5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Practices

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Coaching Softball Practice Tips One thing many, many coaches want to do is improve the effectiveness of their practices. Ideally, as coaches, we have a solid jam packed practice that has little down time and lots of quality work being done by players. So what are some of the ways you can make the most of your practices AND help them improve their game even more?

Here are 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Practice Sessions

1. Schedule Your Practice Time: This is so important! Always have a plan otherwise you’ll spend time in practice trying to figure out what to do. This results in unproductive down time for the players and may stall the “momentum” you’ve got going. Have a plan each day of what you want to work on, what drills you’ll use, and what equipment you’ll need to run them.

2. Make it Game Like: Often times we ask our players to “practice how you play” and yet we give them very little “game like” situations in practice. Too often practice situations are nothing like game situations (i.e. not having to run after you hit a ball, not having to keep track of your count when you’re in the box, having no baserunners when practicing defense, etc). Look for ways to make your practices a little more game like so that your players are better prepared for game situations.

3. Engage Your Players: Have discussions with your players! Don’t just tell them what to do or tell them what they did wrong. Ask them questions. Have them identify problems and help each other fix them. This is the only way they are going to develop a better understanding of the game and learn to think on their feet, a necessary skill for success at game time.

4. Have a BIGGER Plan: Know what your striving for beyond today. Have a plan of what you want to accomplish for the week, for the month, and even for the season. This will help you figure out what to do on a day to day basis instead of just pulling skills out of the air to work on for “today.” Having a bigger plan also allows you to plan a more solid progression to go through with your players, each day building upon the last vs being somewhat random.

5. Work on the Mental Game Too: This is HUGE! So many people will agree that the mental game is a big part of performance and yet so little time is spent on it in practice. Give your players opportunities to work on the mental game in practice!

Bonus Tip: Have Fun! Always incorporate fun somewhere along the way. Remember fun doesn’t always have to equal smiles and laughter. :D

Coaching Youth Softball Practice Fun