Tag Archives: Softball Training

Shoes May Cause Poor Running Form and Injury?

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fastpitch softball shoes & equipment

Did you ever stop to think that maybe your shoes are the reason you don’t run well? Or that they could even be causing injury???

I know I never did.

Two things came to mind when I saw this article on shoes:
 1) one day I let my daughter run on grass without her shoes – her running form was soooo much better than usual (hmmm…maybe the article has a point)

2) I remember one of my coaches saying that your equipment can hinder your performance if it’s not the best equipment for you (i.e. wrong size bat, glove doesn’t fit well, shoes no longer have grip, etc)

Unfortunately I don’t know what ANY softball cleat is designed to encourage proper sprint technique, but you can definitely do something about your equipment and the other issues mentioned above.

Make sure that your equipment works best for you!

If you want to read the article that talked about how shoes could possibly be CAUSING injury and encouraging incorrect running technique, CLICK HERE.

A Typical College Freshman Mistake

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softball trainingOver winter break we had two college freshman (alumni from our high school team) come back home from their respective DI schools for winter break. Guess how much training they did over break….

Little to none!

How do I know?

  1. Partially from what I saw during break
  2. Partially from what I read on Facebook during winter break
  3. But mostly because of what I read on Facebook now that they are back in school and training has again begun (they both admit that they probably should’ve done a bit more while they were on break)

I’m not saying all college freshman do this, but it’s a very easy mistake to make.  You’ve just finished up your first college semester ever.  It’s been crazy, busy, and hectic.  There have been lots of adjustments to make, time away from friends, and time away from family.  When you get to go home for Winter Break, it’s very easy to:

  • Do nothing but party with all the friends you haven’t seen in a while
  • Do nothing but spend time with and enjoy the company of your family
  • Do absolutely nothing because it’s the first time in months you don’t HAVE TO do anything

Now I’m not saying it’s wrong to enjoy your time at home.  I’m certainly not saying it’s wrong to spend time with family, nor is it wrong to take a little bit of a breather and relax a bit.  I actually think breaks or changes of pace are a good thing.  However, as a college student-athlete, when you go back to school (especially for softball) you WILL go back to training.  You’ve already worked so hard for months!  Why take a 4 week break from everything and “throw away” any of what you’ve gained during your 1st semester?  I’m not saying you have to keep up the same intensity and you don’t even need to do the same exact drills or exercises that you do in college, but at least do “something” to maintain the fitness level you’ve built up for yourself.

Some think that one “small” break won’t make much of a difference. Let me tell you, when you have a team of players who’ve been training for months then there’s a break then you all come back to train…it is VERY OBVIOUS who took a break and did nothing and who kept their conditioning up.  Right now we’re going through conditioning with our team at the high school age level.  It’s just pre-season, we aren’t really “allowed” to make conditioning “mandatory” and over break there are various reasons why student-athletes say they can’t make practice.  Fine.  But as a coach, even if a student-athlete has only missed just ONE week of practice, our coaching staff can tell, it is very obvious, which players have been diligent with their attendance and been there on a regular basis and which players have missed conditioning sessions.

So if you want to make the best impression possible on your coach, stay on top of your fitness level!

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Got a late start with conditioning?  Not sure what to do or where to start?  Try this simple 21 Day Express Shape Up Program.

Help yourself and enjoy the benefits of:

  • Throwing harder
  • Hitting the ball farther
  • Stealing more bases
  • Exploding out of the batter’s box
  • Running down more balls in the field
  • Reacting faster
  • Staying healthy
  • Avoiding Injury
  • and so much more!

Start your 21-Day Express Shape Up Program today and enjoy more speed and power during your season!

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Addicting Hitting Aid

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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.

Who Needs a Gym When You Got a Playground

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Yesterday I told you about Marc’s Super Softball Sale.  He’s offering a lot in that crazy big bundle of resources, but my absolute favorite, the one I thing is super duper cool…is the Softball Playground Workout video.

That just sounds like so much more fun than a “lets-hit-the-weight-room” workout.  Plus, you may not have easy access to a weight room or gym for softball training.  However, you probably do have access to a local playground.

No time?  No money?  No equipment?  No problem.

In Marc’s Softball Playground Workout video, you’ll discover how you can get stronger, faster, and more powerful using innovative, yet simple exercises that you can do in minutes (for FREE) at your local playground!

Right now this 3-part video is included as part of the 12 cutting edge products Marc is offering at 77% off.  But he has less than 100 bundles left (out of 200).  Make sure you go over and grab yours today!

Deal of the Week: Raise Your Game

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I don’t normally post anything here on weekends because everyone is out at the field, not on the computer reading softball articles, but this is a time sensitive announcement (I’ll explain more later) that I don’t want you to miss out on.

It’s not like I have a “Deal of the Week” every week, but I heard about this one and had to tell you about it TODAY.  Like I said, I’ll explain why later.  Anyway, the thing is Marc over at Softball Performance is having a Crazy Super Softball Sale.

I’m not going to bore you with a lot of hype.  I’m just going to tell you what you get and why I had to tell you today.

What You Get

In a nutshell, you’re getting 12 of Marc’s Hot, Brand New, Cutting-Edge, Never-Released Before Products at 77% off including:

BreakThrough Speed and Agility for Softball System
 FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Breakthrough Speed and Agility System for Softball was created for those who are serious about taking their game to the next level by improving their speed, agility, and quickness.

In this 11-part video training system, you’ll learn the secrets, advanced drills and exercises to explode out of the batter’s box, get better jumps, steal more bases, get to the ball more quickly, and get more of those “oh-so-close” balls.

$47 Value

Bat Speed and Hitting Power System
 FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Bat Speed and Hitting Power System was created for those who are serious about taking their hitting to the next level and want to increase their dominance at the plate.

In this 9-part video training system, you’ll discover the secrets for generating greater bat speed and hitting power along with advanced drills and exercises to help you swing the bat harder and hit the ball further.

$47 Value

Psychology of Phenomenal Hitting System
 FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Psychology of Phenomenal Hitting System was created for those who are serious about becoming dominant hitters and want to develop a winning mindset and master the mental of hitting.

In this 9-part video training system, you’ll discover the secrets to literally take control of the batter’s box, develop unstoppable confidence and incredible mental toughness to become a phenomenal hitter.

$37 Value

Psychology of Dominant Pitching
FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Psychology of Dominant Pitching was created for those who are serious about developing a winning mindset and the mental tools of a dominant pitcher.

In this 4-part video training, you’ll discover the secrets to literally take control of the game, develop unstoppable confidence and incredible mental toughness to become a dominant pitcher.

$27 Value

Arm Strength and Throwing Power System
FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Arm Strength and Throwing Power System was created for those who are serious about taking their game to the next level by improving their arm strength and throwing power.

In this 12-part video training, you’ll discover the secrets, techniques, advanced drills and exercises to help you throw harder and farther.

$47 Value

High-Performance Baserunning for Softball
FORMAT: Streaming Video

This 6-part video training will teach you how to be a greater offensive threat, get out of the batter’s more quickly, get better jumps, steal more bases, smarter on the bases, and score a lot more runs.

$27 Value

Speed Ladder Drills for Softball
FORMAT: Streaming Video

The speed ladder is one of the best tool softball players and teams can use to quickly and easily improve speed, agility and quickness – It’s fun, super effective, and can be done anywhere.

In this 2-part video training, I walk you through innovative and highly effective speed ladder drills to help you get quicker and faster.

$27 Value

Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball System
FORMAT: Streaming Video

In the not too distant past, players and teams would warm-up by using static stretching – which doesn’t prevent injuries and even decreases performance. Today, we use more dynamic techniques to warm-up.

In this 2-part video training, I take you through my high-performance, softball-specific dynamic warm-up protocol.

$47 Value

Softball Playground Workout
FORMAT: Streaming Video

No time to workout? No money? No equipment? If so, I’ve got the perfect solution for you – a playground workout! It can be done quickly, it’s free, it requires no equipment and there are playgrounds everywhere!

In this 3-part video training, you’ll discover how you can get stronger, faster, and more powerful using innovative, yet simple exercises that you can do in minutes at your local playground!

$27 Value

How To Perform Your Best At Your Next Tryouts System
 FORMAT: Streaming Audio and Instant Access PDF Reports

Most players fail to deliver their best performance when trying out and leave a bad impression with the coaches either because they choke under pressure, aren’t well-prepared and/or don’t really know what to expect.

This system will give you all the tools you need to deliver your absolute best performance, make a lasting impression, and double your chances of being selected!

$37 Value

Static Stretching for Softball
FORMAT: Streaming Video and Instant Access PDF Reports

Flexibility training is important for softball. It helps improve performance and prevent injuries.

Flexibility training should be done after workouts, practices, and/or games.

In this 2-part video training, I show you how to use effective static stretches for softball and commonly tight areas.

$27 Value

How to Deal with Frustrating Injuries
FORMAT: Streaming Audio

Injuries are a sad reality of sports and they can be very frustrating. When softball players get injured and can’t play for a while, they may get very frustrated and have a hard coping with their injuries.

In this audio coaching program, you’ll from learn how to deal with frustrating injuries and come back stronger than ever.

$27 Value

Bat Speed and Hitting Power System
 FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Bat Speed and Hitting Power System was created for those who are serious about taking their hitting to the next level and want to increase their dominance at the plate.

In this 9-part video training system, you’ll discover the secrets for generating greater bat speed and hitting power along with advanced drills and exercises to help you swing the bat harder and hit the ball further.

$47 Value

Psychology of Phenomenal Hitting System
 FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Psychology of Phenomenal Hitting System was created for those who are serious about becoming dominant hitters and want to develop a winning mindset and master the mental of hitting.

In this 9-part video training system, you’ll discover the secrets to literally take control of the batter’s box, develop unstoppable confidence and incredible mental toughness to become a phenomenal hitter.

$37 Value

Psychology of Dominant Pitching
FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Psychology of Dominant Pitching was created for those who are serious about developing a winning mindset and the mental tools of a dominant pitcher.

In this 4-part video training, you’ll discover the secrets to literally take control of the game, develop unstoppable confidence and incredible mental toughness to become a dominant pitcher.

$27 Value

Arm Strength and Throwing Power System
FORMAT: Streaming Video

The Arm Strength and Throwing Power System was created for those who are serious about taking their game to the next level by improving their arm strength and throwing power.

In this 12-part video training, you’ll discover the secrets, techniques, advanced drills and exercises to help you throw harder and farther.

$47 Value

High-Performance Baserunning for Softball
FORMAT: Streaming Video

This 6-part video training will teach you how to be a greater offensive threat, get out of the batter’s more quickly, get better jumps, steal more bases, smarter on the bases, and score a lot more runs.

$27 Value

Speed Ladder Drills for Softball
FORMAT: Streaming Video

The speed ladder is one of the best tool softball players and teams can use to quickly and easily improve speed, agility and quickness – It’s fun, super effective, and can be done anywhere.

In this 2-part video training, I walk you through innovative and highly effective speed ladder drills to help you get quicker and faster.

$27 Value

Yeah, that’s a lot of stuff!

Why I Had to Tell You Today

Marc is only giving all these products at the Super Softball Sale Price to 200 people.  His rules, not mine.  I know, that may sound like a lot, but I got an e-mail from Marc on Saturday letting me know that he’s more than half way through is “sale” inventory.  That’s right, over 100 people have already grabbed this packed bundle of softball peak performance goodies.  If you want to take advantage of this limited offer, Click Here before it’s gone.

Too Much!

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When it rains it pours right?  There have been so many great specials available recently that I’m beginning to lose track.  I can’t choose just ONE to share with you because they all address different issues.  Soooooo…chose the ONE that best addresses an issue you are dealing with or need help with right NOW.

Here they are in no particular order – all the specials that are ending soon

1.  Fastpitch Assistant at 41% off: get 6 months of weekly practice tips and ideas to make planning practice easier on you!  CLICK HERE to save big before the special ends tomorrow.

2.  Free Mental Game Help: Dr. Tom Hanson is GIVING you a number of awesome resources sharing success secrets of the best in the game of baseball.  Plus he’s answering some of the most pressing questions real players, parent, and coaches have about the mental game.  Learn more HERE.

3.  Workouts for Baseball/Softball: Brand new workout DVD from Coach Dan of BaseballStrength.com and you get it for “Shipping Only.” No additional costs for the workout DVD that will help you easily incorporate an effective fitness/training component to your practices or training routine.  Limited number of DVDs available, so get yours today.

4.  New Workout Video for Softball Pitchers: learn from the pros and use the exact exercises they are using to get same day results.  Barry Lovelace (the King of Core) got together some of the softball players he trains and he is going to show you the exercises they use to increase strength and pitching speed…all for just $9.  Obviously that’s a great deal that won’t last long.  Get your pitching workout HERE.

5.  Coming Soon: I think I heard Marc Dagenais mention that he’s going to be doing this personalized programs again.  I don’t have the details yet, but will let you know if and when that is available.

Whew!  That’s a lot of stuff, but it’s likely that there’s only ONE that you “really” need right now (and will put to use immediately if you get it).  Don’t go all crazy just because you can’t resist a good deal.  Just get the one program or resource that is going to help you the most right now. IF there is more than one that will help you immediately, then go for it, but I don’t want to see you spending money on something you’ll never use.  If you want the most for your dollar and you KNOW you will need/use it – then by all means, take advantage of these deals before they’re gone.

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

Learn from the Pros: Pitching Workout

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pitcherIf you’re reading this blog post over this Labor Day weekend then, you’ll get a deal others won’t.  I just found out that Barry Lovelace (the King of Core and creator of the infamous Core Power for Baseball/Softball) just completed a pitching workout video with a couple of pro softball players.  Basicilly, he’s going to show you some of the exact exercises he does with these professional softball pitchers when he trains them.  Not only do these exercises help keep these players in great softball shape, one of them swears she felt the difference in her pitching after the FIRST session! The cool thing, this pitching workout video isn’t going to cost you $29.99 or even anything close to that.  Actually, Barry’s letting you pick up this new workout, for just $9 (but only ’till Tuesday).

Crazy guy only told me at the last minute that he’s offering this brand new workout video for fastpitch softball pitchers at just $9 until Tuesday!  Ummmm, doesn’t he know that softball people are usually BUSY over the weekend and no one checks e-mail or reads blogs (especially on a holiday weekend)?  So no one is really going to know about this, except you, since you ARE here still looking for ways to improve your game over a holiday weekend.  That’s the kind of dedication it takes to be the best.  So, for you, since you’re here when most people are out cruisin’ on the weekend, you WILL get the chance to grab this new workout for fastpitch softball pitchers before the special introductory price ends.  Get it HERE.