Coaching Softball - My Recipe to Build A Successful Team

A few weeks ago, I took over a 16U team.  That's the first time in 10 years that I will be back working at that level.

That should be an interesting and fun challenge.

Since I knew very little about the team and its athletes, I registered the team into a fall tournament to get to know the atheltes better, evaluate them.

It also gave me a chance to teach about my philosophy, my offensive and defensive mindset, my expectations, etc.

We ended up winning the tournament.

That led me to think further about what it takes to build a successful team.

Here's my recipe for success

• Committed and "coachable" athletes
• High-quality instruction and development program
• Athletes who have a character and a love for the game
• Picking athletes with good athleticism
• Developing a strong work ethic and discipline
• Teaching decision-making skills
• Integrating mental training for increased confidence, focus, and mental toughness
• Strong, consistent and powerful softball hitting
• Dominant and consistent pitching
• Solid and consistent defense
• Finely-tuned short game skills
• Aggressive baserunning
• Strong leadership from the coaching staff
• Encouraging good communication between coaches and athletes
• Superior conditioning (faster, stronger, more powerful)
• Injury-prevention program
• Establishing good relationship with parents and involve them in support roles
• Measuring progress regularly (video, fitness testing, etc.)
• Emphasizing  team dynamics
• Good training facilities
• Enough quality equipment and training aids
• Having committed and hqualified staff to work and support the team
• Competitive tournaments
• Providing quality feedback to all the athletes
• Developing a solid coaching philosophy
• Having a good structure in place

That's my recipe for building a successful team. What's yours?

Marc
"Your Softball Peak Performance Coach"