New HS Varsity Coach - Need help practice planning/drills

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Mar 3, 2016
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My DD attends a small high school (13 girls came out for softball). Varsity Coach position had been open since Sept and had not been filled by time season started. I said I would coach so the girls could play this year, but I have zero coaching experience. I played school/ASA ball through 18u and my DD currently plays 18 GOLD, so I have decent knowledge of the game.

When it comes to drills that work on fundamentals (throwing, fielding, catching, hitting) I only know a few. Skill range on the team varies from never played to 18 GOLD. I have two girls who play tournament ball, the rest just play school (2 have never played). I have 2 assistant coaches available to help with practices, 2 bownets, 2 tees, lots of balls and a batting cage. Very small budget to buy additional training aids. Any drills/websites/etc that you could recommend would be greatly appreciated, feeling slightly overwhelmed with the lack of solid fundamentals on the team and teaching them is not my strong suit. THANK YOU!
 
Dec 10, 2015
845
63
Chautauqua County
You could do much worse than by starting here, following links to other sites and then organizing. What are your priorities - hitting, defense, what? Budget your practice time. Putting the right players in the right positions is critical. Teaching has to be your strong suit, it's what a coach does. The best of luck!
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
My DD attends a small high school (13 girls came out for softball). Varsity Coach position had been open since Sept and had not been filled by time season started. I said I would coach so the girls could play this year, but I have zero coaching experience. I played school/ASA ball through 18u and my DD currently plays 18 GOLD, so I have decent knowledge of the game.

When it comes to drills that work on fundamentals (throwing, fielding, catching, hitting) I only know a few. Skill range on the team varies from never played to 18 GOLD. I have two girls who play tournament ball, the rest just play school (2 have never played). I have 2 assistant coaches available to help with practices, 2 bownets, 2 tees, lots of balls and a batting cage. Very small budget to buy additional training aids. Any drills/websites/etc that you could recommend would be greatly appreciated, feeling slightly overwhelmed with the lack of solid fundamentals on the team and teaching them is not my strong suit. THANK YOU!


First two things: Do you have a pitcher.... and do you have a catcher. Without these sorted, it really doesn't matter what else you do. If you don't A) It is going to be a LONG season and B) Time to figure out how you are going to address this (i.e. which of the 13 are going to be your best options) and get to work.

After that, this site is a wealth of info on drills, skills, hitting and so on... Divide them up into those who can (I.e. your 18U Gold players) and those that can't - run similar drills but different based on skill levels.

Congrats on stepping up to coach.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
There really are only about three drills in softball...fielding grounders, catching flyballs and throwing. You create variations of these drills to make them interesting.

For the love of all that is holy, do *NOT* hit the balls "hard" at them until they have developed skills. Hit easy ground balls and correct mistakes in their fielding mechanics.

Here are some links to drills:

Infield
Outfield
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BgiappeTZk
Tony Medina
Jenny Finch
John Tschida

For throwing, so something really simple: Have them compete for "who can throw the ball the farthest". Simplest game in the whole world, but you will see tremendous improvement in the lesser players almost immediately.
 
Last edited:
Jun 7, 2013
984
0
For the love of all that is holy, do *NOT* hit the balls "hard" at them until they have developed skills. Hit easy ground balls and correct mistakes in their fielding mechanics.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves in softball!!! I see these big strong men coaches hitting hard ground balls at girls who will not see a ground ball that fast unless they play DI softball!!!

These fast ground balls can take bad bounces, hurt the girls, and make them very shy about fielding. That is the opposite of what is needed!!!

When I hit ground balls, I hit them with one hand to make sure that they are not too hard and to try to ensure that they never bounce above the knee level. This allows the girls to focus on their mechanics and not on trying not to get hurt, which I think is what we really want!
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
[MENTION=5070]marriard[/MENTION] you beat me to it.

These are the two most important questions you must answer 1. DO YOU HAVE A PITCHER? 2. IF A PITCHER GETS HURT DO YOU HAVE B PITCHER? Everything and I do mean everything is secondary. If nobody can pitch Even if that 18U GOLD outfielder has not pitched since 12U she is now A pitcher then that girl who pitched 12U in LL half a season is B pitcher. You simply have to have someone who can get the ball consistently over the plate or your games will turn into 10U rec games in a hurry and you will get run ruled every 3 inning game you play having walked or been homered off of by every batter.

Now you can focus on finding someone to play catcher, your prerequisites are not afraid, softball smart and can throw the ball to 2B without a hop or rainbow.

Then build your team coordinated good fielders infield, fast girls in the outfield (without an ace pitcher they will be running a lot).

You can search through the sight for lots of good drill and ideas for practice.

Most of all HAVE FUN, I would also let your senior? 18U Gold young lady know that she need to step up and be a leader, not a yeller and degrader to the inexperienced but a teacher and cheerleader.
 
Mar 3, 2016
3
0
First two things: Do you have a pitcher.... and do you have a catcher. Without these sorted, it really doesn't matter what else you do. If you don't A) It is going to be a LONG season and B) Time to figure out how you are going to address this (i.e. which of the 13 are going to be your best options) and get to work.

After that, this site is a wealth of info on drills, skills, hitting and so on... Divide them up into those who can (I.e. your 18U Gold players) and those that can't - run similar drills but different based on skill levels.

Congrats on stepping up to coach.

Thank you. I have a freshman pitcher who is at about a 12B level. She has one pitch, a "fastball" which is slow and generally down the middle (perfect homerun ball). We are working with her to try to pitch the corners and keep it low, but not a lot of success. Other "pitcher" is a sophomore who started taking pitching lessons this summer. She's a little more wild but has more movement on her ball and a little more speed. Thankfully we have a catcher who is decent.

We have 0 seniors, 2 juniors and the rest underclassmen. :) Probably not taking home a state championship this year, lol but we will do the best with what we have. I've started looking around the site more for drills, just found it today. Thanks for your reply.
 
Mar 3, 2016
3
0
There really are only about three drills in softball...fielding grounders, catching flyballs and throwing. You create variations of these drills to make them interesting.

For the love of all that is holy, do *NOT* hit the balls "hard" at them until they have developed skills. Hit easy ground balls and correct mistakes in their fielding mechanics.

Here are some links to drills:

Infield
Outfield
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BgiappeTZk
Tony Medina
Jenny Finch
John Tschida

For throwing, so something really simple: Have them compete for "who can throw the ball the farthest". Simplest game in the whole world, but you will see tremendous improvement in the lesser players almost immediately.

Thank you for your reply! And no worries, I will not hit it hard at them if they are not ready. I want them to work on their mechanics and confidence. As their skill level increases, I will increase the difficulty. :)

Also, thank you for the links to drills! I've been trying to look through the forums (I'm not terribly forum savvy) to find drills but haven't had much success.
 
Dec 10, 2015
845
63
Chautauqua County
Well, based on your roster, I would add this. One of the reasons I just got hired for HS softball(modified) is because I brought with me a track record of building softball programs. I have been on the job about 2 weeks and have already reached out to the varsity coach for the signs she uses and anything else she wants taught. More importantly, I have reached out to the girls Little league programs (10,12 and 16U). I will soon be meeting with all of their coaches and officials and going over what I need as far as their girls moving up. And you can bet your last softball that I will be sending all of them to DFP. You build a program and pipeline and eventually start filling out varsity rosters with quality players. If you can show steady improvement, you will get buy in from players and parents. Hope this helps.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
We are in season but if you send me a pm with your email address, I'll send some stuff your way. One condition, you can't make fun of me after you see it.
 

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