Everything Fastpitch - The Podcast

This Weeks Lineup:Warmup SegmentListener Question:  My daughter hits well in the cage in practice and in the cages, but struggles in a game.(@9:47)Paige's Power Play (@16:23)Be realistic in your expectations of training.(@18:40)Old School vs New School Coaching Styles (@32:30)There are drastic differences between the levels of talent on a team. How do you coach and set up practices to develop everyone? (@44:51)Support the show

To teach the skills of playing which include fielding, throwing, batting, bunting, etc we can't just teach the major skills. We have to break it down to all of the little skills that make up the big skill. For example, fielding starts with getting the glove open. We have to get our body in the correct position. We can't just go hit ground balls and expect the player to figure it out. We have to teach the simple skills one at a time and then combine them to accomplish the end result.Support the show

This Weeks Lineup:Warmup SegmentListener Question: How many players generally switch positions when they go to college? (@11:40)Paige's Power Play (@18:44)Various topics to bring everyone up to date. (@23:33)Someone posts a question on Facebook, probably 75% of responses were negative. (@36:37)Kids don't learn from people they don't like. (@45:48)Support the show

Your team is allowing too many runs. What is the cause? First you have to analyze what part of being a good defensive team is going wrong. It could be a skill issue, focus issue, softball IQ, etc. Then develop a practice plan to address the problems. Don't forget that depending upon your mix of players, it could be multiple issues.Support the show

This Weeks Lineup:Warmup SegmentListener Question: Should players learn multiple positions? (@12:20)Paige's Power Play (@20:38)Rule Changes Updates (@25:08)Players getting involved in the community in times of need. (@42:30)Coaches should have at least basic pitching knowledge. (@50:02)Support the show

Every team experiences this at some point. A top player goes down. How you handle this as a coach with the team is extremely important. You don't have a team "pity party", you reorganize your lineup and coach the rest of the players up and get each one to contribute a little more. You can't replace that player with one player but you can replace them with what many players can do.Support the show

This weeks lineup:Warmup SegmentListener Question: How do you handle the post game meeting when you lose? (@11:15)Paige's Power Play (@20:28)Interview with Billy Cooper who just had a great experience with his daughter. (@24:11)Listener Question: I am coaching very young players. How do I judge my expectations for them? (@40:49)Players are being over coached in games and it needs to stop. (@52:21)Support the show

Coach Tory says is we want to play amazing we have to practice amazing. Special plays don't just happen in a game. Amazing players are out there trying to make the impossible play in practice so that it could happen in a game.Support the show

This weeks lineup:Warmup SegmentListener Question: How do you know which bats are legit? (@09:13)Help for beginning coaches. Coach Tory just did a coaches clinic and several things came out that he wants to pass on. (@17:13)Coach Dan has several parents on his team that feels like their daughters are just not trying hard enough. (@42:12)A skill that is not being practice nearly enough. That is sliding. (@56:16)Support the show

We need to evaluate our level of play in a game and place the winning and losing in its proper perspective. The coaches discuss the possible outcomes of a game and help you understand what you need to look at beside the score board.Support the show

This weeks lineup:Warmup SegmentListener Question:  Is there a shortage of pitchers? Every team posting tryouts is looking for pitchers. (@09:47)Big changes in the world of college athletics. (@17:20)Keeping your field nice and whose job is it. (@39:26)Value of live pitching versus coach pitching. (@54:39)Support the show

The cornerstone of the game is the ability to throw and catch. One of the mistakes we make is playing catch or having a coach play a position and use our range and size to give the player a false sense of accomplishment. To get more accurate throws, adults need to reduce their size and ability to more represent players the size and ability of those we are training. We discuss some methods to accomplish this and we know that it is effective.Support the show

This weeks lineup:Warmup Segment:Listener Question: My daughter is moving up to the 12" ball. Does she need a different glove? (@10:12)Paige's Power Play (@15:47)Now that kids are going back to school, this is a good time to make an assessment of your past year and where you need to make improvements. Then make a plan for  development in the coming year. (@21:41)Keep the "fun" in fundamentals. Practice can be boring so you have to come up with a plan to work on the fundamentals and make it fun and exciting. (@36:50)Softball - Stay Classy. Making any type of comments that are negative for the opposing team is totally unwarranted and shows no class. (@44:33)Support the show

The greatest challenge for hitters is pitch recognition. What better way for them to gain experience than spending time catching pitchers. They should be able to work up to being able to catch without knowing what pitch is coming. Listen to our thoughts on how to incorporate this into your practice routine.Support the show

This Weeks Lineup:Warmup Segment:Listener Question: My daughter is 13 and plays on a 14U team. Her team will be moving up to 16U next year. Should she find a new 14U team or move up with her current team? (@9:32)Paige's Power Play (@14:43)The impact of the NIL and Transfer Portal putting the "I" in team. (@18:30)Olympics (@36:22)To improve your team let them see and witness the next level of play. (@48:31)Support the show

An unpracticed skill is getting up when a play forces us to the ground. On offensive if we dive for a ball and catch it, obviously we need to get up quickly to make a play. If we miss it, we are suppose to be in a secondary position.  Get up and get there.If we are a base runner either diving back to a base or sliding into a base, we need to get up quickly in case there is a chance to advance. The worse thing we can do is immediately ask for time while on the ground. The umpire granting time makes the ball dead. If the defender still has the ball, there is a chance they will make a bad throw. We can't advance while time is called. This can be practiced.Support the show

This Weeks Lineup:Warmup SegmentListener Question: My daughter hits a lot of singles and has a good batting average, but does not hit with any power. (@13:21)Paige's Power Play (@22:08)Proper Hitting Preparation. The coaches discuss the 4 deep preparation of hitters getting ready for an at-bat.(@25:45)Player's attitudes and influences. We need to be aware of what influences our player's attitudes. We either can help or harm. (@42:23)Coaches, work on your game. We expect players to work on their skills. Coaches you need to work on your game also. (@53:32)Support the show

We discuss the fact that many catchers are way too far back of the hitter. Move them up where they can perform better. The further back you are opens the door to making the pitcher, catcher and umpire have a harder time. When you are close, breaking balls are easier to catch. Low balls don't hit the ground. Umpires get a better read. And the pitcher has a tighter zone to throw into.Support the show

This Week's Lineup:Warmup SegmentListener Question: My daughter just played her last travel ball tournament forever.  I am really depressed about it. What can I do? (@11:24)Paige's Power Play (@:15:34)Part 2 of our interview with Justin McCleod. We cover the Transfer Portal,  NIL, etc. (@20:41)Wrap up of the end of the summer season. Make sure we are preparing ourselves to finish well. (@38:32)Coaches - wrap up the summer season and then take a break and decompress. (@45:41)Support the show

We need to train and educate our players so they understand that the strategy choices we are making and to execute them accordingly instead of wondering why. Why distracts from executing.Support the show