Softball Gameday

Tips for Coaching Fastpitch Girls

If you are coaching fastpitch, then you know that their mindsets can often get in the way of their performance on the team. One girl in a bad mood can set off a ripple effect in the dugout and if your not careful, can cause you to assign quite a few laps around the outfield.…

Are We Pushing TOO Hard? Fastpitch Softball

It’s Nationals week. All over the United States, girls – young and older are traveling far away from home to play in what is seen as the most competitive venues in softball. It’s like the Women’s College World Series for travel leagues, whether they play USSSA, ASA or any other type of competitive league…

Coaching Girls Softball – Not as Easy as You Might Think

It always starts out the same way. Your daughter starts playing Rec league softball and realizes that she loves the dirt on the diamond more than the sparkle in dance class. Dad (And Moms too) are thrilled. Then, same said daughter starts showing some talent, starts making some friends her age – and mom or…

Softball Cheaters Pumpkin Eaters

A few weeks back, my 15 year old daughters picked up to pitch on weekend that their team was not playing. At first, we thought of it as a win-win situation. They would get pitching time and get the benefit of working with a new coach. As a fastpitch family, we are firm believers that…

Are Our Bats Making Our Girls Better Than They Really ARE?

Fastpitch is growing. What used to be considered a mostly West Coast sport has quickly spilled over to all parts of the United States and beyond. Today, it is estimated that over 2 million girls under the age of 18 are playing fastpitch softball from the ages of 6 to 18. And of course, this…

Good Girls Play Softball

As a parent, there’s a lot of time, effort and money that you put in! I’m telling you today, it’s worth it! Your daughter will not just become a warrior on the field, but will also take the lessons she learns on the field, onward in LIFE! And this is as much your accomplishment as…

If Only I Could PITCH Harder

Working with several fast pitch pitchers from the age of 10 to 15, the desire to pitch harder is always one of the first things that girls starting out are concerned with. You watch college softball, and after every pitch, you see the MPH in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and wish…

Undefeated. The Art of Winning

Recently, there has been a certain 10-Under Girls Fastpitch team that has taken a lot of slack by other teams, parents etc. for achieving the coveted prize of winning. This season, this team of very dedicated, passionate little girls has sweat it out on the diamond, practiced for several hours per week – and have…

Reasons You Should Encourage Your daughter to Play Softball

This is a fastpitch softball blog. Obviously, those of us working behind the scenes love the sport, and am thoroughly impressed with the gals who give their all on the field to make three outs, and score a run. Fastpitch is an intense competitive venue, and from the sounds that resonate from the dug outs,…

SHOUT OUT to Fastpitch Pitchers

My daughters pitch. I have spent endless time watching them throw that stupid, relentless optic yellow (although I still think its green) ball, trying to accurately hit what seems like a tiny target, to hear an umpire yell, “Strike!” For this reason, I love those umps that can get into the spirit of the game,…

Is Travel Ball Better than Rec Ball?

OMG. It gets so tiring to listen to people complaining about recreation league ball teams. The truth is that most girls start out in Rec. Years ago, the only girls and parents who took the plunge to travel teams were the ones that truly knew their daughter had a shot. Today, EVERYONE IS ON A…

Softball Drama – Not with THIS Mama

Listen girls. And coaches. And parents. There is already way too much drama in a girls life. The one place that she should feel safe from all the melodrama is on the softball field. In the years coaching fastpitch softball, there hasnt been a single season. Not one single season – that hasnt involved some…

Fastpitch Softball Drills – Coaching Tips

Do you use fastpitch drills to help condition your team? It’s a fact that there is a fastpitch softball drill you can use for nearly every single teaching lesson known to the softball player. And using the drills are perfect as a reminder for keeping your girls in form and teaching the fundamentals. But how…

Strike 1, Strike 2, Strike 3 – Your OUT – Fastpitch Hitting

There is nothing more frustrating than watching your child, or one of your players go through a hitting slump. They always seem to come on at just the wrong time, like when you are playing in a championship game or when you are behind by one stinking run with bases loaded and two outs in…

Girls Need to Feel Good to Play Good

During one of the last fall tournaments, the team had a pretty bad showing. There were a lot of emotionally turbulent things going on within the team and among the members. You can only imagine how this affected 10 normally competitive and adept softball players. (It wasnt pretty!) When it comes to coaching girls teams…