Fundamentals

[Softballchickie9]

What are the basic most important fundamentals that 14u fast pitch should be taught? How do I make them take me seriously? I’m a parent that stepped up because it’s super important for my daughter to play and being we live in a small town, that almost didn’t happen. I just happened to go to a meeting they had and found out we might not have enough so went out and recruited more girls. At the time I was nervous about being head coach so I passed it on to another mom no thinking about anything past that. Well now since it’s the HC daughter’s last year to play ( which I didn’t realize) she doesn’t really care to work hard. Me on the other hand, I am passionate and know a thing or two and I am putting time and effort into this for them, coming up with a good practice schedule and she looks at me like I’m stupid. She just wants to do the same thing at practice, stand there and hit the ball werevver and say plays at first. It drives me nutts. I can’t do that, they learn nothing! So but since I’m not the “head coach” even though I’m the reason we are even playing, they don’t take me seriously!?! Also cuz I’m a bit goofy and have always been the fun mom but I take this seriously! I didn’t think a title would matter so much since we are just both parents but apparently it is. I’m at a loss of what to do and it’s really taking it’s toll on me. I just want the best for them and to pass on some sort of knowledge and help them to end the season a little bit better than when they started.


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[Lance Steckler]

if you ain't got any power to make changes, then the changes will not happen. rock the boat or get out!

 

[softball dad 6]

Find a good tb, hs, or college coach in your area if possible. Encourage her to go with you to watch a practice. Your only opportunity in this situation is to have it be her idea to do things differently. Sometimes they don't know what they don't know till it hits them in the face.

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[Rick M]

You just have to stride onto the field and take charge. Don’t worry about what your title is, if you’re authoritative and are there to help, the girls will respond.

Had a similar situation back in 8U All Stars. I had been an AC during the rec season, but had no role for All Stars. The two coaches stood at home plate during practice, drinking coffee and hitting slow rollers to the infield.

I watched for ten minutes or so and then walked out and announced that I would work with the infielders. I did that the whole summer, didn’t wait for an invitation.

The HC left the next season, and I coached those girls for the subsequent six years. Take charge, you got this!!


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[monte38]

Join NFCA.org online, there is a coupon right now for half off, so it would be about $40 I think for a first time member. They have a huge database of drills for coaches. Great place to start, youtube has great info as well, just search for practice plans, etc.

 

[YOCOACH]

Just make sure that the drills you access through the NFCA site is appropriate for the skill level you are coaching. Many are geared towards a more advanced skill level. I would also recommend you sign up at the USA softball site and go through the background check and ACE training. This will open up their resource center which also has some excellent drills. One other thing. Look up Mike Candrea's drills on Youtube. Those are good places to start. If you want more info on building a SB library of what is considered the top teachings, PM me or respond here and I'll provide links but it'll cost you some money so beware. Right now, with the info we provided, the cost is fairly minimal compared to what else we can tell you to build your library.

 

[Softballchickie9]

Find a good tb, hs, or college coach in your area if possible. Encourage her to go with you to watch a practice. Your only opportunity in this situation is to have it be her idea to do things differently. Sometimes they don't know what they don't know till it hits them in the face.

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I thought this same thing! Ty!


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[Filterbing]

Another route is to look for coaches clinics and get the others to attend with you.

 

[Shiloh]

Why not just talk to the coach? If she's dialing it in because it's her DD's last year playing on that team, she might be very happy to hand 1/2 the team over to you during practice. You could suggest that you do OF drills while she does IF, or you do hitting stations while she does IF drills, something like that.

Also, if you want the kids to take you seriously and follow your lead, act like a leader.

 

[Dabears17]

What level is this 14u team? rec? Travel(A,B,C)? What skill level are the players? What are the goals of this team and the individual players?

Last summer I posted a bunch of information on how to develop an 8u team/program, but I need more info to try to throw something together for you.

The $80 I spend a year on the NFCA membership is one of the best deals on softball resources, and if you use the code 'NFCADAY2022' you will get a new one year membership for $40. That replaces an almost 11 year record as the best $40 I've spent on a softball coach's resource being the New England Catching Camp DVD. ( www.catchingcamp.com )

The deal is definitely for April 23rd, and I've pretty sure April 18th-25th.

Youth Softball | NFCA Softball Coach Membership | Fastpitch

Welcome to the NFCA Youth member benefits page! Invest in yourself and your players. Become an NFCA member today and elevate your game with exclusive educatio...

nfca.org

A link to a bunch of good information in about 300 short videos is on youtube at: #TipTuesday . This information is better organized linked by topic if you have a membership on the www.nfca.org website.

As part of the 1st year membership there are links to practice plans and a drill book or two.