You volunteered to coach the softball team, but are you ready? How will you teach the fundamental skills, run effective practices, and harness the energy of your young team? Fear not: Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Softball has the answers. Longtime coaches Robert and Tammy Benson share their experiences and provide advice you can rely on from the first practice to the final game. Establishing realistic goals, in-game coaching tips, drills, strategies, and fun—it’s all here. Develop your team’s fundamental skills—fielding, catching, throwing, and hitting—with the Survival Guide’s collection of the game’s best youth drills. Included is a section on pitching instruction, and the ready-to-use practice plans will help you get the most out of every practice. Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Softball has everything you need for a rewarding and productive season. So step up and enjoy the experience. It will be one that you won’t forget.

“Mastering these drills will arm your players with one of the biggest intangibles necessary to perform well--confidence.” --Michele Smith Two-time Olympic gold medalist and Hall of Fame pitcher Michele Smith throws one right down the middle with this big collection of more than 250 skill-building drills developed especially for coaches of fast-pitch recreation league, travel ball, and high school softball players, ages eight to eighteen. Straight from the Michele Smith Gold Camps and Clinics, these drills are designed to give you all the tools you need to teach the entire range of offensive and defensive softball skills. With Michele's expert guidance and instruction, you'll coach your players to: Master the mechanics of footwork for fielding with hustle Swing for the fences and hit the fastest pitches Catch the ball proactively and throw it quickly and accurately to its target Defend the infield and outfield with speed and confidence Run the bases swiftly and strategically Refine fast-pitch skills so they can windmill like Michele And much more

Looking for the ultimate book to help you learn and master softball’s essential skills? Look no further than the guide that has helped develop the game’s top players and most successful teams. This new edition of Softball Skills & Drills is completely updated with more skills, more drills and strategies, and more of the stellar instruction that have made it the top-selling title on the sport. Judi Garman, one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history, teams with Cal State Fullerton’s Michelle Gromacki to share their secrets to developing and mastering every aspect of the game. With step-by-step instruction, full-color photo sequences, technique tips, and unique insight into the game, you’ll learn every fundamental skill: •Hitting •Bunting •Slap Hitting •Baserunning •Sliding •Fielding •Throwing •Pitching •Catching And with over 230 of the game’s best drills, coverage of team offense and defense, pitch selection, pitch recognition, and in-game strategies, Softball Skills and Drills is simply the most comprehensive and practical guide on the sport. Whether striving to become a complete player or preparing your team for another championship run, Softball Skills &Drills is the one book you cannot be without.

Field a winning fastpitch softball team year after year with the knowledge and insights of a coaching legend! Coaching Fastpitch Softball Successfully provides the guidance and technical expertise you need in order to build and maintain a competitive team, covering every facet of leading a squad on the field and developing a program off of it. Hall of Fame coach Kathy Veroni, who has won more than 1,250 fastpitch games in her career, and pitching expert Roanna Brazier share their insights and experiences in this authoritative, comprehensive guide to coaching fastpitch softball. From developing a coaching philosophy and planning for the season to teaching the skills and tactics of the game, you will find proven formulas for success within these pages. With practice and conditioning plans, administrative forms, sample scouting charts, tactics for dozens of game situations, and more than 130 drills, Coaching Fastpitch Softball Successfully is the most complete resource available for aspiring and experienced coaches alike. Take advantage of the authors' expertise to gain a winning edge over your competition.

Packed with 175 drills straight from the practice sessions of the game's most successful programs, The Softball Drill Book will add variety to your practices and precision to your game-day performances. The comprehensive collection covers every aspect of the game. From warm-up to conditioning, throwing to hitting, bunting to base-running, you'll find drills to improve position skill and team execution—all from college coaches and programs that have won 13 NCAA Women's College World Series titles and dozens of NCAA regional tournament titles. Contributors include: Louie Berndt, Florida State Carol Bruggeman, Louisville Yvette Girouard, Louisiana State Michelle Gromacki, Cal State Fullerton Deanna Gumpf, Notre Dame Carol Hutchins, Michigan Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA Jay Miller, Mississippi State Jennifer Ogee, Nebraska Kim Sowder, Long Beach State Heather Tarr, Washington Michelle Venturella, Iowa Kirk Walker, Oregon State Margie Wright, Fresno State One look at the names above and it is clear, The Softball Drill Book is your blueprint for championship practices.

Plain and simple, championship teams score runs. Their offenses are consistent, aggressive, opportunistic, and disciplined. They may manufacture runs or rely on the long ball, but they score early and often. And they win. High-Scoring Softball is the definitive guide for offensive play. The game’s most successful coaching duo, Ralph and Karen Weekly, share the approach that has shaped some of the game’s top scoring offenses and generated more than 1,700 career victories. Inside you’ll find detailed instruction, advice, and coaching tips on mastering offensive fundamentals, such as baserunning, bunting, slap hitting, and hitting for power and average. You’ll learn how to evaluate your team’s talents, tendencies, and strengths and create a potent, offensive attack. And a detailed analysis of common game situations provides you with strategies and advice for capitalizing on every opportunity. Defense may win games, but only if you score. With High-Scoring Softball you will score and you will win. It will change the way you play the game.

Annotation Focused for Fastpitchcombines the best qualities of a drill book and a softball-specific guide to sport psychology, ensuring that come game time everyone will play at peak performance. Informative yet easy to read, mastering the Focused for Fastpitchtraining principles requires no prior experience, and each chapter includes interactive exercises and charts to help monitor progress. Each drill clearly specifies the mental and physical skills targeted, the goal, proper execution, coaching tips, and variations for increasing or decreasing difficulty. And for additional insight into successful skill building, some favorite drills are included from these top coaches:-Gayle Blevins, University of Iowa-Tami Brown, All-American Softball School's College Prep Program-Connie Clark, University of Texas-Michelle Gromacki, California State University, Fullerton-Jacquie Joseph, Michigan State University-Brian Kolze, University of the Pacific-Patrick Murphy, University of Alabama-Coaching staff, University of California, Davis-John Reeves, University of California-Kathy Strahan, California State University, SacramentoIntegrating concentration, confidence, mental imagery, and energy regulation at practice with softball-specific drills will result in players reaching their potential far sooner than practicing any of these aspects alone. Applying the information in Focused for Fastpitchis the best way to gain the advantage.