Help.....coaching softball for the first time

[leoskee]

Icebreaker activity is good. We use drills where you have to call the name of the other player, while throwing, catching, or whatever.

For the first session or for every session? I know tons of ice breaker/team building activities that I can do but I would have to figure out how to connect them to softball.

 

[T.J.]

Also, would be advisable to do an icebreaker type activity with the kids when we first meet each session or should we get straight into practicing?

For me, I used an ice-breaker for the first practice only...and it was kick ball. I rolled a ball out onto the field and had the kids work it all out on their own while I met with the parents on the bleachers. They picked the teams, they made the rules, they figured it all out on their own....and they always have a great time. All this while I'm talking to the parents about the team, goals, expectations, schedules, etc.

When that's all over I bring the kids in. IF the kids don't know each other, we will play a "name game" that teaches everyone everyone's names in about 4 minutes.

Then we start.

But no...I don't do ice-breakers every practice. The warm-up & stretching serves that purpose.

 

[T.J.]

For the first session or for every session? I know tons of ice breaker/team building activities that I can do but I would have to figure out how to connect them to softball.

Actually, the kick-ball I spoke of is right in line with softball.

If, during your practices, the kids are having a tough time grasping certain concepts, you can always use kick-ball as comparison tool with positions, running the bases, getting outs, getting in front of the ball to field it, getting your body into each throw with a follow-thru, etc.

 

[JJsqueeze]

arrrrgh....my little one's rec coach has them playing kickball every other practice. They also use a hula hoop before each at bat to "get their hips" involved. Meanwhile most of the team stands still on D3Ks, can't slide, can't throw, can't hit, Just a little vent, I am sure you don't advocate kickball as a replacement of practice. I have and will keep the ole trap shut for the season, this is just the price of admission to letting her play rec with friends but it really grinds when I see so many things that need to be fixed on a team and so much wasted time.


By all means, do the name game at the beginning, and do something fun once in a while, but the softball gods only accept reps and practice as a sacrifice, and they scorn mightily the team and the girl(s) that do not show the proper respect for the game.

 

[Sweet Lou]

TJ did a nice job.

Here are some specifics:

You need lots and lots of balls and pickle buckets. You can't have too many of either.

Drill 1: Put the girls in a line. Have them about 30 feet from you. Get a small bat and softly hit (do *not* roll) ground balls to the the girls. Have them throw at a target (not a person). Why hit? Because the girls need to learn how to read a ball "coming off the bat" rather than out of a hand.
Drill 2: Same thing, except hit pop ups. Again, do *NOT* throw them popups. Yes, it takes some practice by you to be able to hit pop ups.
Drill 3: Line at SS. Line at 2B. Light hit ground balls to SS, and have them toss the ball to the player covering 2B.
Drill 4: Line at SS. Line at 2B. Lightly hit ground balls to 2B, and have them toss the ball to the SS covering 2B.
Drill 5: Long throwing. Put them at a specific point, and have them compete for "who can throw the ball the furthest".

This may sound crazy, but do those five drills as much as you can. Always end the practice with a game.


If you want the girls to get there "on time" for the games, do your lineup by when they arrive for the game. (First person who shows up bats first. Last person who shows up bats last. Trust me, that will take care of all your tardiness problems.)

The key to making the practice interesting is *YOU*. If you are funny and don't take this too seriously, and keep things moving, the girls will love it. Appropriate teasing is acceptable and encouraged.

Finally, watch out for parents trying to "take over" the practice. I remember one time we were doing some infield situation work, and there was a Dad out in right field backing up, which was OK. The next thing I know, he started playing 3B. (True story.)

Slugger curious about the two bolded.

I'm coaching 9/10 rec right now and I do about half roll/throw v hitting grounders/popups.

I agree that hitting them is important but I find I can get a lot more reps and work a lot more on form with the roll/throw portion of my practice then I can with the hit reps.

This is the first year where I'm doing a lot more roll/throw compared to just hitting and I've seen great strides in fielders form that generally carry over to the hit portion of the reps and practice and into the live portion of games, more so then I generally see when I do mostly all hit reps with fielding.

Personally I think there is is use for both at this age level and I'm curious why you are are against the roll/throw reps? Or am I reading too much into your comment above?

 

[T.J.]

arrrrgh....my little one's rec coach has them playing kickball every other practice.

Eh...certainly cannot put me in that category. We play kick-ball once, and that's only at the beginning of the first practice when I meet with the parents. It's more of a chemistry building tool....and a way to keep them busy, entertained and out of trouble while my head is turned away ....with the net result being kids bonding.

 

[JJsqueeze]

Eh...certainly cannot put me in that category. We play kick-ball once, and that's only at the beginning of the first practice when I meet with the parents. It's more of a chemistry building tool....and a way to keep them busy, entertained and out of trouble while my head is turned away ....with the net result being kids bonding.

I figured. but I just needed to vent at the mention of kickball.

 

[sluggers]

I agree that hitting them is important but I find I can get a lot more reps and work a lot more on form with the roll/throw portion of my practice then I can with the hit reps.

You are way ahead of the game by rolling them the ball rather than doing the traditional "stand 60 feet away and hit balls to them" approach. You are better than 99% of the rec coaches out there. And, a lot of coaches do it that way. IMHO, it is better for young kids to always be fielding with hit balls if at all possible.

I bring the kids in to about 20 or 30 feet in front of me, put them in a line and "tap" ground balls to them. I use a small bat that I choke up on and swing one handed. I also have a bucket (well, actually several, buckets) of balls. So, I hit the ball, an AC or a parent tosses me a ball, and then I hit another.

The balls are hit with about the same pace as rolling the ball, but the kids learn how to read the ball off the bat. Also, it helps with their fear of getting hit with the ball. Because there will be variations in the location of each ground ball, they always have to move a little to field the ball.

I use the same bat and process for popups. (If you use a small bat, you can really get good at hitting popups. Maybe it was just because I always hit popups when I played.)

In my experience, I have gotten young kids fielding balls with much more confidence and skill using this approach rather than rolling the ball. (But, again, rolling the ball to them is better than the "60 feet and blast away" approach.)

 

[Sweet Lou]

Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate it and it helps. Will start incorporating more of that into the practice routines.

 

[T.J.]

I bring the kids in to about 20 or 30 feet in front of me, put them in a line and "tap" ground balls to them. I use a small bat that I choke up on and swing one handed. I also have a bucket (well, actually several, buckets) of balls. So, I hit the ball, an AC or a parent tosses me a ball, and then I hit another.

The balls are hit with about the same pace as rolling the ball, but the kids learn how to read the ball off the bat. Also, it helps with their fear of getting hit with the ball. Because there will be variations in the location of each ground ball, they always have to move a little to field the ball.

In my experience, I have gotten young kids fielding balls with much more confidence and skill using this approach rather than rolling the ball. (But, again, rolling the ball to them is better than the "60 feet and blast away" approach.)

I like this and will try it. I've been a roller (candrea warmup routine) for a few years but will give this a shot as I like your philosophy. Thanks.