Fastpitch Quick Links

Great Fastpitch Softball Articles

*NEW* Top 5 Performance Enhancing Nutritional Tips - 5 simple ideas to help your body perform it's best on the field!

*NEW* Fruits That Help With Hydration on Hot Game Days - Summer is here and those long tournament days are around the corner. Find out what fruits can help your team stay hydrated.

7 FREE Ways to Increase Your Coaching Knowledge - 7 Ways you can learn more as a coach without having to spend any money.

Blocking is the Easy Part - How to minimize passed balls.

Never Teach Your Catchers to Frame a Pitch - Input from a catching coach on why you should never teach your catchers to frame a pitch.

Help Yourself Get in "The Zone" - We've all heard about "The Zone," but how do you get yourself there more often? This article shares a little tip to help you with that.

8 Ways to Help Your Team and Yourself - Not everyone is a starter, but everyone can have an impact on their team. This article gives you ideas of how you can help whether you play every game or not.

5 Reasons I LOVE Running Hills - Get or stay in great softball shape WITHOUT adding hours and hours of training to your already busy week.

Three "Must Do's" for Hitting - Things batter's need to know and think to be productive in the batter's box.

How to Have No Softball Regrets - When you look back on your softball career, you want to be able to say that you have "no regrets" - so here's a few things to keep in mind to make that happen.

5 Things Coaches Don't Want to Hear - Are you the type softball player coaches want on their team? Or do you say something of things in this article that coaches don't want to hear?

Quick, Convenient, Healthy Snacks for Kids - Is it your turn to bring snack for the team? Just want to incorporate some healthier snacks into your busy softball life? Check out this article for ideas.

Sports First Aid Kit: Are You Prepared - Read this article by Louise Roach to learn about sports first aid and learn how to create your own customized kit that fits your family’s sports first aid needs .

Are You Holding Your Daughter Back with Softball? - Is softball what's really best for your daughter? And if not, what should you do? Read this article for some answers.

Sports Psychology Tips for Sports Parents - Give your child the best sports experience possible by following these tips.

7 Quick and Easy Dinner Time Ideas - Hey, softball keeps us all busy. I know I could use some help with dinner ideas, so here are some good, nutritious ideas for you.

Youth Sports Specialization: Beware These 4 Dangers! - This article is right on ~ parents please read.

Often Forgotten Tips for Producing Game Ready Hitters - Are you making these mistakes?

Transitions and Downtime - Attitude is important and what we think about affects our softball performance. In this game, there is so much time to think. Learn a little about how this affects your game. Plus coaches can get a few post-game discussion tips.

5 Communication Tips for Sports Parents - Avoid anger and hurt feelings by keeping these tips in mind when talking to your child about their sports performance.

How Can Sports Psychology Help Athletes?

Summer Training for Speed (Part I) - Tips and examples of summer workouts for increasing speed.

Summer Training for Speed (Part II) - Strength and Conditioning tips and example workouts for the summer.

5 Tips for Coaching 8U Softball - Just a few thoughts to keep in mind if you're new to working with this great age group.

Making Practice Fun and Effective - This is actually an article written for baseball, but of course, it also applies just as well to softball.

Strength Training Develops Solid Softball Players - Article on Strength Training by Lynn VanDyke, owner of strength-training-woman.com.

Speed Training: Arm Action - How to increase your running speed with proper arm action/swing mechanics.

The Goal Setting Blueprint - Not sure how to get started with goal setting? This article gives you some great ideas for setting goals and achieving more.

5 Steps to Create Powerful Goals - 5 simple ways to improve your goal setting.

My Daughter - My Inspiration - A softball dad shares his thoughts.

A Coaches' Guide to Winning the Motivation Game - 15 Steps to motivating the athletes you coach.

Baserunning Tips - 29 things to keep in mind regarding baserunning. This is more of a list than an article, but it's still something that's read.

Self-esteem Builds Female Athletes - Some reasons why being a softball player, or any other female athlete for that matter, is cool!

So You're the New Baseball Coach - Fun article with great tips for any coach.

Why the Middle Infield Has to be Strong - and tips to help them get better. Article by Cindy Bristow.

Team Building Quotes - This isn't exactly an article, but it is good reading material. Cool quotes on teamwork and team building.

Building A Sports Team - written by Paul Schienberg, PhD, this article gives some insight into what defines a sports team. This article is meant for coaches and players alike.

Build Incredible Bat Speed for Baseball/Softball - Tips from Bob Alejo, who has experience working with major league baseball players.

Hitting Tips - Utilize these tips to improve production at the plate.

Ten Tips for Coaching Girls' Sports - Courtesy of Women's Sports Foundation, here are a few great guidelines for anyone involved with coaching female athletes!

How to be an Impact Player - Simple tips for making a difference on your team.

Dealing with Slumps - Every softball player should read this article. This Link will take you to Fastsports.com. Article by Sport Psychology Consultant, Karlene Sugarman, M.A., author of Winning the Mental Way.

Why Mental Training - How strong is your mind? "Attitude Counts!" By Karlene Sugarman, M.A.

Peak Performance - What is "the zone? Find out in this article. By Karlene Sugarman, M.A.

Speed Training - Learn about proper running mechanics and how to develop and improve speed. (book excerpt)

Attitude is Everything - Cool article from the world of weight training on the difference between an average athlete and a champion athlete. Written by Mark Carter and found at www.criticalbench.com.

The Attitude of Champions - One of my favorites ~ this is an article from MindPerk.com that uses Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron to illustrate points.

The 'Truth' About Stretching - Learn more about stretching with this article by Marc Dagenais. Courtesy of Softballperformance.com

Peak Performance
is in Your Head
Physical talent doesn't
make the athlete, but
mental game skills do!
Learn how to overcome
your mental obstacles
to peak your athletic performance.