Speed and Agility training
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I would also be interested as once the girls mature to 12-13 yrs. they have tendency to naturally run
more on the balls of the feet rather than flat footed. My DD plods like a plowhorse-I am looking for a
softball camp for a week or 2 this summer in Florida. Any tips would be appreciated
more on the balls of the feet rather than flat footed. My DD plods like a plowhorse-I am looking for a
softball camp for a week or 2 this summer in Florida. Any tips would be appreciated
Fastpitch Tips & Drills, Coaching, Rules | Team Websites | eteamz Here is a web site with a bunch of drills. One has what coach JV just posted about teaching them to run on the balls of the feet. The main problems I see is kids ( girls) do not understand balance. Hitter has some good posts on this subject. Take a bunch of girls and have them leap up in the air and land. Notice how loud they are. Now you know what the issue is. We have been to some speed and agility camps in college taught by trainers. Many of the drills are easy to do. You see many of these drills at soccer and football practice. IE Ladder drills.
- Dec 28, 2008
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JV - Not sure how far south you are in Florida, but Higher Ground has a great summer camp in Columbus, GA and we do cover Speed/Agility drills just about every day, and usually multiple instructors have sessions so she'll get several different concepts. www.highergroundsoftball.com. They are also hosting a camp at Mercer College in Macon, GA January 23/24 and I'll be covering speed one day, and agility the other if you want to come up before the season gets started.
Marc has a great video on Speed/Agility drills, that I watched a couple of times. One of the funnest things in the video is a drill he calls Popcorn. Where the girls go through the proper running mechanics with their arms, while seated on the ground. When they really utilize their arms they will literally be able to pop up and down and raise off of the ground.
One way to get them to get them on the balls of their feet is to have them start standing straight up with both legs together and arms at their sides. Then have them lean forward just as far as they possibly can before finally exploding forward. Their first few steps they will stay low and they will drive their legs very quickly and very hard.
Another fun drill if you have the right equipment is have them run in pairs where 1 is learning how to push through resistance while the other is over-sprinting. I do the drill with therapeutic bands that are 25 foot long, but tied together to form a closed loop. Runner 1 is in front and holds the band on her waist. Runner 2 stands behind her with the band around her as well pulling on her back. Runner 1 explodes and tries running as fast as she can, which is no problem up to the point where the band begins to have a lot of tension in it. At that point she will need to really drive her legs hard and lean forward to continue moving. Also at that point where it gets tense she yells out "Go". Runner 2 now has to explode, but with the added incentive of the band now retracting (snapping back like a rubber band.) So she is now over-sprinting and is going faster than she's ever gone before. But she now sees how fast her body is really capable of going because her feet do keep up but she also leans forward in order to do so. I must warn you this is something that you should try sparingly until you get familiar with it, and emphasize to the girls that it is not something that they can do goofing off. If runner 2 is going to fall she must yell out "STOP" to warn the front runner that the band may coming snapping back in and hit her. Also it is obviously important to pair the girls up based upon their current speed in comparison to each other. 2 good friends just can't pair up if they are miles apart in speed or neither will get anything out of the drill. There are bungy type cords, waist bands etc that you can purchase online via fitness stores that do the same type of thing.
Marc has a great video on Speed/Agility drills, that I watched a couple of times. One of the funnest things in the video is a drill he calls Popcorn. Where the girls go through the proper running mechanics with their arms, while seated on the ground. When they really utilize their arms they will literally be able to pop up and down and raise off of the ground.
One way to get them to get them on the balls of their feet is to have them start standing straight up with both legs together and arms at their sides. Then have them lean forward just as far as they possibly can before finally exploding forward. Their first few steps they will stay low and they will drive their legs very quickly and very hard.
Another fun drill if you have the right equipment is have them run in pairs where 1 is learning how to push through resistance while the other is over-sprinting. I do the drill with therapeutic bands that are 25 foot long, but tied together to form a closed loop. Runner 1 is in front and holds the band on her waist. Runner 2 stands behind her with the band around her as well pulling on her back. Runner 1 explodes and tries running as fast as she can, which is no problem up to the point where the band begins to have a lot of tension in it. At that point she will need to really drive her legs hard and lean forward to continue moving. Also at that point where it gets tense she yells out "Go". Runner 2 now has to explode, but with the added incentive of the band now retracting (snapping back like a rubber band.) So she is now over-sprinting and is going faster than she's ever gone before. But she now sees how fast her body is really capable of going because her feet do keep up but she also leans forward in order to do so. I must warn you this is something that you should try sparingly until you get familiar with it, and emphasize to the girls that it is not something that they can do goofing off. If runner 2 is going to fall she must yell out "STOP" to warn the front runner that the band may coming snapping back in and hit her. Also it is obviously important to pair the girls up based upon their current speed in comparison to each other. 2 good friends just can't pair up if they are miles apart in speed or neither will get anything out of the drill. There are bungy type cords, waist bands etc that you can purchase online via fitness stores that do the same type of thing.
- Oct 25, 2009
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Agility ladders, jump ropes (Google Buddy Lee or Your Top Source For Boxing Training Advice (heavy duty)), boxes, sprints.
If you know a good track coach for the sprints that would be great. But keep in mind softball's main interest there is acceleration, not necessarily speed. Sprinters reach max speed mostly after 60'.
There is much more to jump rope than first impression.
To some's surprise core strength also plays a significant role in speed.
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- Dec 15, 2009
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wait....so when you run you should run on the balls of your feet? and as a player i would like to also become faster but my issue is that i'm a bigger girl. mainly a catcher. so i have balance, but i want the speed now. i get tired easily from sprints....well running in general. and i also easily get side stitches. any help?
The simplest first step is to make sure girls run with proper arm movement. Many will run with hands flailing and elbows wide, thats bad
How fast the arms are pumped has a direct effect on the legs, it is a timing thing. Elbows should be in, arms pumping up and down fast. Elbows bent at 90 degrees. Concentrate on making the rearward /downward motion as fast as possible. Look at some video of sprinters.
How fast the arms are pumped has a direct effect on the legs, it is a timing thing. Elbows should be in, arms pumping up and down fast. Elbows bent at 90 degrees. Concentrate on making the rearward /downward motion as fast as possible. Look at some video of sprinters.
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Strengthen core and leg muscles before any sprint training. Learn proper running form for efficiency. Cone and ladder drills will help. Make sure to activate hamstring muscles by doing lower back bridges or split squats
- Oct 19, 2009
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I had our high school track coach come to practice and work with the girls on proper running form. When I played college football our coach had us run the lines on the foot ball field first thing, placing our right foot in the center of the white line.
If you notice some of the kids run to first like a snake, learning to run in a straight line can help some along with proper form.
If you notice some of the kids run to first like a snake, learning to run in a straight line can help some along with proper form.
Wow - lots of great suggestions! I also agree with working the core. There are a bunch of simple exercises that can be done to help with that. Barry Lovelace has a bunch of videos up on youtube you can check out as well as a core training program. Running form and technique is also an area that can really help players improve! As others have mentioned, most softball players don't have great form (even if their already pretty quick). You can also get suggestions from track coaches as to what drills to use to help with running form.
softball_chic: yes, when you sprint, you should be driving off the balls of your feet. Your heels should not be coming in contact with the ground. Even when you do high knees and butt kick drills it's the same thing. Keeps your heels off the ground.
Coach JV: not sure that girls running gets any better around age 12-13. I still see that age group and higher with lots of the same technique that younger girls have: flailing arms that move in every directions except for the one they are trying to run in, flat footed, no knee lift, etc, etc, etc. Locally we have a speed and quickness camp that runs on weekends during certain parts of the year for about $10 a session. We used to recommend to our younger girls to try it out and attend. I took my oldest a number of times so that she could work on running form. Lucky for us, my husband was a track sprinter in high school and this winter he worked with her on some form drills that really helped. She still tenses up too much when she gets tired, and her arms also start moving more side-to-side when she gets tired, but short sprints (base to base) her form is so much better now.
softball_chic: yes, when you sprint, you should be driving off the balls of your feet. Your heels should not be coming in contact with the ground. Even when you do high knees and butt kick drills it's the same thing. Keeps your heels off the ground.
Coach JV: not sure that girls running gets any better around age 12-13. I still see that age group and higher with lots of the same technique that younger girls have: flailing arms that move in every directions except for the one they are trying to run in, flat footed, no knee lift, etc, etc, etc. Locally we have a speed and quickness camp that runs on weekends during certain parts of the year for about $10 a session. We used to recommend to our younger girls to try it out and attend. I took my oldest a number of times so that she could work on running form. Lucky for us, my husband was a track sprinter in high school and this winter he worked with her on some form drills that really helped. She still tenses up too much when she gets tired, and her arms also start moving more side-to-side when she gets tired, but short sprints (base to base) her form is so much better now.
