Training

I just returned from the first Softball Cruise Clinic and was asked by one of the parents to share information about one of the sessions that I did. It is something that I learned from one of my mentors, Bobby Simpson of Higher Ground Softball. As I previously shared in a post Bobby likes to challenge pretty much everything, and believes that practice should resemble game speed and game situations as closely as possible. One of the most important thing any defensive player has to do is “get rid of the ball” once they have it, and more often then not in a game they are moving and their target is also moving. So this drill session is quite simply targeted at making the girls move and “get rid of the ball.”

You can start the drill with the girls in two lines, both facing forward as partners. One of the partners would start with a ball. They would simply walk forward and they would toss to each other. The partner on the left side would do a sideways toss like a second basemen would need to do to try and turn a double play at second, or a shortstop would do tossing it to third. The partner on the right would receive the ball and immediately try and get rid of the ball by making more of an underhand toss like a SS would make to second, or second basemen would make to first. They simply proceed walking to the end of whatever distance you’ve marked off. On the way back they would be doing the opposite type of toss because they would be on the opposite side. The drill would be repeated at a jogging pace. Then at a fast game speed pace.

You can then adjust the drill so that the partners face each other and shuffle their feet sideways from one of the field to the other making the toss to each other. Again start walking it through, then shuffling faster and faster.

Another progression would be to have the partners jog at each other and make the toss. This forces them to make adjustments for a closing distance as their speed varies. Once they have this down you can do a very fun and challenging variation. Form 2 lines that face each other from opposite ends of the distance you’ve marked off using just 1 ball. First girls in the line proceed to jog at each other and the girl with the ball makes the toss. Once she makes the toss the next girl in her line would then start jogging. The girl that received the ball would then make the toss to that girl as she approached. At that time the next girl in the line she was from would then start. The lines would continue alternating in that manner and the goals can be whatever you want. Every girl makes it to the other line without a dropped ball. There and back without a dropped ball. Complete the drill there and back at a speed that beats some given time to force receiving and getting rid of the ball at a faster game speed etc.

Toughest variation of the drill would be where the 2 lines face each other but they turn backwards. So that they are approaching other back peddling and they have to throw the ball to each other. What you will see is that girls will continue to try and make tosses but when they are both moving in opposite directions they really need to throw the ball and put something on it. They need to judge what the distance will be, and not toss based on what the distance is at the time.

There are tons of variations that you can add to the drills:
1. Toss the ball to lead the player instead of tossing it to her.
2. Popup type tosses that lead the player.
3. Karaoke steps instead of shuffling feet.
4. Hops instead of jogging.
5. Have a coach or player with a helmet walk back and forth between where the players will be going to cause “baserunner obstacles”.

Hopefully you and your players will get something out of these type of active movement drills. Encourage your players to come up with their own variations, because you will find that they can be very creative with this type of activity. Be sure to comment and share those variations so that others (and I) can benefit from their creativity.

Not sure if there are words enough to explain the emotional high that I get from working at camps like the one I was at this weekend. What a thrill to work with players that just internally “want it” and are willing to put themselves into your care to help them get there.

During my sliding instruction one coach came running out of the stands (literally) and started jumping up and down with a player after she slid. I gave them both a look like “what is that all about?” And he said “you have no idea how huge that is … this girl has never slid in her life. She should have had 2 inside the park home runs last fall, but got tagged out on both because she wouldn’t slide.” By the end of the session this same girl became by far the best slider in the group. Her entire outlook changed for the rest of the day, she knew should could start attacking instead of being timid on the bases.

During a speed training session I focused on core training exercises and really pushed the girls hard. Everyone of them stepped up to the challenge the entire way. The final exercise at the end of a grueling 40 minutes of other drills was a V-Sit. I first had the girls do it for 30 seconds. Then I asked them how to tough it was. They all said it was tough. I agreed. Then I asked if they were willing to do it again though to show the college coaches how much they wanted it. They all said sure. Then I asked if they would you do it for an entire minute. They all said that they would try. I said “there is no trying, there is either doing or not doing, then I asked again.” They all agreed that they would make it for 1 minute. I said Ok that’s a deal. Then I said “I’d like to see the girls that WOULD make it for 1:15. Only perhaps 15 girls said that they could. Then I went to 1:30. About 10 said that they could. Then I said I wasn’t surprised. But what I really wanted to know is if the young lady who had stood out the day before was willing to do it for 2 full minutes. She said that she would. I explained that I would call out the times and when I got to the time that they agreed to that they should stop. They set a goal, and should feel great that they hit it. We got to 1:00 and the girls who committed stopped. We got to 1:15 and others did the same. At 1:30 girls stopped, but a few kept going. Not only did they keep going they started encouraging the girl that I had called out and said “you can do it. We are here for you. We aren’t going to leave you alone.” At 2:00 they all collapsed and so did my heart. As much as I love the game, and as many girls as I’m around, I absolutely love it when there are some girls that can just absolutely blow away any expectations that even I have set. That was one of those times.

If you are a coach that is reading this I encourage you to keep your heart opened. I realize that there are a lot of bad things that happen and our hearts are broken. But if you keep looking there are going to be more girls that come into your life that will reward you by just doing something amazing that makes you so happy just to be around them and be a part of a moment like that.

If you are a player reading this I encourage you to continue digging deep within yourself. Challenge yourself to go way beyond the limits you’ve placed on yourself. And to step up at a crucial time like above and not worry about your pain, but instead reach out and lift that other player on the team who is struggling. Be the player who blesses others including your coaches.

Today was really cold but at least it was windy too. Re-read that first sentance a few times if you need to. Just an optimistic way of looking at the situation. Ok the truth it was miserably cold and brutally windy and I wanted to be in a nice warm bed. But as that wasn’t really an option the camp today I had to “tough it out.”

I had the pleasure of working with some very amazing young ladies today, and not working with another amazing young lady. (I’ll explain that in a minute.) I got the pleasure of doing an elite outfielding session with some fantastic pleayers who LOVE playing the outfield. Being me you can guess the first thing that we did was work on diving for the ball, which of course means that we started on the ground on our knees and went through all of the mechanics. Did I mention that in addition to the miserably cold temperatures, and the bone chilling wind that the ground was completely saturated with water from rains the day before and muddy for the most part. Yes we dove in that, where do you think the term “GET DIRTY” comes from anyway? Anyway the thing that warmed my heart is that not a single one of the girls complained. Not one. I love working with players that will do what you ask, when you ask and are willing to sacrifice comfort, for skill.

There were 2-3 that had dove for the ball before and were pretty comfortable and the rest admitted having some fears about laying out flat while moving. By the end of our session every single girl had layed out for the ball while on a full sprint. You have to admire that. So how did I reward this amazing group of athletes after having made my entire weekend? By making them run on a dead spring for popups at the fence. There also seems to be a fear about doing that for some reason that I just don’t understand. How badly can it hurt it run squarely into a metal fence post on a dead sprint with your face unprotected. That’s right that could hurt quite a bit, I just forgot. They all worked really well in communicating with each when they were approaching the fence learned the right technique to then find the fence with their arm while still keeping their eyes on the ball and got.

One of the other things I frequently get to teach on is Speed and Agility, and one of my favorite things to do is have a rather lengthy, gruelling, gut wrenching agility “obstacle course of a sort” at the very end of the session. I split the girls into 2 teams and more often than not the teams come out uneven. At which point I have to challenge the second team by saying “Team 1 has more girls than you do so someone is going to have to start it and then run a second round at the end.” To which I generally get a lot of blank stares which basically say “Please Please Please don’t pick me. I’m exhausted as it is.” I got plenty of those but then I got what I usually get, one young lady who steps up and says “I’m willing to do it.” The one player in the crowd who will gut it out for the team. Then I got something I have never gotten from the Team 1, several of them spoke almost in unison and said “That’s Ok. Things aren’t always fair and we are really to work harder than that team has to.” Almost cried. Seriously. As if that wasn’t enough the girl on team 2 then says “No I want to do it.” She didn’t want to win and have the other team say it was because they had more players. For the first time ever, I ended the relay without even get close to the end. I didn’t need. Both teams had already won.

So I started by saying that I loved the fact that I “didn’t get to work with an amazing young lady.” She is one of the students that I work with nearly every week and I would do anything for her, and know she would do anything for me. Today I saw her for only 1 minute and that was at the tail end of lunch. She made it clear through her actions that she was there to learn. To improve. To be “molded” by the other amazing instructors that are here. She knows she has access to me 24/7, so she used her time wisely to learn and be seen by all of those that she may never get to work with again

So here I sit with my back in pain and my knees still sore from last week’s workout with Barry Lovelace, but my heart is overlfowing with emotion for what I got to witness today in the hearts, minds, attitudes and efforts of young ladies who love the game of fastpitch and who will do anything to get better.

I don’t know about you but this week has been absolutely exhausting. I’ve had a training class for work that ran for 10 hours per day, and then I did 2-3 hours of lessons per night following that. So after an exhausting week of work what do you normally do? Sleep? Rent 10 videos from Block Buster?

Those would be nice, and are certainly what most people would be doing. Of course you already know I’m a little crazier than most people. So I’m “unwinding” after an exhausting week by driving to Macon, GA for a “Super Camp” at Mercer College that is run by Higher Ground Softball. Nothing to hard, just 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM each day.

So why am I doing that? Well I’ve found through the years that there are things we like to do, and when we do them we enjoy them, but we can get run down when we do them to much. But I’ve also found that when we do things in our “passion area” we are actually rejuvinated, we actually grow stronger doing rather than wearing down. If you know anything about me at all, you know that I am PASSIONATE about training. I don’t just like training, I LOVE IT. I feed on it. I love helping girls get over their fears. I love watching girls dig deep inside themselves and find that “hidden” reserve of ability that they never knew they had. I love working with other coaches who are also passionate about training and I love learning different techniques to help girls learn.

So while you are rejuvenating your body this weekend on the coach spend time thinking about what it is in life that you are passionate about. I’ve found my passion, and I sure hope you are blessed to find yours.

Had a great time today with the Buford Wild 14U softball team. Two of the best performance trainers in the business, Barry Lovelace and Marc Dagenais came to visit and filim a great new product called Softball Team Training. The basic concept is a core training workout for both speed and power that can be done by any team, on any field, with no special training. Players and coaches rotate station to station. I absolutely can’t wait to see the finished product in a wamer setting. More importantly I can’t wait to see the results on these tough, hard working young ladies.