Trouble Fastpitch Softball

Follow-Up to Intentional Walk Post

2011-06-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

1. Use the Whole Catching Box – The rules say that the catcher must start anywhere within the catcher’s box in order to receive the pitch. The catcher’s box is the area behind homeplate that goes from the outside line of each batter’s box and extends 7 feet from the back of both batter’s boxes. The catcher’s box is 8 ½ feet wide and 7 feet deep. The catcher is allowed to start anywhere within this catcher’s box to set up for, and receive the Pitchout for the Intentional Walk.

What this means is that the catcher does NOT have to line up behind home plate and then quickly jump out to catch the pitchout for the intentional walk.

2. Practice – The BIG key to successfully pitching intentional walks is to PRACTICE them! You can’t expect a pitcher to put a big hitter on first base during a big game if she’s never practiced it! Pitchers should practice intentional walks at least once a week. Be sure to mix intentional walks in with your pitcher’s other pitches so she might be working on curveballs and then the catcher suddenly calls for an intentional walk. This will really force her to stay sharp and really execute in practice!

3. Go Left and Right – Pitchers and catchers need to practice pitching intentional walks to both left handed and right handed hitters. While this sounds simple it means the catcher will signal for intentional walks to one side with her bare hand and to the other side with her glove. Catchers need to practice intentional walks just as much as pitchers do.

4. Hit the Tips of the Fingers – When the catcher stands up and holds her hand or glove to signal for the intentional walk, the pitcher must concentrate on hitting the tips of the catcher’s fingers (Barehand fingers or fingers in her glove). She isn’t aiming for the catcher’s chest but the tips of her fingers. While this might not sound like a big deal, it’s a huge change for most pitchers. When was the last time you had your pitcher aim for the finger tips of your catcher??

5. Chest High Fastball – Now that the catcher’s set, what pitch should your pitcher throw? The key is it must be a chest high pitch that she’s very confident in and that’s easy for the catcher to catch. While a rise might be what the pitcher throws best for a chest high pitch it’s probably not the most reliable pitch or easiest one for the catcher to catch. The pitch needs to be a chest high fastball, so make sure you pitcher practices this – and often!

Something to think about...that in most cases is not given a whole lot of thought.

The Intentional Walk

2011-06-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

I've thought about this subject a lot and felt it would be a good idea for a post here to get some dialog going.

When I pitched in college (baseball), one of the toughest things I was asked to do was intentionally walk a batter. Not that it required great skill, but to be frank, we never worked on it at practice. How can you expect to do something well if you never practice it? Fast forward to Girl's Fastpitch today. When coaching, you should see the looks I get when I ask pitchers to intentionally walk a batter.

Before I launch into the "Keys To The Intentional Walk", I'd like to hear from you, the reader, as to what you think of the Intentional Walk. Is it an appropriate strategy? If so, how would you teach it? What are the potential pitfalls?

Share your thoughts...

Icing: The COLD hard facts.

2009-06-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

We've recently experienced some sore arms on the 14U Black team. Being an ex-pitcher, I know sore arms are NO FUN. While the below information focuses on Pitchers, it applies to EVERY player...

Every softball pitcher that wants to throw fast and do it long enough to get really good at it should ice her arm. Icing simply helps calm down the shoulder area following a pretty violent physical act like softball pitching.

Remembering that a pitcher is only as good as her arm, here are Some Keys Regarding Icing:

Who should ice? Every pitcher should ice no matter how young they are

When to ice? Pitchers should ice following every practice and game

What to ice? Pitchers should ice their pitching shoulder and elbow, even if they don't hurt.

Icing is a tremendous preventative measure and pitcher's should do everything they can to take care of their #1 asset - their pitching arm.

When playing 2 or more games in a day? If there isn't a gap between them she won't be able to ice following the 1st game, but should ice following her last game. If her 2nd game isn't for a few hours after the 1st then she should ice after the 1st for 15 to 20 minutes, then do her normal warmups for the 2nd game, and ice again following her last game.

Cindy Bristow - Softball Excellence

Soft Toss Drill

2009-06-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

If you've ever observed me throwing soft-toss to the girls (repetitively tossing balls up and having girls hit the ball with their bats into the net), you've noticed a couple of things:

1. I constantly remind the girls to "hit the bottom of the net". This helps the girls to remember to swing down on the ball. I've seen a lot of bad hops on the ground, but have yet to see one in the air. Translated means you have a much better chance of getting on with a hard hit ground ball.

2. I usually just toss the ball into the air, but will occassionally mix in a spinner where the girls have to say "change" or "curve" or "junk" letting me know that they picked up a change in the rotation of the ball. The object is to either successfully hit an off-speed pitch or else learn to recognize it early and lay off of it.

6 Things To Make You A Better Player

2009-06-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

1. The Harder It Is To Do, The Better You Are When You Do It - Hard work matters because it is "hard" and that means not everyone can do it! It means if you work hard enough and are then able to do something that's considered "hard" then you're special. Work harder to do things that are hard instead of saying "that's hard" and then quitting. The easiest path won't get you anywhere - it's not about getting the best bat or the most expensive glove or the coolest shoes if your swing stinks, you can't catch anything and you're out of shape and slow. Too many players want the easiest way to get something and if anything involves hard work then there's an excuse why it can't happen. The harder something is to do the better you are when you do it.

2. Make Plays Not Excuses - Sports aren't about excuses, they're about results. So practice making results instead of excuses.

3. Stop Talking and Start Playing - No one is interested in why you couldn't practice; they want to see that you did practice. No one wants to hear why you couldn't' throw strikes because the umpire wasn't calling anything outside, they want to see that you were able to recognize the strike zone and immediately shift your pitch just enough to get the strike called.

4. Take Responsibility - own your actions no matter what the outcome. Everyone knows you weren't out there trying to blow it. If you struck out with the bases loaded everyone knows you weren't trying to do that, so quit making excuses about why you did. Instead, work harder to figure out what you learned from the situation and how you'll use that knowledge to succeed the next chance you get - because you will get another chance! Just ask Alex Scott.

5. The Game Doesn't Care - The game doesn't know which team is favored, it doesn't know which team is the underdog, which team won yesterday, which team has never won, which team plays in warm weather and which team plays in the Santa Cruz fog. The game only knows what you're doing right now so you must play as hard and as smart as possible right now because the game doesn't know your team is favored to win, it only knows that the other team worked harder and won! So play "in the moment softball" because the game doesn't know.

6. Remember That You're A Teammate and Not The Team! - no matter what position you play, who you play for and how good other people think you either are or will be, it doesn't matter! Because you're still just a teammate, you're never the whole team! It takes a TEAM to win so be a great teammate!

These 6 points may seem simple, but NEVER underestimate their importance...it WILL be the difference between your team being good or great!

Source: Cindy Bristow - Softball Excellence (some information paraphrazed and/or personalized from June '09 Newsletter)

No Additional Umpires Needed

2009-05-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

I went to the Super Regionals where Arizona and Stanford played some great games. Arizona took the series 2-1 and advanced to the College World Series for Women's Fastpitch Softball.

As I watched the games with my family on Saturday evening, I noticed that while there were 3 trained Umpires on the field, there were 200+ wanna be umpires in the stands. While some comments brought some laughs, most were extremely derogatory and in my humble opinion uncalled for.

I had the unique perspective of sitting directly behind the homeplate umpire and with the exception of a few "it could have gone either way" calls, the umpires generally had it right. The moans from the crowd generally came from pitches that were knee to waist high, but were way inside or outside. It was purely the perspective the fans had by sitting to the right/left side of homeplate. The umpires definitely did not deserve the derogatory comments.

Umpires are human and I need to remember that. I'm committed to not exercising my umpire skills this year and I hope all involved with Trouble will try and do the same.

By the way, the one funny and what I considered to be a harmless heckle was "Hey Ump...you need to check your long distance plan because you just dropped that call". Even the umpire chuckled.

No "pickle" Between Home & First?

2009-05-21T20:00:00.001-07:00

As I was watching the Super Regional tonight between Stanford & Arizona, I was reminded of a rule that so often as a coach I forget to remind my players of. When there is a runner on 1st, 2nd, or both, and the batter hits a ball that rolls slowly up the first base line to the pitcher or first baseman with less than 2 outs, they are asked to stop and get tagged out so the runners can advance safely to the next base without being forced out. However, the batter can't ever step backwards between home and first or they are called "out" and the runners must return to the previous base. That's right...Dead Ball...and the runners go back.

When running between any other base, forwards and backwards is definitely permitted. But, be careful, you may find yourself in a bit of a "pickle".

Fielding Basics

2009-05-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

If/When the wheels start to fall off while fielding, STOP and remember the basics.

Use Your Knees - Players must use their KNEES to lower themselves to the ground instead of lowering their gloves using their waists.

Hands Out Front - Players must keep their hands (including their glove) in front of (forward of) their heads to allow their eyes to see both the glove and the ball (at the same time) without having to take their eyes quickly off the ball in order to see the ball into their gloves.

Focus on Bottom of Ball - Players should work on fielding the bottom of the ball.

Bunting Tips

2009-05-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

The correct use of the Batter's Box is very important for bunting. A batter has a much better chance to bunt the ball in fair territory if they stand in the front of the box because they are already in fair territory. But, if a batter wants to angle more bunts down either foul line, then they'll have to move back in the box. Give it a shot...nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Baserunning Tip #1

2009-05-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Want an easy way to teach your baserunners when to start their leadoff? Any player that uses the rocker or sprinter start needs to start her leadoff as the pitcher starts her stride. For those players using the foot forward or the baseball leadoff, they need to start their leadoff when the pitchers hand gets to the top of her motion. Adjust it for each player a little if needed, but applying this tip should help your runners get the good jump.