Category Archives: Cool Softball Stuff

Blog Update: Softball Talk on Twitter

Posted on by
Reply

twitterTWell, if you are here on the blog, you may have noticed the small “twitter stream” over in the sidebar.  I know a lot of softball people are unfamiliar with twitter and what it’s all about, so I just figured I’d showcase a little of the softball talk that’s going on there.  Obviously, I can’t show a whole lot in the sidebar, but if you click on the “View More” link, you will be taken to this page where you can see a few more of the recent tweets that have been posted by some of my favorite softball tweeters (or twitterers – I’m not sure what the exact term is).  lol

You’ll notice that if you click on any of the names in the display of twitter posts, it will take you directly to that person’s twitter page and you can “follow” them on twitter from there.  However, you’ll need your own twitter account to do that.

Honestly, signing up for twitter is VERY simple and can be done within a few minutes (maybe even less).  Just go to Twitter.com and click on the green “Sign Up Now” button.  You’ll be joining in the conversation with us on twitter in no time.  If you’re having trouble finding people to follow, you can do a couple of things…

  1. type “softball” into the Search field at twitter and see who’s talking about softball (or any other softball related term).  You may be able to find some people that way
  2. check out the list I made of some cool softball people on twitter in this blog post
  3. when you do find a cool softball person on twitter: check out who they’re following OR scroll down their page and see who they’ve been talking to

Those are some simple tips for to getting started on twitter and finding cool softball people to follow.  And don’t forget, you can also follow me as well at twitter.com/staciemahoe ~ see you there!

Live Interview with Gold Medalist Michele Granger

Posted on by
Reply

Michele Granger InterviewHey – just a quick note to let you know about a live interview I just found out about. Make it Pro will be doing a Live Interactive Interview with Olympic Gold Medalist Pitcher Michele Granger.

  • Who: Make It Pro, Michele Granger, and YOU!
  • What: Live Interactive Interview
  • When: Jan. 7th, 5pm Pacific.
  • Where: Take part, listen in, watch the interview live at http://www.makeitpro.com/tv

Hopefully you and I are able to take advantage of this opportunity to check out a fun softball event.  Mark your calendar.  Set an alarm on your phone or in your e-mail program.  Tell your friends, teammates, and colleagues about it!  Should be lots of fun.  Hope to “see” you there!

Addicting Hitting Aid

Posted on by
1

TCB Ball - Fastpitch Softball Hitting AidWhile Bill Hillhouse came down to Hawaii to do a pitching clinic, Howard Kobata, who happened to be in town, decided to stop by the field to talk story and to share a hitting aid with us.  I was skeptical at first because I heard that it was a ball. Really, how cool can “a ball” really be? Then I got to see this “ball” in action and I got to try it out and I have to say, it’s pretty cool.

There are 3 main things I love about this TCB ball…

3.  This ball cuts down on hitting/pre-game time and space needed – this means more reps in a shorter period of time

2.  This ball gives instant feedback - any time your players can see for themselves what they are doing wrong without you having to tell them just makes your life as a coach/parent easier and less stressful.  One problem with today’s bats and hitting off pitching machines or hitting regular balls off live toss is that a player can hit a ball badly and it may still look and “feel” just fine.  Then as a coach, when you try to correct, it you may get some resistance from your player because their end result was “good” and they felt no negative feedback during the swing or hit.  With this ball, unless you hit it right, it doesn’t look and it doesn’t feel right.  You instantly see that your hit wasn’t a solid one.  This leads me to the #1 thing I like about this ball…

1.  This ball is addicting - I was able to get in the cage and take some swings at this ball.  Because of the instant feedback, whenever I didn’t hit the ball well, the competitive “player” inside me just wanted to try again.  Then when I did hit it well it was just something I wanted to keep doing over and over and over again since the “good” hits look and feel so much better than your “bad” ones.  Seeing it happen right was cool!  Seeing it come off your bat poorly, just makes you want to have another chance.  So, the player in me liked it.  It was addicting.  I just wanted to keep trying to hit that ball and hit it well.

In my book, anything that…

  • cuts down on time
  • makes your practice more efficient
  • gives players immediate feedback
  • AND is something players enjoy and want to do…

that’s a pretty great thing.

So if you’d like to learn more about this hitting aid or buy some for your team/player, check out Total Control Sports OR if you are in California or Hawaii, call your sales rep directly (Howard) at (714) 293-3088.

Battle of the Sexes Softball Style

Posted on by
5

chicago_bandits_logoI think this is so cool! I wish I could be there to see it.

TONIGHT the Schaumburg Flyers baseball club, of the independent Northern League will battle the Chicago Bandits, of National Pro FastPitch softball at Alexian Field.

The really cool thing is that it seems like a lot of people will have a chance to see first hand, what the Chicago Bandits can do. While most of their games average under 1,000 spectators a game, this Battle of the Sexes match-up has a chance of selling out the 8,500 capacity field by game time.

I sure hope there’s another article after this game is over that will let us know how it went.  While it’s not a true, men’s softball vs women’s softball game – I think it’s great that an NPF team will have a chance to play in front of a big crowd and hopefully spark interest in people who’ve never really watched the pro fastpitch league (or even the game in general) before.

If you’re in Chicago and are attending this game, you have to give us a report here!

Goal Tip: Celebrate Along the Way

Posted on by
Reply

One thing that helps people continue moving forward to accomplish their big goals is to celebrate small victories along the way.  Without taking the time to celebrate those small accomplishments,
it can be easy to get discouraged, lose motivation, and give up on your goals.

That’s one of the main reasons the “Shameless Brags” group was created at Fastpitch World: to give you a place to celebrate and share your small (or big) victories and motivate you to keep pushing forward toward your ultimate goals.

Plus, I always find it motivating to read success stories from others in the game.

So…have you or your team accomplished something cool this season?

It doesn’t have to be big – it can be something small (1st homerun even). If so, please come and share your story! “Shameless Brags” was created specifically for sharing positive stories so that
others can celebrate with you and get inspired as well.

Or, if you don’t have anything to write, maybe you’ll find a little inspiration in the stories there.

If you haven’t been to Fastpitch World yet, you do need to sign up for an account before you can post, but it doesn’t cost a thing and only takes a few minutes.

Can’t wait to read your success story there!

——————————————————-

Don’t have any goals set yet? Elite members have 24/7 access to our Goal Setting Bootcamp which walks you through the questions and process you need to in order to set powerful
effective goals for your future.   Join our Elite Members Today

Photo credit:

College: Yet Another Reason You Should be on Twitter

Posted on by
Reply

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve heard me talk about Twitter.   Even if you haven’t, you’ve probably heard about Twitter through some other source.  Many major news stations, radio stations, newspapers, celebrities, and softball people are ALL on Twitter.

Now you have another reason to jump into the fun – COLLEGE.

Earlier this week, ESPN published an article about how colleges and college coaches are tapping into social networks like Twitter and Facebook for recruiting and exposure.

Some coaches use Twitter as a way to allow fans and potential recruits to see what the program/coach is like.  Others utilize it as a way to “stay in front” of a recruits face (and at the forefront of their minds) without breaking NCAA contact period rules.  According to the article:

“Currently, the NCAA allows coaches to direct-message recruits from Twitter or send them a private message on Facebook.”

If you’re looking to attend college and play sports – this is HUGE!!!

Like me, there are coaches out there who prefer Twitter over Facebook “mostly because of the ease of posting.”   Of course, there are others like my husband who prefer Facebook because there are more pictures and it’s similar to MySpace which he’s already familiar with.  Twitter does have a different sort of layout/format and does take a little while to get used to, but once you do, you’ll love it!

The ESPN article also talks about why Twitter is so super popular:

“It’s the reason why USA Today worked. It’s the reason why people want to see the ticker on ESPN. [People] don’t want large bites. Give me a small bite; make it fast, I’ll see what it is, I’ll laugh and I’ll move on to something else.”

Another important point…

“The one thing I like is that it’s a little bit of an unobstructed view,” Calipari said. “They (fans/recruits) get to know what you are and how you are and how you think without someone telling them who you are, what you are and how you think.”

So you don’t have to take someone’s word for it. You have a way to judge for yourself what a program or coach is like. This is a very important part of choosing the right college for yourself or helping your child do so.

Signing up for Twitter is super easy…

1.  Go to Twitter.com and click on the green Get Started – Join! button at the bottom of the screen.

twittersignuphere
2.  Fill out the fields on the next page and click Create My Account

twittersignup2

3.  Choose the options you want on the following pages (add contacts from e-mail or follow suggested users) and you’re all done!

Once you’re in, here are some softball coaches you can follow…

AuburnSBCoach

coachjaymiller

UFCoachWalton

UACoachMurphy

…and you’ll probably also want to check out the other cool softball people I listed in this post and this post.

Happy Tweeting!

Free Website for Your Team

Posted on by
1

wwwimageOne thing many coaches find useful is a team website. It’s great when you can post important team information to a place that’s easily accessible by all members of your team or organization.

Having a Team Website is a Great Way to

  • Stay in touch with your team
  • Share your team with others
  • Make sure important dates or events are recorded in a place where parents can’t “lose them”
  • Share stories and pictures with others
  • Share useful news or resources with your team members (i.e. many team sites share links to sites like AllAboutFastpitch.com with their visitors/members)
  • Promote your team or your team’s events
  • and more…

I know eteamz offers free team sites, but I also came across another site called InfoSports that offers free sites for teams as well.  I wish they would show a little more about how creating yoru own site works, but the few samples they show look pretty decent.

Like eteamz, they also have a listing of camps and tournaments in different areas of the country that you can search through and allow you to post your camp listing as well.  I find the InfoSports layout and design a little cleaner and easier to look at/navigate through than eteamz.  They even have some free instructional videos you may want to take a look at too.