Agility



Agility is being able to quickly change directions without the loss of speed, balance, or body control. The nice thing about softball practice is that so many drills that work on specific skills also work on this athletic quality. A few noticeable examples are:

The V-drill used to field backhand and forehand ground balls.

Going after fly balls requires constant adjustments and good foot work.

The karaoke step used in dynamic stretching builds quick foot work skills.




One drill that works on reactions and quickness is to have an athlete face a brick wall from about 8 feet away. The athlete assumes an athletic stance, knees flexed, weight slightly on the balls of their feet and ready for action. Toss tennis balls over their head so it bounces off the wall at different angles. The athlete needs to react to the left or right in order to catch the ball.


Jumping rope can help an athletes’ foot work and quickness. You probably would not do this at practice, but if one of your athletes wants to put in some extra work, this is an easy way to do it. Change to a one legged hop for a few jumps, then change to the other leg for a few more jumps. Do some crossed arms jumps and mix it up helps with coordination and keeps it more interesting. This can also be a great cardio work out.

From Agility Return to Conditioning
From Agility Return to Coaching-Fastpitch Home Page





Copyright 2010 Coaching-Fastpitch.com

SBI
SBI!

You Are Important


The coach is the person who communicates with parents, players, umpires, other coaches and your local associations. You facilitate the team by making sure all the equipment is there when it is needed. Most important are the players. You are teaching more than the skills and strategies of fastpitch. The ability to gracefully deal with success and failure, the persistence to keep trying and the confidence that these young ladies learn from you is priceless.

You’re Part Of Coaching-Fastpitch.com

Contribute your articles, drills and comments by filling out the form on the “Coaches Input” page located on the left hand menu. Your input will keep Coaching-Fastpitch.com fresh and you will receive the by-line for anything that you submit that gets published.



Founded in 2000, Crow River Sports offers you the resources and service that you need to market your company, promote your organization or outfit your sports team without breaking the bank. Crow River Sports prints graphics on a wide array of apparel and accessories including t-shirts, polos, duffle bags and more. We're happy to work with any organization or individual, no matter how small or large the order. Visit them by clicking on the Crow River Sports logo above.

Crow River Sports offers a complete design studio on their website. Design your uniforms or other apparel using hundreds of stock designs or upload your own custom design and Crow River Sports will provide you a quote on your project. Try it today at CrowRiverSports.com