In this episode of Fastpitch TV, India Chiles explains different types of slaps, how they are used and when to use them.
Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog
Over the last 48 hours or so I've been hearing a lot about the importance of communication between coaches and players. Much of it has to do with how poor communication directly affects player performance.
Before we get into specifics, think about it in your own work situation. You're working hard, believing you're doing a good job for the company. But the boss never says "boo" to you.
At the same time, that same boss is constantly talking to and complimenting a co-worker performing similar work at a similar quality level. Now be honest — how motivated would you be to continue working hard?
That's the way players often end up feeling. Some require more feedback than others, but all want to feel that connection to the coach. When they don't, they often start trying to figure out what's wrong — and often with disastrous results. There may not even be anything wrong, but in the absence of good communication the players start to fill in the blanks on their own.
This episode of Fastpitch TV features India Chiles talking about slapping. In this video India covers:
- slapping footwork
- when contact should be made
- how to help your slappers stay closed instead of opening up to first too early
- common footwork mistakes to avoid when slapping
- how to set the ball on the tee when doing tee work
- how to help your slappers stay inside the ball when training off the tee
- which part of the ball slappers should try to contact
- where contact should happen
- common hand path mistake to lookout for
- demonstration of slapping off a tee into a net
- and more!
Click Play to Watch Now
Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog
Today's topic was actually suggested by member Rex Wooten. He was looking for somebody — anybody — to address this topic.
I'm guess like many of us he sees a lack of changeups being used at the high school and below level. That doesn't seem right to him, as his email suggests:
"Watched Jenna Caira and Sarah Hamilton pitch winning games this weekend.
Guess what pitch they threw the majority of the time (probably 60-80 %)?
YES - CHANGE-UP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The changeup as the forgotten pitch is particularly interesting because it's almost always the second pitch a pitcher learns, after the basic fastball. And it can be devastating. After all, hitting is about timing, and pitching is about upsetting timing. What better way to do that than throw a pitch that looks like it will be fast but comes in slow?
Yet it seems as youngsters either develop more speed or gain other pitches, they no longer have interest in the change. I've seen it a lot with "power pitchers" at the high school level.
In this episode of Fastpitch TV India Chiles talks about some must hear slapping principles that MANY coaches, parents, and players get wrong. She explains:
- what a slapper should look like in the box
- where a slapper should start from in the batter's box
- where a slapper should be on contact
- what you don't want to see when your players are slapping
- and a whole lot more useful information for successful slapping!
===================
Discover the Secrets Elite Softball Hitters Use to Frustrate Pitchers, Hit with Power, and Earn More Playing Time by Achieving Extraordinary Performances at the Plate!
===> SoftballHittingOnline.com!
It’s not the trendiest new dance club in New York City. Nor will you find it as you walk the Las Vegas strip. But “Club 10” is every bit as exclusive. In fact you can’t pay for admission you have to earn it.
Normally I write about “heady” things that make players, coaches, and parents stop and think. I write things that allow you, in the cyber world, to use your own application to what I’ve written. Not this time.
This article and “Club 10” are the exact opposite of all that. You see “Club 10” was simply what I wrote on my blackboard when I recently made a shift from subjective evaluation of my batting students to a more objective approach.
I simply wanted a way to see if they could actually reproduce their swing 10 times in a row. 10 straight line drives off of the batting tee in their favorite position. No thinking at all. No subjective hypothesis of how good their load, stride, elbow, eye contact was.
Simply a statistical measure of whether or not they could take the same swing 10 times in a row. If they hit the tee, hit a popup, or hit a ground ball, they had to start back at 0.
Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog
Seems like most of the time when I’m doing these rants they’re aimed at coaches. They include lots of philosophizing on how to coach and how to approach players, parents, umpires, etc.
Today I want to take a slightly different tack and focus instead on a message that, while it benefits coaches, really is directed more at parents and other fans.
One of the major challenges coaches face is how quickly they have to make decisions. Fastpitch softball is a sport where the strategies and situations shift constantly. Unlike most free-flowing sports, where the action happens on a continuing basis and so the strategy is really developed ahead of time, softball is a very conditional sport.
What makes sense with a runner on first and one out makes less sense with a runner on second and two outs. If the runner on first in the above is faster than the runner on second, the strategy may change again.
In this episode of Fastpitch TV, Alissa Haber talks about
- the mental game factors that affect your game
- the mental approach that helps you hit better
- tricks to improve your mental approach for increased success at the plate
- how to stay calm in pressure hitting situations
- …and a whole lot more!
Every week (if not almost every day), we receive mail from customers, visitors, and newsletter subscribers. Today I want to take a moment to share one of these inquiries with you.
This question (a good one) came from a softball dad.
From the Softball Performance Mail Bag…
Coach, it seems to me that a lot of emphasis is put on batting mechanics, which I think is good. It is important, but I do not hear or see anyone talking about eye hand coordination. The way I see it, a player can have the best mechanics, but if she can’t put the bat where the ball is consistently, I think a lot of time and money is not being spent wisely. I would like know what you think about this. Is there something I’m missing? I can speak from personal experience that using the little soft rubber 1 inch balls used with a thin bat like a “lightning Rod” seems to work pretty good for my daughter. Thanks
Actually, you're not missing anything. You're right. A softball hitter can have the best swing mechanics in the world, but if she can't make contact with the ball, it doesn't mean much.
I was recently asked about great softball pitching aids for young new pitchers. Well, the first thing that came to mind was the Power Push.
I think it's a great tool that eliminates a very common pitching mechanic flaw. Use it with pitchers who are just starting out and you can help them develop a solid lower body foundation for optimal pitching power and speed.
The one problem I've encountered when telling people about the Power Push is that even with a picture, some people are unsure of how it works or how it will help them.
Thankfully, Mr. Quintero (Power Push developer) put together a great video explaining just how Power Push can help pitchers both new and experienced.
