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5 Softball Drills

By Marc Dagenais

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 24Apr2009
Word count: 561
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The best softball players in the world get to the top by practicing as much as they possibly can. If you're a softball player, you should always try to improve and become better.

Playing softball is one of the toughest sports to succeed at because it's a known fact that just hitting a softball is one of or the hardest thing to do as an athlete.

A great way to practice and pick up some skills of the game are through softball drills. Here are some drills that cover a wide area of the game.

Drill 1 - Stride (Softball Hitting)

Purpose: To focus on keeping the hands back while taking a soft, short step.

Procedure: The batter takes her normal stance and takes a low, soft stride forward, while the hands stay back.

Drill 2 - Rabbit (Base Running)

Purpose: To make the player's explosive power off a base better.

Procedure: Runner 1 is at first base, while runner 2 is 10 feet from first base and in the direction of second base. On the head coach's signal, runner 1 tries to catch runner 2 before runner 2 reaches second base.

Drill 3 - Passed Balls and Wild Pitches (Softball Catchers)

Purpose: To practice getting to the ball quickly and accurately and throwing it back to the plate.

Procedure: The catcher starts in a ready position at home plate in full gear. A coach is in front of the catcher and throws a ball behind the catcher, simulating a wild pitch. The coach can take the throw from the catcher or use a pitcher. The catcher throws off her mask in the direction opposite the ball (to avoid tripping over it) and runs back to the backstop, surrounding the ball so that her throwing arm is closest to the backstop. As she gets near the ball, she should fall to her knees and slide toward it. Using the back of her glove as a brace, the catcher picks the ball up with the bare hand and sidearm throws the ball back to the plate. The ball should be thrown about 1-2 feet up the line and at knee height. Each catcher makes 10 throws.

Drill 4 - Momentum Into the Throw

Purpose: To teach use of the total body, staying back, and moving into the ball.

Procedure: A tosser stands 5 feet in front of a fielder. Another player stands 50-100 feet from the fielder and acts as the target. The tosser starts by throwing a ball straight up in the air and directly in front of the fielder. The fielder will stay back and waits for the ball to come down, then catches the ball while moving forward and throws to the target all in the same motion. Each player gets to the throw 5-8 balls.

Drill 5 - No Stride (Pitching)

Purpose: To promote proper ball release and speed for softball pitching.

Procedure: The pitcher throws a ball to a partner without using a forward stride. The partner can be another pitcher, so this is a warm-up drill that works really well for the pitching staff. The stride foot is even with the pivot foot. The pitcher pitches the ball using good hip rotation, a strong snap of the wrist, and a good follow-through, focusing on proper hip and arm mechanics. Pitchers should constantly be aware of the danger of not rotating the hips and then throwing only with the arm.

Marc Dagenais, MHK, CSCS, is a softball peak performance coach that helps players and teams hit with more power, run faster, throw harder, and be more dominant on the field. Visit our FREE Softball Drills Directory at: http://www.softballperformance.com/softball-drills

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