9, 2010

I Want to Play Fastpitch Softball and Need to Get in Shape

SoftballCoachingDIGEST.COM

By Brad Henks

I get asked quite often what kind of exercises to do to get in shape for softball. There are a lot of kids out there that want to play the game but have never played. I think this is great. Fastpitch Softball is one of the most exciting sports there is.

I see some kids that want to start at the high school level. Again, this is awesome. It may be a little tough if you have never played softball before to make your high school team though. It depends on several things, like how many kids are going out, how many teams your school has - Varsity, JV, C team, Freshman team, etc.

Some high schools are only able to field enough players for a varsity. Others only have a Varsity and JV. So in those cases it is hard to say, you may have a better chance there because they really need the players.

So, what kind of workouts are good to get in shape for the upcoming season? Well, you want to get some conditioning started now. If your season is 3-6 months away you have plenty of time to get into good shape. If you only have a couple months well, you better get going strong now.

There are several areas of strength and speed needed to play this game of Fastpitch Softball at an elite level. Probably the area you need to work on the most is your Core. That means work on your midsection, your upper body, your legs, your arm strength. Kind of sounds like your whole body doesn't it. It kind of is.

You will also need to get your throwing arm into throwing shape and get the mechanics sound. A strong, and mechanically sound throwing arm will keep you playing and off the injured reserve list.

Always start your workout with some good dynamic warmups. Stretching is fine but that is really what you should be doing at home and after practice to cool down. Dynamic warmups are moving basically stretches. You want to get your muscles warm before you stretch them or do any hard workout.

Warm muscles will be loose muscles and loose muscles will be quick, strong and healthy muscles. There are many resources available to find more information about dynamic warmups. I may write about that another time. Just do a search and you will find some good exercises to do.

Here are some good ones to get you started.

Arm Circles: Stand with your arms out to the side and make small circles, then medium, then large circles doing about 10 of each size, then reverse and go back down to small.

Torso Twist: Stand with arms out to side, and twist side to side about 10 times to warm up your lower back. Your back gets a lot of work playing softball.

Butt Kicks: Slowly jog forward kicking your feet up to your butt. Go about 20 feet, turn around and do them back to where you started.

High Knees: Raise your knees high as you slowly jog about 20 feet.
Power Skips: Skip forward as high as you can. This gets your nervous system kick started.
Carioca: This is old school but does a good job of twisting and getting your coordination working.

There are many more good ones but that should get you started.

To get yourself into shape for softball you need to work on your core. A really good exercise for that is to start on your stomach on the floor, raise up on your elbows and toes and hold that pose for about 30-60 seconds. Drop and rest about a minute, then repeat this 3-5 times. You will definitely feel this in the abs, shoulders and the back of your legs if you are doing it correct.

Other core work can be medicine ball where you are sitting on the floor with your knees bent. Grab the ball and hold it in front of you. Twist from side to side. Another good exercise with the medicine ball is to remain sitting, have a team mate toss the ball to you. Catch it and then toss it back. Do this standing as well for a different set of muscle work.

Pushups are great for working the upper body, arms and shoulders. Try some variations such as the Inch worm.To do this get into a push up position, slowly walk your feet up as far as you can, then walk your hands out until you are flat again. Repeat this across the room or until you can't go anymore. Then do one more.

The Marine style is a tough one. Start in an inverted pushup position with your butt in the air. Then lean forward over your hands and then back. Kind of a wave motion. This one will work your upper arms and shoulders.

Let's move on to your legs. Doing Squats is a great exercise to increase your leg strength. This will also help with running speed. Spend time on these and do them slowly and correctly.

Another is to stand with your back at a wall, slowly slide down until you are in a sitting position and extend your arms out in front of you. Hold this for 45-60 seconds. Rest and repeat three times. This is really good for Catchers and Pitchers. Again, these give good gains on running and stopping which is important in fastpitch softball.

Plyometrics drills are great too. Basically this is standing and jumping as high as you can. This is a great explosiveness drill. Fastpitch requires a great amount of explosive movements in every position and play. Stand near a wall and try to jump and touch the ceiling or a mark on the wall. Try to go higher with each jump.

If you have some strong boxes or cardio steps you can use them too. Stand flat footed in front of the step, jump up onto the step or box, then off the other side. Turn and jump back on the box and off the other side. Try to find taller boxes or steps as your strength increases. Try variations of this drill by standing sideways and jumping with one leg. Alternate legs and repeat.

Now let's work your throwing arm. The best way is to just play catch with a team mate. Grab your softball glove and let's get started.Start out with easy tosses close. Moving back as your arms get warmed up and loose. Gradually work up to full speed throws and as far distance apart as you can. Do this for 10-15 minutes then gradually cool down by working back closer together and easier tosses.

If you don't have a teammate to play catch with, you can use a batting cage, or pitching net to throw into. Another great thing is to hang an old blanket or tarp or old piece of carpet over a branch of a tree and throw into it. Start out slow, get warmed up and then move back and really let it all out. You can hang this in your garage on those rainy days or when the weather is bad.

Running short sprints is always good for softball conditioning. You will get really good at these the more you get into softball! Usually about 20 yard sprints is long enough. Remember, the bases are 60 feet apart so not much use sprinting a lot farther than that. Running ladder sprints is a good idea too. Run these until you don't think you can go anymore. Then run one more.

There are a lot of variations of these exercises and many many more drills and exercises that you can do. It is actually good to mix it up and do different ones every so often. That keeps the routine from getting boring and also works on different muscles and in different ways.

Now that we are done with our workout, let's stretch. You will get much better results from stretching now than at the beginning of your workout. Stretch your arms, shoulders, back, legs and your mind. Keep learning more about the game and exercises you can do.

Ok, so we worked on our Core, our Legs, our Throwing Arm, and our Sprints. That's a pretty good workout. Try to break these up and do a couple each day. Maybe do the core and legs, then the arms, core and sprints another day. Try to workout 3-4 days a week. You want to give your body time to rest and recover between workouts so give it a day off between workouts. If you follow this routine for the next 3 months you will be in good shape for fastpitch softball season.

Brad is a local softball enthusiast and has been involved in fastpitch softball and baseball for 20 years as a parent and coach. For more information on this subject and others please visit http://www.BuyFastpitchGloves.com for some of the best fastpitch softball gloves and related accessories.

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