SoftballBomb

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There are lots of products available to choose from I guess everyone would agree a Tee would be on the list of training aids coaches use. What other products have you try that you really like and what training aid we’re a complete fail.
 

DanMaz

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flashlight and laser pointer are some great tools
 

DanMaz

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i was going to send you a private message but i see you turned that option off. so nobody can send you a PM or start a personal conversation.... something smells fishy.
 

daboss

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One of my favorite segments I have used in clinics is my sharing of conditioning equipment for softball players. Only a few items are needed and you can carry them inside your fielding glove. A tennis or racket ball, a jump rope, a surgical band, and a bag of beans (I like kidney beans best).

I'll share a quick explanation on the aids. You can get creative from there.

Jump rope is self-explanatory. Use it for 5-10 minutes at least 3 times a week.

A tennis or racket ball for a host of training and conditioning exercises. Use your imagination.

A surgical band for exercising. More than one for more resistance.

A bag of beans; this is the one you'll love. I use them for a hitting aid. Stand about 7-10 feet in front of your batter and toss the beans underhand. They have to swing and hit the beans. If they can hit a bean, they can hit a softball. Lima beans will work but the smaller red kidney beans are easier to toss and harder to hit. Use your imagination on all the benefits of them hitting beans. They're biodegradable and they double as bird seed so no need to pick them up. A 99-cent bag can last for many sessions and much lighter/easier to carry than a bucket of balls. lol. The girls love this drill.
 

DLamb

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One of my favorite segments I have used in clinics is my sharing of conditioning equipment for softball players. Only a few items are needed and you can carry them inside your fielding glove. A tennis or racket ball, a jump rope, a surgical band, and a bag of beans (I like kidney beans best).

I'll share a quick explanation on the aids. You can get creative from there.

Jump rope is self-explanatory. Use it for 5-10 minutes at least 3 times a week.

A tennis or racket ball for a host of training and conditioning exercises. Use your imagination.

A surgical band for exercising. More than one for more resistance.

A bag of beans; this is the one you'll love. I use them for a hitting aid. Stand about 7-10 feet in front of your batter and toss the beans underhand. They have to swing and hit the beans. If they can hit a bean, they can hit a softball. Lima beans will work but the smaller red kidney beans are easier to toss and harder to hit. Use your imagination on all the benefits of them hitting beans. They're biodegradable and they double as bird seed so no need to pick them up. A 99-cent bag can last for many sessions and much lighter/easier to carry than a bucket of balls. lol. The girls love this drill.

We used beans a few times. Went back to one park the next spring and there were some sprouts around home plate, spreading out to about 15’.
 

daboss

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We used beans a few times. Went back to one park the next spring and there were some sprouts around home plate, spreading out to about 15’.

I never did this on an actual ball diamond. I was always in the grass. Must have been an infield used very little to allow seeds to sprout. lol. The power of nature.......
 

DanMaz

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i already mentioned in another thread how using a flashlight as a prop to compare your eye focus pre pitch when your in a batters box. This is mostly for the younger players. I would start off asking the team to tell me exactly what your looking at when your in the batters box. not many younger ones had a direct answer. so this is a great starting point of what are you looking at! lol Soft focus and hard focus. I take the flashlight that has the adjustable beam and use it in a dark area against the wall. Soft focus is pre pitch and the beam is huge. Hard focus is during wind up adjust the beam on the wall to show it not only explain it (players learn different ways). So bat comes off shoulders hard focus on hip locating the ball as early as possible. the adjustable flashlight works like a charm! I hear it all the time.... now i see what you mean.

The laser pointer I use mostly when watching film to point out anything we see right or wrong batting fielding base running etc... dont only talk about the bad but always show them the good they do too! sometimes during T drills pointing to the area of the cage where you should be hitting inside or when working on T drills and where the sweet spot of the bat should be contacting the ball at the inside railroad track of the ball.

one of the other drills use either or. small flashlight or laser that can be placed or taped to a belt and put at the belly button. Your belly button will go wherever you hips go... When working inside and outside pitches off the T the lights will give feedback on hip rotation. so hit close to a rubber mat or whatever close enough to see the light. For a lefty hitting an outside pitch the belly button should not rotate much passed short stop / which enables to hit opposite field. over rotating too much is usually sign of casting and not hitting inside the ball on inside railroad tracks. And when hitting inside pitches, the light can show hip rotation also which shouldn't go passed 2nd base again for a lefty hitter. Pitches more in the middle the light will be primarily in the middle. this helps with girls casting out around the ball and back elbow too far away from the belly.

I used to just try to explain this to them and let them imagine it in their brains but many times seeing it, and using it first hand makes a HUGE difference in them fully understanding it.
 
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