Are You Addicted to Coaching?

Eek! I've never really looked at it that way before, but maybe I am "addicted" to coaching. Are you? :D

I recently read an article that started off like this...

"I am a youth basketball coach.

There, I've said it. They say the first step in recovering from addiction is admitting you have one.

It's really amazing that they don't have an "Alcoholics Anonymous"-type program for recovering youth sports coaches."

Actually, it turned out to be a rather good article about what youth sports should be like, the challenges many youth coaches face, and, of course, one of my favorite topics...FUN!

While there may be a few points here and there in the article that you may or may not wholly agree with, here are my favorite parts of the article:

• The author pointing out that outcomes of games typically linger longer with adults than it does with the kids
• The idea of competing without resorting to a win-at-all-cost attitude
• Helping the players realize that the "last" player is just as much a part of the team as the player with the most talent
• There are larger lessons to learn on the field that are applicable to life, not just to the game
• You serve your players best by teaching fundamentals
• Remember that it's about fun, but realize that you can have fun while still giving the kids structure
• Have a plan!!!
• Oh yeah, and don't forget the snacks

Resources for New Coaches:

If you're new to coaching and would like some help, here are a few places where you can get it:

AAF Elite Membership where you can get access to all of AAF's paid products as well as ASK ANY COACHING question you may have and get feedback from other coaches who are dedicated to this game

Keeping Softball Fun - need help with practice? Quick guide to planning practice, plus a bunch of fun drills that will keep your players engaged while improving their skills. (note: this is included free in the AAF Elite Membership)

Coaching Books at Amazon.com:

Coaching Youth Softball: A Baffled Parent's Guide

Coaching Girls' Softball: From the How-To's of the Game to Practical Real-World Advice--Your Definitive Guide to Successfully Coaching Girls

Other Softball Coaching Resources at Amazon.com

Fun and Positive: Is This So Hard to Understand?

Isn't this what I've been saying from Day 1? Why does this seem like such a tough concept for "grown ups" to understand? So much so that it was a big part of the foreword of a book.

The main ideas?

• Children are NOT mini-adults (do not treat them as such)
• Fun and enjoyment are the MAIN reasons children participate in sports in the first place (either that or their parents are forcing them)
• Children's early experiences in the sport have a MASSIVE influence over their participation decisions later

When coaching 6U, 8U, 10U, probably even as far as 12U - Winning is NOT the ultimate goal! Let's teach the game, help the kids improve their skills while fostering/nurturing a love for the game. Do NOT overlook these aspects in favor of the WIN!

Players are NOT going to continue playing this game for the next 8, 10, 12 years if it's not fun. PERIOD! You've probably heard me say this before: the 2 times in my career when I seriously thought about quitting this game...the BIGGEST (actually the ONLY) reason was because I wasn't having fun. Why they heck should I "waste" my time with something I'm not enjoying. In one scenario I was part of a very good team. Winning and "success" were just about guaranteed and still I seriously though about giving it all up. Why? Because I wasn't enjoying it any more. Most kids feel the same way.

Why didn't I quit in those situations? Because I made the conscious choice to have fun no matter what. I was not going to let anyone take away this game that I enjoyed so much. It was something I loved to do and was good at and I decided I was going to have fun despite negativity in my surroundings.

But I wasn't making that decision at 8, 10, or 12. I had been given that fun and enjoyable foundation to fall back on when I was faced with this decision at an older age.

This is a game! Yes, it's fun to win. I'm not denying that. Yes, each time I go out on the field, I'm going out there to do my best and come out on top, but "the win" is not THE driving force behind why I'm at the field on a regular basis. I'm there because I love it, because even after being in this sport since the age of 9, it's still FUN for me. I still enjoy it.

Especially at the younger ages, I believe it's our job, as coaches, to give these players the most positively memorable experience possible. Not that it should all be fun and games, not that there should be no discipline or that striving for excellence should be thrown out the window...Just remember that kids are more likely to want to play softball if they enjoy it. They are more likely to continue playing for years and years IF the are having fun. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Here's an article that talks about this very issue. Read it HERE.

Look Great, Feel Great, Play Great

I sent this out via e-mail a few days ago and got quite a few responses, so I decided to share it on the blog as well. Enjoy!

I a conversation I had with Tom Hanson, I remember him mentioning a conversation he had with Mike Candrea. Tom said that Coach Candrea talked about how much time he spends on helping his players feel good.

Recently, I had a conversation with another coach via Facebook and he was talking about how he was building up a team that had recently come from losing seasons. One of the things he wanted to do was get the players to feel good about being part of the team.

One way he did that was making sure they had some of the best sweats in the league. It was something players get excited about. It's something they looked forward to and something they loved about being part of that team...they got to wear cool sweats/hoodies. This coach mentioned how something as simple as this can create a more positive atmosphere on the team.

Again it goes back to helping the players feel good. You've heard people say, "Look good, feel good." Then of course, if you feel great, you're more likely to be positive and the more positive you are the more likely it is that you have a better mindset for performing well.

Now if you don't have the cash to buy the best uniform or the best sweats or jackets in town, the Mitt Mate thing I've been talking about may be an idea (plus there's another option that I'll talk about toward the end of this message). Like I said, my girls (my daughters and the players I coach) thought they were great and got excited about getting some for their glove. Feel good, play good - think this could work.

Something as simple as this can promote a more positive team atmosphere and just create a better sense of "team" among the players. There are other benefits too and I'm actually going to be talking with Jessica (the one who created these Mitt Mates) on the next Fastpitch Talk Radio.

Not sure what Mitt Mates are? I've got a blog post with a picture up at

http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/2009/02/useful-bling-for-your-glove.html

Then I also put up a video where I show you the one I personally have on my glove.

http://staciemahoe.com/2009/03/03/whats-on-your-glove/

If you're one of the many who've already taken advantage of the special Jessica is offering (details on the blog and in the video), please send me a picture of you with your Mitt Mate. I'd like to post it up if you don't mind.

Also, if you'd like to get some Mitt Mates for your team, but don't have the funds, Jessica just released a brand new fundraising program. Check it out at http://www.MittMate.com - remember to use promo code STM017 to get free shipping on that fundraiser.

What's on your glove?

A Message for Non-Starters

Are you ready?

Here it is...

There is SO MUCH you can do to help your team!!!!!!!!!!!! (Whew, glad I got that out)

One thing you can do is PUSH HARD in practice. Why?
Well there are a number of great reasons:

1. Because you will improve your skills faster

2. Because you will increase your chance at earning some playing time

3. Because pushing hard in practice helps you get GAME READY just in case the starter in front of you gets sick, gets injured, has some kind of outside obligation to attend instead of coming to the game, or simply has a bad day

4. Because coaches love players that go hard in practice and HOW you practice leaves 1 of 3 impressions in your coaches mind:
a) you do things half heartedly because you're not a starter and the coaches are left with a negative impression of how you practice
b) you don't slack but you don't push either and in the words of Simon Cowell your practice efforts are "forgettable" (*note: "forgettable" usually doesn't make the coach want to put your name in that starting line-up)
c) you work hard and push yourself daily and a very positive impression is branded in your coaches mind about HOW you practice

5. Because the more you push yourself the more the starter in front of you pushes and gets better. If they don't, you get their position. If they do and they are on top of their game and they make great plays on the field - YOU just helped your team get better by pushing and challenging that starter in front of you. You just made a HUGE contribution to your team's overall performance...all because you chose to practice hard every day and push yourself and those around you.

...and that's just ONE way to help your team as a non-starter. There are many more that I'll probably share from time to time, but for now, make it a point to push and challenge yourself and those around you. You'll get better and you'll make a very positive contribution to your team's overall performance and success.

Quick Tip for Coaching Softball

Just a quick video clip for fastpitch softball coaches on how to help your players perform better AND strengthen your relationship with them so that they WANT to hear what you have to say in the future.

You've probably heard other say (and even me too) that you have to know your players to be as effective as possible as a coach. Well, in this video I share a specific example of how this will help not only improve your players performance on the field, but also make your players more likely to listen to what you have to say and be more open to receiving "coaching" from you.



Did you find this video useful? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Related Post: Are You Coaching Unplugged?

Interesting Fastpitch Discussions

We've got all kinds of fastpitch softball discussions going on at My Fastpitch World.

Should sunflower seeds be allowed?
How should tryouts be run?
Is stealing signals "playing dirty?"
Should you play up or stay down?
How do you motivate young players and reduce nerves before a game?
...and a bunch more.

If you haven't shared your thoughts yet, head over and tell us what you think. If you haven't signed up for your free account at My Fastpitch World, it only takes a few minutes and you'll be able to jump right in to the conversations!

I'm looking forward to seeing you there! If you have any questions you'd like input on, just post it up ~ there are a lot of great fastpitch people ready to help you out.

Are You Coaching Unplugged?

Have you ever seen coaches who know a ton about the game but aren't able to get that knowledge across to their players effectively? Or maybe you've seen coaches who do a pretty good job of getting their messages across to their players, but they still aren't quite as impactful as they could be (I think I just made that word up). The point is, their impact on their players and their influence on their players actions and learning isn't quite is big as it could be because they aren't "plugged in" to their players.

They don't have a good strong connection with them through which information can easily pass.

How do you form a stronger connection and have a bigger impact on your players? Well, one of the simplest ways that many coaches tend to bypass for fear of becoming a "pal" instead of a "coach" or "authority figure" is getting to know your players. Know more about them than just what's presented at the field. It's difficult to relate to someone you know very little about. Often times there's a lot more to a player than just "softball stuff."

While it IS possible to "hit it off" with someone you just met, that often happens because you have similar perspectives, interests, or beliefs. How often does a 35 year old guy have the same interests and perspectives as a 11 year old girl? I think you can see where I'm going with this. Hoping to "hitting it off" with your players right from the start may not be the best method of getting to the point where you can really relate to them and, therefore, have their full attention when you speak. This may take a little time to develop and part of it involves getting to know your players better.

Wouldn't it be so awesome to have a team full of players completely focused on you every time you had something to say? Listening because they want to, not just because they have to? Now, while that may not be realistic (I'm sure even the most interesting people lose someone's interest every now and then) there are ways to move you much closer to that point.

That's what I talk about in my new report called Coaching Unplugged. A number of coaches have already picked it up and read it and here's what a few of them had to say:

"I think all coaches need to see this to understand how to "plug-in" and be a better coach!"

"I read this this morning and have been thinking about it ever since then. It was very eye-opening to me."

"This TOTALLY explains a coach I know. He is so knowledgeable about the game, but he had no connection whatsoever with the girls! So they didn't perform well for him."

In reference to Part 3 of the report: " I think it's dead on as to why we have a hard time communicating with each other as a society."

See for yourself what all the buzz is about. CLICK HERE to grab your copy of the report today.

You already know communication is a HUGE part of being a good leader. Learn to communicate more effectively with your team and you'll increase your effectiveness as a coach. Coaching Unplugged shares ways to strengthen the connection to your team and also tells you one simple way to give your words and messages more meaning. This could be the difference between your players "getting it" and missing the boat altogether. Click Here to get this short report today.

*photo courtesy of flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/31786873@N08/2980944489/

Goal Achieving Attitude

I'm sure you'd agree that your own attitude and mind set play a part in whether or not you actually achieve the goals you lay out for yourself. Obviously a person who has the attitude and mindset of a "winner" is more likely to achieve their goals than someone who doesn't.

So what kinds of qualities are part of a winning attitude?

• Determination
• Enthusiasm
• Motivated
• Confidence
• Optimism
• Patience

The more you live with a winning attitude, the more likely you are to achieve your goals.

However, it's possible that there are days when you don't feel as confident or optimistic or even enthusiastic about what you're doing. I don't know about you, but I don't wake up every day feeling motivated. With that in mind, here are 3 Mini-Motivators than can help boost your mood:

• Get your blood flowing: go for a walk or run to clear your head and energize your body
• Try using a reward: promise yourself a certain reward or treat when you reach a certain goal
• Read something inspirational: just google inspirational quotes or motivational quotes or success quotes and you'll have lots of inspirational reading material

Try using these Mini-Motivators to boost your mood and get back on track with that "winning attitude" you need to achieve your goals.

For more help with setting goals you'll stick with, a tip for "instant motivation," and a method for shifting your mindset effectively, quickly, and painless from negative to positive, sign up for the upcoming Goal Setting Acceleration Bootcamp Priority List. Spaces for this session are limited so fill out the form if you want a jump start on the rest of the coaches and players who'll be looking to take part in the program.

Interesting Line-Up Discussion

We're having an interesting discussion over at Fastpitch Haven about setting up your batting order. It was actually our Fastpitch Question of the Week last week and so far the responses have pointed out:

• some differences in doing a line-up for the younger age groups vs the older age groups
• opinions on how to utilize the #9 slot
• and some good points about power hitters and the 4 slot

Do you believe the "best power hitter" on the team should always be in the #4 slot?

What if she hits tremendously in the 3 or 5 or even 6 slot and never really produces the same in the 4 slot? Would you leave her there since she's the best power you have or would you put someone with less power in that spot so that you can return your "power hitter" to a slot where she produces better?

If you're a coach and have moved a great power hitter out of the 4 slot because she simply doesn't produce there, how many times have you been questioned or second guessed on that decision?

You can leave me a comment here to share your thoughts OR if you want to join us in the discussion over at Fastpitch Haven, we'd love to have you!

Photo: courtesy of http://flickr.com/photos/nomad7674/148503229/

Last Day for 2008 - Bootcamp

Hey - just a quick reminder. Today is the LAST DAY you can pick up the Home Study version of the Fastpitch Insider Bootcamp for 2008. Yes, I'll have it available in 2009 also, but you'll save yourself some money if you pick it up today.

If you haven't picked up your Bootcamp Home Study package yet, CLICK HERE.

Have no clue what I'm talking about?

Get the details HERE before it's too late.

$1 Webinar and Important College Information

The webinar with important college recruiting information is now ready for you. AND, in the spirit of the holiday season, I'm giving it to you for the super low price of $1. No joke, no strings - just $1.
http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/1dollarwebinar.html


Check it out, then come back here and let me know what you think.

http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/1dollarwebinar.html

See you there!

What Do I Get in the Home Study

I've been getting a few questions about the home study:

What do I get?

How is it different from the regular bootcamp?

How much does it cost?

I'll save the first question for last because it has the longest answer.

First: How is the home study bootcamp different from the regular bootcamp?

The home study is in a fully downloadable format. You get ONE long report with all the "regular bootcamp" content in it. Then you also get all the printables, handouts, and audios that are in the "regular bootcamp." It's different because you can get everything all at once and the material is not broken down week by week for you so you can really go at your own pace. Also, you don't have any of the discussion or live even options that the regular bootcampers do. But you're also getting the Home Study Package for a discounted price which brings me to the next question.

Second: How much does it cost?

Right now the bootcamp is being offered at a Special 2008 New Release price. This price will ONLY be good this year and I'm seriously thinking about taking the whole thing down by Tuesday December 23rd so that we can all have time to concentrate on spending the holidays with our families. No more buying bootcamps online after the 23rd because then you'll have the whole day Christmas Eve and beyond to focus on your family and on the holiday season. During this short time, the bootcamp homestudy is being offered at $27 which is 46% off the original Fastpitch Insider Bootcamp price. When 2009 rolls around and the holidays are over, this homestudy will be priced at $35 (which is still a 30% discount from the original bootcamp price). But take action now and save yourself some money - get the homestudy package for just $27 instead of $35. Plus you'll get a head start on prepping for the 2009 season!

Last, but not least: What do I get?
Here's a sample taken from the sign up page...

Table of Contents Sample

Take a look at a few of the topics in this 47-page home study:

• What does it take?
• Preparation and Success
• Coaching Logistics
• The Decision to Coach
• Key Ingredient to Your Coaching Philosophy
• Vision Basics
• Developing Your Vision
• Time Management Tips for Coaches
• Why Multi-Tasking is Bad
• 21 Ways to Relieve Stress

Plus get:

• Sample Parent Meeting Letter
• Equipment List
• Bucket Essentials
• Tryout Handout
• Tryout Matrix and Rubric
  
• Worksheets to help you apply the concepts covered in the report

AND of course, Conversations with the Experts:

• Tryout Audio with Marc Dagenais
• Pre-Game Mistakes Conversation with Dr. Patrick Cohn
• Coaching the Mental Game with Dr. Tom Hanson
• Pitching Conversation with Bill Hillhouse

Slide Boards for Front Foot Hitting Problem

One question I get asked a lot is about younger players and their front side when hitting. Many of them either bail or they do not have a strong front side. Often times their weight ends up over their front foot which is not where it should be.

So how do you help correct this issue?

Well, I just came across a tip from Dan Huff of Baseball Strength that addresses this issue. He actually suggested utilizing slide boards to help with hitting balance issues. Read what Dan had to say in this article.

image source: flickr http://flickr.com/photos/borderhopper/2394270647/

Are You Prepared for 2009?

Have you ever had that season? You know the one where you're just so overwhelmed that coaching is more stress than fun? Even though the season doesn't really start until next year, I'm already thinking about, planning, and getting ready for the upcoming season. Of course, the holidays are upon us and I'm sure you're just as busy as I am. In fact, our team isn't even allowed to handle the ball yet, but I know there are a lot of things I could prepare for prior to being given the okay to hit the field. I believe that preparation plays a big part in your level of success. The more you have taken care of prior to the season starting, the less you'll have to deal with in-season.

While it's true that you can still be successful even without thorough preparation, I don't think that's the "ideal" scenario. You have enough to deal with during the season without having to deal with a bunch of odds and end issues that could have been taken care of prior to the season even starting. You'll probably never think of everything, but if you begin preparing early and start laying out the groundwork for your season, you're season will go more smoothly than if you don't. After all, you'll be able to readily address the unexpected issues and challenges that pop up during the season because you're not busy still trying to take care of things that could have been done before the season started. All that is taken care of, so now you have the means by which to deal with the new "fires" that come up.

If your season begins in the spring like mine, now is a great time to begin thinking about 2009. I know it's a busy time of year with Christmas right around the corner (I really love this time of year), but if you don't have time now, I'm pretty sure you won't have time once the season rolls around. You know how hectic your schedule gets during the first few months of the year. I understand that your "softball brain" may not be firing on all cylinders right now if you're not in season, BUT I've been doing a lot of brainstorming and thinking about '09...AND I'm willing to share my preparation plans with you! Everything will be included in the Bootcamp Home Study package I'm getting ready to release tomorrow.

The coaches in our Fastpitch Insider Bootcamp are already taking the steps necessary to have more success and less stress in 2009. Tomorrow, you'll have an opportunity to do the same with the Home Study version of the 2008 Bootcamp! For now, go ahead and check out my free Pre-Season Paving report if you haven't already picked up your copy.

Want to learn a little more about the Bootcamp Home Study course and find out how to make sure you can grab it at 2008 New Release Special Pricing? Click HERE

Bootcamp Lite Progress

For those of you waiting on the downloadable version of the Fastpitch Insider Bootcamp, it's well on it's way to being finished. I pounded out 35 pages so far and that doesn't even include some of the handouts and printables that are also included in the course. I have a few finishing touches I need to take care of, plus I need to make sure I have the page where you can get all the downloads ready.

If you want to know as soon as it's ready to go, please make sure you put your name at e-mail address in the form at this post and I will keep you updated!

For those of you who sign up to be notified, I will offer the bootcamp to you at a special discounted 2008 rate. Once 2009 comes around and the season is seriously right around the corner, the special will be over and the downloadable bootcamp will only be available at "regular" price. Start early, make sure you're on the list to get notified as soon as the bootcamp is ready so you can save money. Click here to put your name on the notification list.

Remember, in this coaches bootcamp, you'll:

• Reduce your in-season coaching stress by making sure you've taken care of all the little logistical and "administrative" issues you can before the season even gets rolling

• Find out how to effectively run tryouts and evaluate players to you can build the best team possible

• Develop a solid coaching philosophy that will guide you through the toughest coaching decisions you face and set the right tone for the year

• Create a vision your team can believe in for a more successful season

• Find out how to avoid a common strategic mistake many coaches make in the pre-season

• Learn how to more effectively manage your time to get the most out of your day and out of your practices

• Get well prepared for that all important parent meeting so that you can nip potential problems in the bud and have less stress during the season

• Find out what common pre-game mistakes your players may make that could hurt their performance

• Learn why multitasking is bad for you and your players
  

• Get great tips on coaching the mental game so you can start planning how to help your players with this important aspect of the game

• Hear why you shouldn't try be all and know all as a coach

• Find out how to give your players more even when you know less

• See what drills, guidelines, and tips other coaches are using to run effective tryouts

• Learn why it's okay if you have coaching weaknesses and why it may actually help your team
  

• Find out what #1 tool Tom Hanson uses to help players is

• Learn how to lower your stress level so you can be a more calm, confident, and effective coach
• and more!

Click here to enter your name and e-mail address an ensure you get access to this course at 2008 pricing.

Tips for Running Quality Tournament

As promised, here is the recorded call I did with Elliott of Triple Crown Sports. If you're thinking of running a tournament or are already involved with organizing and planning one, this audio is a must hear.

P.S. - Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know what part of this call you liked most OR add your tournament tips!

What's Fastpitch Haven?

It's a new fun resource for coaches.

Too Much Sidearm!

Why a sidearm throw should NOT be your routine, every play throw.

Organizing and Planning Tournaments

I just got off the phone with Elliott at Triple Crown Sports and we talked about organizing and planning tournaments as well as how to better monetize them. When I have the call uploaded to the internet and ready for you to listen to will post it here on the blog.

I will also post a printable at Fastpitch Haven as well as start a discussion area for coaches who may have additional questions about planning a tournament. Elliott has agreed to answer additional questions for Fastpitch Haven coaches in the discussion area there.

If you don't know anything about Fastpitch Haven, stay tuned here because I'm putting together a short video to tell you more about it.

Cyber Monday Announcement

I realize it isn't Cyber Monday anymore, but a few technical issues hindered me from telling you about this yesterday. I'm going to keep this short and sweet because this is one of the birthday weeks on our family (2 people celebrating this week). Bascially, I'm just here to let you know about THIS.

Downloadable Bootcamp

I've had some people e-mail me saying that they are interested in the bootcamp, but prefer a downloadable report format rather than an online lesson course format. Instead of having things broken down week by week into smaller chunks and having to login to a member area, they just want all the information in one place and available via instant download.

So, what I'm going to do is put together a Bootcamp Lite version of the information shared in the bootcamp. All the bootcamp basics will be there in one report - sort of like a "home study." Just to let you know, it'll be kind of long, so if you're not into going over long, drawn out e-books on your own, the Fastpitch Insider Online Bootcamp is probably more your style.

Now I'm not quite sure when I'll have this ready. After all, I'll have to transform 8 weeks of content into one report. But if you'd rather have everything all in one place and be able to hear the conversations with the experts too, enter your name and e-mail address below and I'll let you know when it's ready.

Get the Conversations

Yowza! This Thanksgiving holiday has me more busy than expected, but I do finally have that "Conversations Only" package up and ready for you.

http://allaboutfastpitch.com/fpconversations.html

There were some people who didn't want the full bootcamp, but were interested in the fastpitch conversations with the experts . These are the conversations where I got to pick the brain of experts in fastpitch softball and youth sports. I got to ask them the questions that I had buzzing around in my brain after reading a piece they published. So if you aren't interested in the full bootcamp, but do want full access the expert answers to my questions, get it at

http://allaboutfastpitch.com/fpconversations.html

This "Conversations Only" package will only be up for a limited time, so if this is all you want and you don't want the full bootcamp information, get it before you get too wrapped up in the holiday weekend because it won't be up much longer than that.

http://allaboutfastpitch.com/fpconversations.html

Okay, I'm off to do some Thanksgiving preparations. I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving Holiday.

Hitting: Getting Past the Intimidation Factor

I'm sure you've seen it before: batters who are completely intimidated by the pitcher they are facing. This audio talks about what happens when batters can't get past that intimidation factor and a tool that can't help you help your hitters.

Where are those expert conversations?

I've had a number of questions about where to get those conversations with experts I was doing as well as what exactly is in the Fastpitch Insider Bootcamp (week by week).

So, I'm going to answer those questions for you right here.

Expert Conversations

A while back I mentioned that every now and then I read articles or newsletters and end up having all kinds of questions pop into my head. Then I figured I'd try to actually contact the experts who I had questions for and see if they'd be willing to talk story with me and answer those questions. Of course, I was excited to find out that some of them were more than willing to have a chat with me. I ended up being able to talk with 4 different experts. Now originally, I was just going to put those conversations together to create a mini seminar series and that was it. Then I decided that I could give you more and that's when the Fastpitch Insider 2008 session went from being a "seminar series" to becoming a full blown "bootcamp." In addition to putting the conversations together, I added in a bunch of resources to help you get ready for the 2009 season. With good preparation you can greatly reduce your coaching stress during the season, avoid many obstacles, and increase your chance at success. So that's basically what the bootcamp is all about and although doors will be closing soon, there's still time for you to get in at www.allaboutfastpitch.com/bootcamp.html

HOWEVER, if you're not interested in all that and you just want the conversations, ONLY the experts conversations, and want to forego all the resources to help you reduce your coaching stress while increasing your chance of success for '09, then keep an eye on the blog next week because I will give you a chance to grab the "conversations only" package.

For those that had questions on just what the bootcamp covers over the course of the 8 weeks, read on.

The bootcamp week by week
Here's your "table of contents" so to speak...

Week 1: Pick up your 3 bootcamp bonuses, introduction, and logistics to think about

Week 2: What does it take to be a great coach, an exercise to get you thinking about specific improvements for '09, a good hard look at YOU.

Week 3: Coaching Philosophy - definition, how it will help you as a coach, why you should be addressing it now, the key ingredient and how to get clear on it, and an exercise to help you develop a solid and effective coaching philosophy

Week 4: Vision, definition, how it's different from philosophy, vision basics, what a good vision is like, and exercise to get clear on your vision for your team/program

Week 5: Tryouts! Conversation with Marc Dagenais and how he got a team full of dedicated, hard working players, how to effectively evaluate your players to build the best team possible, plus tips from other coaches, and 2 printable forms you can use for player evaluation

Week 6: The all important parent meeting, what to cover, sample letter and agenda, leadership, time management, and stress relief so you can be the MOST effective coach possible.

Week 7: Coaching the mental game, conversations with both Dr. Patrick Cohn, and Dr. Tom Hanson. Pre-game mistakes you and your players may be making, how to start implementing mental game training in your practices, plus Dr. Hanson's #1 tool for helping athletes and why you should start thinking about coaching the mental game now.

Week 8: Special lesson, recap, and conversation with Bill Hillhouse about pitching, mistakes, how to evaluate instructors, when to teach pitch calling, rules of thumb for attacking batters, how to go after batter's your not familiar with, and more.

In addition, all bootcamp members get free access to the Online College Recruiting Educational System and will be able to access it to be able to help their players through the college recruiting process and also can access the softball training workouts included in that online system.

Gosh, that seems like a lot, and I know how busy you are so I'm not going to ask you to listen to hour long seminars or read super long reports. I know I don't have time for that right now with it being the holiday season and all and I figured you probably don't either. So each week is broken down into bite-sized, easy to manage parts so that even if you just have 15-20 minutes 3-4 times a week, you should be able to get through all the content without falling behind.

So, if you to check out the expert conversations and get ready for the season, there's still time to get into the bootcamp at www.allaboutfastpitch.com/bootcamp.html

If you aren't interested in all the information mentioned above, I'll be in touch next week with a "conversation only" option.

Well, that's about it. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

P.S. - Lots of questions have also been coming in about the mental game and earlier this week I gave out a link to a free program Dr. Tom Hanson has for helping players consistently play at their best. Well since then a flood of coaches and parents have been going over to check it out. I know because Tom's been keeping me posted on sign-ups and it's just crazy! Apparently, lots of people really want this information and I thought you might too. If you haven't picked up your free copy of the program yet, CLICK HERE and get the information you need to help your players consistently play their best.

This is What Happens When You Don't Start Early

Recently a few members in my private coaching group asked me to share a schedule with them. We were discussing the great book Heads Up Baseball. I told them that I has printed out a schedule for players to follow as far as what they should read and what exercises they should do.

When I found the schedule to share with them, I realized that I had bunched all 10 chapters of the book into 4 weeks. Why? Because we didn't start on it until after our season started. In theory it was a great idea to have the players go through this book. Everyone is always asking about tips for the mental game, and this book can really help with that. However, since we didn't start early, we were basically on a race to finish the book and go through it before the season ended. This, of course, was less than ideal. Did the players still get something out of it? Sure. Was it the experience as effective as it could have been? Definitely not.

Now had I taken some time to plan before the season started, I could have made it a much more useful and effective experience for my players. After all, I had known about the book for some time. Visitors and members here at AAF were always telling me about how great the book was for their team. For some reason, I just didn't prepare like I should have. The result, a less effective impact on players, but you can bet I won't be making that same mistake twice. That's why I'm starting to plan for 2009 now. There are so many things to think about and consider and lay out a plan for. Go through the planning process with me in this year's Fastpitch Insider Bootcamp: Plan for More Success and Less Stress in 2009.

2008 Bootcamp Now Open

More Success & Less Stress for 2009

The first Fastpitch Insider Bootcamp 2008 (Reduce Your Coaching Stress) is NOW open for Fastpitch World members only. All Fastpitch World members can join today at 40% off.

How to Claim The Fastpitch World Special

• Login to Fastpitch World
• Click on GROUPS
• Go to the *Members Only* Group to get the special discount link

The special is good for Monday, November 17th ONLY.

After that, the doors to the bootcamp will open up to everyone else at the regular price. Space is not limited, but the timeframe during which you can sign up is. The doors will not be open on an ongoing basis. If you want a spot in this bootcamp, now is the time.

If you're not a Fastpitch World member, it's free to sign up, you can still join today to get the discount. Otherwise, be ready to get in to the bootcamp tomorrow, November 18th. Lay the groundwork for your season now so you can have less stress and more success in 2009.

See you inside!

Are You Sure You Want This Coaching Job?

Coaches face a number of challenges during the season, some of which can be greatly reduced by taking care of business before the season even gets rolling. In this video I talk about how making a few bad choices in the beginning of the season can give you more headaches than you bargained for.

Plus - stay with me until the end of the video and I'll let you in on a special deal.

"Same Old Stuff" and The Movie Phenomenon

Yes it's true...

listen in and tell me what you think...

Free Tool to Help You With Tryouts

If you're a player or parent of a player and are looking for ideas to gain an edge on the competition for the upcoming season, stay tuned this week, because I'll have some ideas for you soon.

If you're a coach, the rest of this message is for you. The report I told you about in this post has been downloaded 307 times. If you haven't yet claimed your free copy of Preseason Paving yet, you can do so at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html.

But today, I have a free tool you can use to help you during tryouts. This was something that a number of coaches shared back when I asked for tryout tips, so I thought you may find it useful too.

Actually, I put together a little video to share this tryout tool with you so you can get a good idea of how it works. Not only that, I included a link so you can get this tool for yourself for free (no strings attached). Check out this free video and get this free tryout tool at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/matrix.html

If you're looking for a way to make things easier during tryouts, this may help. It's simple, easy to use, and fully customizable to suit your needs. Learn more at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/matrix.html

Now is the time to start preparing for next year!

If you're the type that likes to be organized (or wish that you were more organized) this tool is right up your alley.

Once you have a chance to watch the video - if you'll be using a tool like this at your next tryout, I'd like to hear from you - leave me a comment below and let me know.

AAF Live - Friday - Right Here on the Blog

Hey - I just had to give you a quick heads up. I know it's last minute again, but I'm going to be running an AAF Live session right here on the blog on Friday, November 14th at 7pm Eastern, 2pm Hawaii Time.

In this live session, we'll discuss:

• The freebies that have come out recently (3 Tips for Reducing Parent Conflict, PreSeason Paving, and the Free Tryout Tool)
• AAF Live participant tips or ideas for reducing parent conflict
• AAF Live participant tips or ideas for making tryouts easier
• AAF Live participant tips or ideas for getting ready for the upcoming season
• The experts I've been talking with and what our conversations have been about
  
• Plus you'll be able to ask me questions about the bootcamp that I'll be opening up soon (Fastpitch Insider 2008: Reduce Your Coaching Stress Bootcamp)

So join us right here on Friday, November 14th for 1 hour as we discuss, in real time, the topics mentioned above.



Hey - if you're enjoying (or enjoyed) this event, please leave me a comment and tell me what you thought about this AAF Live! session. I'd love to hear from you.

How You Can Gain An Edge Starting Now

If you're like me, your season probably starts some time next year. BUT, that doesn't mean you can't begin gaining an edge over the competition now.

If you want to get ready to have the best season possible, check out
www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html

I have a free report up there for coaches.

Don't be the one floundering because you weren't ready for the season. Get this free report to help make sure your ready to hit the ground running when your season rolls around.

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html

P.S. - I may have another tool for you tomorrow. I'm working on it right now and if all works out well, I'll have it for you here. For now, head over to
www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html and claim your free report.

Pre-Season Thoughts, Tryout Tips Wanted

Have you ever had that season? You know the one where you're just so overwhelmed that coaching is more stress than fun? I'm getting ready to go to our first player sign-up for the 2009 this afternoon. This, of course, has me thinking about, planning, and getting ready for the upcoming season. Of course, I have the holidays and a number of family birthdays to get through before the "real" on-the-field season starts. But I just started thinking of all the things I could prepare for prior to being given the okay to hit the field. I believe that preparation plays a big part in your level of success. The more I have taken care of prior to the season starting, the less I'll have to deal with in-season.

While it's true that you can still be successful even without thorough preparation, I don't think that's the "ideal" scenario. You have enough to deal with during the season without having to deal with a bunch of odds and end issues that could have been taken care of prior to the season even starting. You'll probably never think of everything, but if you begin preparing early and start laying out the groundwork for your season, you're season will go more smoothly than if you don't. After all, you'll be able to readily address the unexpected issues and challenges that pop up during the season because you're not busy still trying to take care of things that could have been done before the season started. All that is taken care of, so now you have the means by which to deal with the new "fires" that come up.

If your season begins in the spring like mine, now is a great time to begin thinking about 2009. I know it's a busy time of year with the holidays coming up and all (I really love this time of year), but if you don't have time now, I'm pretty sure you won't have time once the season rolls around. You know how hectic your schedule gets during the first few months of the year. I understand that your "softball brain" may not be firing on all cylinders right now if you're not in season, BUT I've been doing a lot of brainstorming and thinking about '09...AND I'm willing to my preparation plans with you! Keep your eyes on your e-mail for my new "Pre-Season Paving" Report. I'm hoping to have it ready for you by November. 12th. I'll keep you posted.

Oh, if you have any tryout tips you'd like to share, post them here. Anyone who submits tryout tips will get a free copy of Build the Best Team: A Coach's Look at Getting the Most Out of Tryouts.

Poll for Coaches

What kind of players do you want?

I have a poll going on at Fastpitch World. If you are a coach, please come by and cast your vote. However, you only get ONE vote, so make sure you've decided on your "final answer" before hitting the "Vote" button.

You'll have to scroll allllll the way down to the bottom of my page to see the poll and cast your vote. I've hidden the results for now because I don't want you to be able to see them before you vote. I will post the results after I run the poll for a bit. I think I know how the results will turn out. Of course, now that I've said that, some monkeys will cast votes solely to produce "funny" results. Still, I'm curious to see the results since I have been known to be wrong before. ;P

Click Here to share your thoughts on what kind of players you'd like to have on your team.


Want to run your own poll?

Join Fastpitch World (free) and add the Poll Daddy application like I did. Then you can run your very own softball poll!

Reduce Parent Conflict

Would you like to have a more enjoyable, less stressful season by reducing the amount of problems you have with parents? Are you spending too much time dealing with parents instead of coaching players?

If so, I have a new report that can help you with your parent issues. There are specific actions you can take to reduce the conflict you have with parents. I share some of these ideas with you in this new report.

Click here to get 3 Tips for Reducing Parent Conflict

• What I learned about parents
• How your coaching staff can help
• How to help parents help you
• 5 Must Do's for reducing parent problems
• Why it's common to have grumbling parents
• How to plan ahead to make your season better

Get the report for free HERE

First Ever All About Fastpitch LIVE

Wow - that was a lot of fun! Thanks to those of you who joined in the conversation on such short notice.

We had over 30 people stop by and 224 reader comments.

If you want to see the replay of the live chat we had, it's still up at www.allaboutfastpitch.com/live.html

Next time I will try to make a bigger announcement and let everyone know with more advanced notice so that more of you can stop by and join us.

If you were there, leave me a comment here and let me know what you thought of the experience.

Fastpitch Conversations Update

Here's an update on those fastpitch conversations I'm putting together for you. If you have no idea what I'm talking about Click Here to watch the first video. (This all has to do with picking the brains of various eperts in the Fastpitch Softball World and in Youth Sports)




Sign up to receive priority updates HERE.

Great Reason to Join My Fastpitch World

You may remember that I set up a site a while back called My Fastpitch World where people who love this game can connect, hang out, and talk with other fastpitch people around the world.

Well, since the holidays are coming up (well, not quite, but I really love the holidays so I'm getting a head start here), I'm going to give you a great gift when you join My Fastpitch World. Actually, I'll give you a number of great gifts once you're in there, but right now, there's just one ready for you.

What will you get?

Free Access to the Coach of Action program. (if you're already a COA member, keep reading because I have something for you too).

How does it work?

1. Go to MyFastpitchWorld.com
2. Create a profile
3. Sign in and go to "Groups" & Request an Invite for the *Members Only* group

That's it! Once you're invite request is approved, you'll have access to that *Members Only* group and that's where you'll get access to the Fastpitch World Members Only freebies.

Those that are already in COA, don't worry, I will be adding more and more freebies there as time goes on. In fact, the next freebie will be access to the College Recruiting Seminar I'm planning for later on this month. If you're in that *Members Only* group at Fastpitch World, you'll know be able to access that seminar for free too.

To join MyFastpitchWorld.com and gain access to these *Members Only* freebies, CLICK HERE.

Forget Machines! Go with the "Good Stuff"

Stacie's Note: After my own eperience with weight training, I soooo prefer free weights to machines, so I thought thisd article was cool.

The Machine Myth... Get Kids OFF Those Machines!

Brian Grasso is the CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association and is considered one of the premier authorities on youth athletic development in the world. Access Brian's free database of articles and exercises at Developing Athletics.

Whenever I come into contact with a coach or trainer who preaches the virtues of machine-based strength training for young athletes, the same argument is typically offered – machines are safer for kids because they eliminate the dangerous aspects of traditional free weight training. This is simply a dogmatic mindset and not founded on any scientific or functional principles. It is a classic case of blaming the exercise or activity rather than the execution. In fact, having young athletes train on machines for strength development can actually lead to injuries and a whole host of other concerning factors.

All sports are dynamic and require a great deal of systemic strength and stability to perform. More over, the strength/stability interplay needed to perform virtually any sporting activity is based on the body (or its parts) working as a unit, the way nature intended. By isolating certain muscle groups via machine-based training, you are eliminating the body’s natural capacity to provide both mobility and stability in an interrelated manner. This can essentially limit a young athlete’s ability to effectively produce force on the field of play while at the same time providing stability in other crucial areas of the body. By disturbing this innate mobility/stability balance, you are decreasing the ability of the body to protect itself during the dynamic and unscripted movements experienced during a sporting event. Coaches and trainers who incorporate machine-based training into the routines of young athletes in order to promote weight room safety are, in essence, increasing the risk of injury on the field of play. One of the primary goals of a sound strength and conditioning program is to prevent injuries during a sporting event or season – Coaches and trainers who insist on using machines for training purposes are then suggesting that trading sport safety for weight room safety is somehow a good deal.

Here is a look at some of the finer points of machine training –

• Seated vertical pressing machines place a great deal of stress on the lumbar spine - More so than standing vertical pressing exercises. In fact, many young athletes, in an attempt to press as much weight as possible, will actively hyperextend the lower lumbar in order to gain extra leverage.

• Seated leg press machines do not afford backrests that equal the natural curvatures of the spine. Additionally, many young athletes tend to overload seated leg presses with extreme amounts of weight (likely because they perceive the exercise to be ‘safe’). At increased loads during the eccentric or lowering phase of the movement, the lower lumbar will go through a forced flexion. This is a terribly unstable position for one’s lower back to be in and could result in anything from minor to severe injury.

• Hack squat machines can place a great deal of anterior shearing forces on the knee joint. Also, they tend to work primarily the quadriceps muscles and are less effective at training the critical hip extensor muscles of the posterior chain.

• Hip abduction and adduction machines allow minor to excessive spinal rotation during the movement. Here is a perfect example of the mobility/stability interplay factor that I suggested above – as you try to isolate a hip abduction exercise, for example, you will naturally ‘shift’ away from the leg in motion and experience a slight to severe degree of spinal rotation. Due to the body’s natural habits of motion, it is impossible to isolate a movement or muscle without experiencing stabilization dynamics in other parts of the body.

• Smith machines allow for vertical motion only, which is contraindicated in exercises such as the squat (an exercise that many young athletes perform on the Smith machine; again likely due to perceived ‘safety’). In good squatting form, there should be a natural forward lean while the hips are pushing back (do not misinterpret that for me suggesting that young athletes should bend or lean forward during the eccentric or lowering phase of this exercise). This allows one to maintain a sound neutral lumbar spine position and actively generate force from the powerful hip extensor muscles. With Smith machines, this natural and safe motion is eliminated completely and lumbar flexion is promoted.

• In many cases, coaches and trainers use machines in a circuit type fashion and route several young athletes at a time through a machine-to-machine type routine. Whenever young athletes are working on timed events (i.e. the coach allows for 20 – 40 seconds at each station) you can likely be assured that the athlete is attempting to get as many ‘high intensity’ reps out of his/her set as possible; often at the complete disregard of their execution. With machine or free weight strength training, perfect execution is a must – in a sense that makes machines and free weights equal in this argument. Having said that, the very unnatural nature of machines make them even more of a concern from a biomechanical safety perspective with respect to ‘timed’ training sessions or sets.

Functionality in both sport and life is based on healthy movement, certainly not isolation. In that, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) plays a vital role. Often noted as a type of stretching exercise, PNF is actually a diverse and intensive concept that involves movement-based stimulus following spiral or diagonal motions (to reflect that oblique nature of most muscle orientations), with the primary goal of developing motor learning through precise movements. Having said that, machine-based strength training, with its isolated format, is simply not functionally similar to innate patterns of motion that a young athlete would use on the field of play and is quite disruptive to basic physiological factors of movement such as normal timing (which refers to the naturally occurring timing of the phases of movement during a given motion).

Even with cardiovascular training, it is less than optimally productive to have young athletes use either the stationary bikes or treadmills found in most health clubs. Possessing optimal speed, agility or any other reactive locomotor ability is based largely on hip and trunk flexibility and strength. Both cycling and treadmill running serve to limit hip range of motion and can cause decreases in the dynamic flexibility within the hip complex. Young athletes are better served to incorporate rigorous sprinting or movement-base interval training (such as Fartlek) into their training routines.

Learn more about Brian's complete system of developing young athletes - www.CompleteAthleteDevelopment.com

Coaching Kids - Day 5, Youth Training

Youth Training... Think Outside the Box

Brian Grasso is the CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association and is considered one of the premier authorities on youth athletic development in the world. Access Brian's free database of articles and exercises at Developing Athletics.

Through both my articles and seminar series, I discuss the Art of Coaching quite frequently.

The Art of Coaching infers that it is not what you know as a coach that matters.

It’s how you can relay it to young athletes.

This is a common concern I see especially with younger coaches just out of college and still looking to impress people with there high intellect and advanced vocabulary. In fact, out industry is littered with coaches who talk a great game, seek out as much PR and notoriety as they can, but don’t truly have any degree of experience or ability when it comes to effectively applying training strategies to athletes in unique and varying settings.

In that, I want to discuss today a coaching strategy that I have used that truly enables young athletes to master a given technique.

Rewrite Strategies

If you have ever been driving in a car with a small group of teenagers and had a familiar song come on the radio, you have already experienced in practicality the essence of a rewrite strategy.

By most contemporary definitions, a rewrite strategy is simply “a teaching strategy designed to help students explore content area topics using music”.

For the purposes of sport and training, it involves using common musical tunes to both learn and support the retention of a given set of instructions.

Those teenagers in your car, once they hear that familiar song, all begin to sing along – word for word. That is the point… we all tend to remember the lyrics of our favorite songs. Even if 20 years has past, we can still sing the words or hum the tune of a given song, because of music’s innate ability to stay within the long-term memory of our brains.

Training Application

As you know, I am a strong proponent of teaching young athletes the skill set of a given exercise. That is, a 4-point instruction series on how to set-up their bodies prior to initiating movement (primary skill set) followed by a brief one or two instructions, which define the movement (secondary skill set).

Let’s take the basic squat for example.

My secondary skill set is as follows:

Hips Back - To ensure that the athlete is driving into hip flexion/extension and using the powerful muscles of the hip to execute rather than the anterior thigh.

In-steps Off – To protect against valgus knee motions and further elicit a kinetic chain that runs outside heel to glute medius.

Although the young athletes are taught this sequence and have it reinforced constantly, some youngsters may still fail to execute session to session.

The Art of Coaching

Many times in my career, I have used rewrite strategies to force these basic instructions into the vernacular of my young athletes’ brain.

I challenge them to take the words of my skill set and place them into the tune of a favorite song or catchy jingle that they can recount at will. Once in the form of a common tune, the skill set literally comes alive to the young athlete and they can communicate it immediately. I even have them repeat the ‘song’ in their heads as they perform the movement.

One young athlete I trained comes to mind as I am writing this article. Her name was Mary and she couldn’t seem to get her hips back during the eccentric phase of a squat. More over, her heels kept coming off the ground as she descended.

Her solution?

Mary wants to learn to squat

Learn to squat

Learn to squat

Mary wants to learn to squat

Hips back, insteps off

Say those words aloud to yourself…

Now sing them to the tune of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’.

Beware… rewrite strategies work and this little jingle may stay with you for some time!

Learn more about Brian's complete system of developing young athletes - www.CompleteAthleteDevelopment.com

Coaching Kids - Day 4, Goal Confusion

Goal Confusion

Brian Grasso is the CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association and is considered one of the premier authorities on youth athletic development in the world. Access Brian's free database of articles and exercises at Developing Athletics.

You could open an interesting debate with respect to teaching sporting skills to kids.

I did last week during a presentation I gave to area basketball coaches.

Some trainers and coaches have decided that the skills required to achieve a certain task should be taught from the beginning.

Others believe in the concept of motor patterning - allowing the young athlete to find his or her own way of achieving a task.

The debate gets even trickier when you factor in the varying nuances and therefore objectives of different sports.

For example, in basketball, if the ball goes in the hoop, it doesn't really matter how it got there.

But in diving, you know going in that once you jump off the platform, gravity will pull you into the water - the style in which you get there is all that really matters.

Where do you sit on this debate?

I asked the coaches in my audience the same question.

Should you teach or over-teach a certain style of execution to young athletes from day one, or should you allow the young athletes to learn the relative motor patterning via exploration and natural refinement?

The actual answer falls in line with a concept that I discuss constantly in my newsletter.

You have to have a system.

Effectively and safely developing a young athlete is not something that you can do in one practice or one training session at a time.

You must have a direction-based path that extends over several months or years.

This path must, of course, be dynamic in nature, but a "system of development" is what is lacking globally in the youth sports world at large.

Let me explain this by using the example of "form vs. outcome" as discussed above.

The central nervous system of a young person is very plastic - meaning i is explorative by nature and extremely sensitive to new stimulus.

The old adage "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" really does have merit when it comes to learning the skills of a sporting task. The older you are when you experience a new motor skill, the less likely you will be able to cultivate that skill in an optimal way.

But, as a child, your ability to learn new skills and solve motor tasks is quite high.

The essence of this reality, however, is founded on the notion of free exploration. Kids seem to learn the best when they are given nothing more than loose instructions on how to accomplish a task, and then allowed to work at solving the objective in their own way.

This is especially true when the form of execution of the skill in question is not a critical as the outcome.

And this is the crux of the debate.

As you know, I am a huge proponent of teaching young athletes proper execution-based foundations...

...And here's where the audience of coaches started challenging me.

"This doesn't make sense, Brian"

"You are known as the guy who preaches about teaching first"

"Agree", I said. "But what do I always equate that to?"

"Training young athletes", the coach responded.

"Exactly! TRAINING young athletes. That is substantially different than COACHING young athletes to perform the skills of certain sports."

I went on to explain the difference.

"When I teach a squat, the outcome doesn't matter to me. In fact, I think it matters TOO MUCH to most trainers.

"Too many trainers focus on how much they can get a young athletes to lift - all I care about it that they lift it well. The amount of force they can produce will be both proportional to and synergistic with how well they perform the movement."

The coaches were starting to get it.

"Shooting a basketball is not a form-based event, though. It's an outcome-based event."

"You just lost me", responded the coach.

"Okay, look at it this way. Does anyone grade or evaluate the way a young athlete shoos a basketball?"

"No."

"Then all that really matters is that the ball goes in the hoop. You get two points for a successful outcome, and there is no scoring system in place that either adds points or takes them away based on the execution of that shot, is there?"

"No."

"Then shooting a basketball successfully is nothing more than an outcome-based event."

"Are you saying that we should not be teaching how to shoot a basketball? Just let the kids have at it any way they want?"

"No. Learning the proper execution of a skill as it related to motor tasks such as shooting a basketball, throwing a baseball or hitting a tennis ball with a racquet are important to eventual success, but the style with which you do those things are directly related to solving those motor tasks," I countered.

And herein, my friend, is where I made the coaches finally understand everything...

"If you tell a young athlete that the goal is to make a basket, throw a baseball right over the plate or return a volley over the net, but at the same time tell them how they should do it, all you end up doing is confusing the young athlete in terms of what the actual goal of the event is."

'Goal confusion' is a term coined by researchers (Gentile, 1972) which explains the 'form versus outcome' debate.

It also forms the basis of the groundwork for the 'system of development' I referenced above.

Athletes as young as 6 and 7 are being taught and over-taught the specific skills and nuances of how to perform various sporting skills in youth leagues, camps and clinics the world-over.

And this is tragically counter-productive.

When training or coaching young athletes, you must understand and then categorize how you will introduce them to certain sporting skills.

More often than not, your task will be to tell them the outcome of what you are looking for and stave off your desire to teach them the form of how to accomplish it.

By creating only outcome-based events and exercises for young athletes and allowing them the freedom to solve the task on their own recourse, you will be fostering and enhancing their globalized athletic ability and taking advantage of the extreme adaptability of their central nervous system.

Over time, it will be necessary to change the goals or objectives of your practices or training sessions into more form-based events in which you begin to refine and improve the execution of the motor task.

And in a nutshell, that is the ‘system of development’.

Understand the importance of free discovery and its impact on the central nervous system.

Create less confusion in your young athletes life by remaining either form or outcome-based with your practices and training sessions.

“O.K. Now that makes sense”, the coaches agreed.

Learn more about Brian's complete system of developing young athletes - www.CompleteAthleteDevelopment.com

Coaching Kids - Day 3

Global Development vs. Sport Specific Training
It's All in the Science

Brian Grasso is the CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association and is considered one of the premier authorities on youth athletic development in the world. Access Brian's free database of articles and exercises at Developing Athletics.

The goals of any trainer or coach working with a young athlete (pre-pubescent) should include increasing proficiency of motor ability, developing functional versatility (from a strength, movement and biomechanical standpoint) and lastly, inhibiting the potential negative effects of specialized training. Upon reflection, these points, both individually and collectively, lend to the credence that when working with young, pre-pubescent aged athletes, the mandate should be one of global, all-encompassing development rather than specialized ventures into sport specific training.

With pre-pubescent children, muscle innervation is completed by roughly the age of 6 years. Muscle innervation refers to the final expansion of motor nerve endings within a muscle fiber’s interior. The impact of this action on motor coordination is quite profound. At the conclusion of the muscle innervation process (again, roughly by the age of 6, although individual variances occur), children are now able to learn and begin the process of establishing functional proficiency in gross motor skills and movement patterns. It is critical to understand, however, that the innervation process happens more quickly and earlier (chronologically) in larger muscles. Again, innervation being linked to coordination and motor control, it stands to reason that children gain proficiency in gross motor skills more quickly than finer skills. This remains another argument for why early specialization is counterproductive – every sport requires various degrees of fine motor skills, which can simply not become functional abilities in younger athletes. Global aspects of gross motor skill development are most understandably the crucial component of training pre-pubescent children.

No one can learn how to create 6 or 12 month plans in a day. It takes time and diligent effort to acquire this skill, but your ability to get better over time will have a direct and positive impact on both your young athletes’ success rate as well as your businesses ability to attract new clients. Set an objective for yourself to create a system or plan that allows you to develop long-term and wide-focused agendas for your young athletes. Take several days or weeks if need be to create a system that is streamlined and easy to implement - although your are looking for a comprehensive system, the more basic you make it, the more easy it will be to adhere to.

Start simply. Take a piece of paper and write out where you want your young athletes to be in 4 weeks. Create headings and then just fill in each category. For instance, what skill sets are you working on now? To what degree of competency do you want an athlete or team to be able to demonstrate that skill set in 1 month’s time? This can also be applied to elite adolescent athletes. Are you working on squat or power clean totals right now? If so, where do you want these numbers to be in 4 weeks?

Once you have organized your thoughts on where you would like to be in 4 weeks, you have to consider how you are going to get there. On the same or a different piece of paper, right out how many training sessions or practices you have with this athlete or team between now and 4 weeks from now. Date each training session or practice on your piece of paper. Now, using your skills as a Trainer or Coach, literally, just fill in the blanks. Compare where you want to be in 4 weeks with the number of training sessions or practices you have between now and then. In order to accomplish your 4-week goal, what action steps along a critical path must be taken? This is the essence of how to develop a long-term approach to working with young athletes. You will simply just write out your next several training sessions or practices in order to meet the objectives you have laid out for 4 weeks from now.

This system can easily be applied to 6 months or even a year. Just follow the same type of procedure as mentioned above - set out an objective for the time frame and decide where this athlete or team needs to be within that time frame. Let’s say you have a 13-year-old athlete for 6 months and you want to determine an objective and critical path. Take out a piece of paper and write out where you want this athlete to be in 6 months. Be descriptive with this - what skill sets do you want him to have mastered? What kind of movement-based techniques will he show great competency in. Once you have decided that, break those large objectives down into more manageable ones and make them your first 4-week objective. To get to your end destination, where to you have to be at the end of this month? From there break it down even farther by deciding on how many training sessions or practices you will have over the course of the next 4 weeks and design them in accordance with your 4 week objective. Next month, do the same thing.

An amazing thing happens when you create objectives and critical plans like this. You will start seeing results in your athletes and teams beyond what you ever-dreamed possible. Failing to plan is one of the biggest concerns facing this industry. It seems everything is taken on a session-by-session basis with no vision or thought to the long-term. It could argued that individual Trainers and Coaches didn’t know how to plan for the future... well; now you do!

Practice the skill of objective writing and critical path creation. It will take time to design a system that flows well for you, but it is more than worth it to your young athletes and teams.

Learn more about Brian's complete system of developing young athletes - www.CompleteAthleteDevelopment.com

Coaching Kids - Day 2, Teaching Technique

Teaching Technique -
Laying the Foundation for Sporting Excellence

Brian Grasso is the CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association and is considered one of the premier authorities on youth athletic development in the world. Access Brian's free database of articles and exercises at Developing Athletics.

Demonstrating good technique from a sporting perspective involves applying optimal movement ability in order to accomplish or solve a particular task effectively. A young athlete, for instance, who demonstrates sound technical ability while running is getting from point A to point B in an effective manner.

Technical ability in a sport is typically the underlying measure for potential success. Good athletes are more often than not technically sound athletes. This reality, however, does not start and stop with respect to sport specific skills; this fact extends itself into the realm of general athletic development and the promotion or advancement of general movement abilities. The crux of athletic development as a science resides in the notion that before we create a sporting technician or specialist, we must first build the athlete by instilling competency in both basic and advanced movement abilities; this would include not only multi-directional movement skill but also the technical requirements of basic to advanced strength and power training exercises.

The technical abilities demonstrated in a given sport can be categorized based on the rules or requirements of that sport -

Group One -
A sport in which making a good impression on a judge is crucial (figure skating, gymnastics, etc.) often involves coalescing intricate movements together. Within these sports, the techniques being demonstrated are described or clear (and therefore can be judged for efficiency). They are being performed within a fixed environment and without impediment (i.e. no one is interfering with you). The athlete’s task is to develop technical skill that can be showcased in a performance of pre-determined and practiced movements.

Group Two -
The techniques in this grouping allow the athlete to attain maximal and impartially measured results; there is no consideration for how well the technical abilities were displayed, just objective measurement for how effective they were (i.e. how fast did they run, how far did they throw the object, how much did they lift etc.). Sports in this category would include track and field events, swimming and weightlifting. Outside impediment is not an issue in this grouping either. In this grouping of sports, one’s motor abilities will define success - Meaning, the fastest or strongest athlete will win.

Group Three -
The ability to display adequate technique within this grouping aids in overcoming an opponent. This would include combat sports, racquet sports and virtually all team sports. In this group technical ability is combined with tactical sense and reacting to a continually changing situation and varying conditions. In this category, motor abilities (strength, speed, endurance and flexibility) are submissive to technical ability. That is to say that the fastest or strongest athlete in this grouping of sports is not necessarily the most successful. Motor abilities are developed in order to improve your application of technical skill.

How efficiently an athlete learns the technical skills of a sport, strength training exercise or movement is determined by several variables -

• Age - Complex skills are often understood and comprehended better by more mature athletes (although individual exceptions certainly apply).


• Emotional State – Relaxed and easy-going athletes tend to learn and reproduce new skills better than athletes who are uptight and self-critical.


• Motivation – So many parents, coaches and trainers just assume that the kids they are working with WANT to be at practice or in that training session. This goes back to my argument on effective coaching includes knowing your athletes and what kind of stresses they are under OUTSIDE of your 60 minutes with them. Athletes who are motivated to learn new skills will do so more easily than unmotivated athletes.


• Natural Talent – Athletes with innate natural ability are far superior at learning and reproducing new skills.

Critical to note within this topic are the methods being employed by the Coach/Trainer to teach new techniques. With the lack of stringent regulations at the youth sport coaching level and the youth training industry, it is certainly more than fair to consider the quality of instruction being given:

• What kind of personality does the coach have? In a study released by the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology in 1999 (Youth Athletes & Parents Prefer Different Coaching Styles), it showed that adolescent athletes (ages 10 - 18) enjoyed coaching styles that involved concerns regarding the well-being of each athlete, a positive group tone & feeling and supported friendly interpersonal relationships.


• Does the coach have a solid working knowledge of the technique? This goes right to the route concern of inadequately credentialed Trainers and Coaches – if you aren’t sure yourself how to correct the problem, how is the young athlete supposed to get it right? Remember, when working with kids, you are building habits, good or bad. Your job is to make sure that each repetition is forming a strong, positive habit in that young athlete. That can only be accomplished if the Trainer/Coach understands what they are teaching and can instruct the technique properly.

The core of technique development or learning is in the action of achieving perfect sensory-motor habits. A sensory-motor habit is simply a “learned activity of sensory and motor processes intentionally practiced to the point of nationalization” . From a physiological perspective, this entails creating a permanent conditional reflex connection that enables the exact same motor reactions to respond to the same stimuli. The development of a sensory-motor habit occurs through many stages:

1. Generalized excitation of motor centers in the cortex.

Application
When young athletes are first learning a new skill, they will often become overly tensed as they concentrate hard on performing that skill correctly. This often leads to needless additional movements and a lack of ability to ‘zero-in’ on movement of skill execution perfection.

2. Concentrated excitation in the appropriate motor centers.

Application
This is when young athletes become much more comfortable with a new skill. The movements become much more economical, flowing and precise. Young athletes' attention is drawn more towards the rhythm and speed at which skills are performed as well as specific details of technique.

3. Nationalization of the entire action

Application
There is no need for any sort of conscious effort with respect to movement control. The skill is performed in the right situation, in the correct way and all via nationalization

Sensory-motor habits are either "open" or "closed" -

• Open Habits are variable or adaptable to unexpected situation changes.
• Closed Habits are suitable for when the movement is being executed in a static situation or environment.

In sports involving closed sensory-motor habits, athletes practice precise and preprogrammed movements. The athletes learn via feedback from their bodies and are eventually able to detect very small divergences from proper execution, divergences that would lead to a poor result or performance. Elite figure skaters or track and field throwing athletes, for example, will know immediately upon executing a jump or throw weather or not it was their best effort based on the feedback their bodies give them in relation to an automatic understanding of what perfect execution feels like.

In sports relating to open sensory-motor habits, once the essence of the technique has been taught and perfected, the young athlete should be placed in constantly changing situations that will demand that the athlete learn to make quick reactive choices and maintain the ability to apply the learned technique in varying conditions. True aptness or perfection of open sensory-motor habits involves making them more plastic. This is a neurological reference that means making these skills more adaptable to a variety of situations.

There are three basic phases in learning a technique:

1. Basic Learning - The learning of a new technique should be done at a slow pace. Especially with younger athletes, coaches must refrain from ‘drilling’ a new technique at ‘normal time’ rates. That is, simply showing or describing an exercise or technique once or twice and then asking young athletes to replicate what they have just learned at a quickened or ‘game speed’ tempo is counterproductive to learning that technique on an optimal level. Remember, when dealing with young athletes QUALITY OF TECHNIQUE is inherently more important than performing a certain number of drills. I try to equate developing a young athlete to progressing through the academic levels of a school system; a teacher simply would not give an example of advanced calculus to a third grade class and expect them to understand it nor be able to solve calculus-based problems. Basic addition, multiplication, subtraction and division is taught at a young age and progressed upon with advanced conceptual understandings of mathematics as the student progresses in both age and intelligence. The same should be promoted with regards to developing a young athlete. In this example of ‘Basic Learning’, Coaches and Trainers should teach new techniques in a controlled manner, making sure that the athlete understands the concepts of body mechanics and angle of force, thereby increasing their awareness of movement economy.
   
   
2. Controlled Application - Once the athlete understands the skill and can perform it at an increased pace during isolated practices (i.e., NOT game situations), the Coach should now incorporate ‘opponents’ into the next phase of skill/technique learning. This would entail controlled practices or scrimmages in which the techniques are practiced against another team or competitor. This phase of learning should also be based on quality of repetition, again refraining from ‘drilling’. By drilling, I am referring to the Coach or Trainer who uses the common phrase ‘Do it again!’ at regular intervals during a practice. Remember, learning a technique is a process of which this is phase two. The Coach or Trainer should continue to provide feedback and instruction that supports the athlete in learning and refining this technique to an optimal level.
   
   
3. General Application - The Coach has very little influence over this phase during the actual event/game itself. The athlete will react and succeed based largely on how well they were taught. Quality, positive and constructive feedback should still be offered to the athlete either after the game or at the next practice.

Learn more about Brian's complete system of developing young athletes - www.CompleteAthleteDevelopment.com

Coaching Kids - Day 1, Coaching Styles

Coaching Styles

Brian Grasso is the CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association and is considered one of the premier authorities on youth athletic development in the world. Access Brian's free database of articles and exercises at Developing Athletics.

Previously, I discussed the need to look at the personality traits of your young athletes when considering a coaching style. I do not believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach to coaching and work to make Trainers and Coaches understand that within every training session and team setting exists the need to conform and streamline your delivery style to fit the situation or athlete(s) - indeed, respect the ART of coaching.

I had one very insightful subscriber email me a great question based on the information I presented last week. Specifically, what do you do when you have more than one personality represented on a given team or within a given training session?

Points to Consider

This is not only common, but also almost impossible to avoid. Whenever you bring two or more young athletes togethers, you are bound to see more than one personality type (and therefore need to employ more than one coaching style).

When coaching a group of 2 or more athletes, restrict the tendency to have each of the athletes performing the same drill at the same time. For example, during a standard warm-up for me, my athletes will do some basic ROM activities (typically through the hips and shoulders) and then proceed on to technique skills instruction. Let’s say you have a group of 4 athletes. As opposed to each of them performing a hip circuit at the same time and then moving on to the next ROM activity, create 4 different exercises and segment them in such a way so that each athlete is performing a separate drill.

To the casual reader, that may sound like a chaotic mess!! In actuality, it allows for a much simpler training session, an individualized approach to coaching and an important feature missing from many basic training sessions - instruction and explanation time.

Here's the Scenario

Athlete 1 (low motivation & skill) - requires a "direct" coaching method
Athlete 2 (low motivation & high skill) - requires "inspire" coaching method
Athlete 3 (high motivation & low skill) - requires "delegate" coaching method
Athlete 4 (high motivation & skill) requires "guide" coaching method

Warm-up Routine

Hip Circuits - 2 sets/leg, 3 reps/exercise
Prone Bridge with Leg Lift - 3 sets, 5 reps/leg
Shoulder Circuit - 3 sets, 4 reps/exercise
Hurdle Walk-Over - 3 sets, 10 hurdles

Sequence & Flow

First off, bring the whole group together and explain what the task of the day will be. Address each participant individually by name and welcome them. Explain what the training session will look like for the day and encourage verbal and non-verbal compliance.

Then... TEACH!

I have long maintained that every development program must begin with an introductory or assimilation phase for the young athlete. The bulk of your basic teaching should fall into this category. The teaching component at the beginning of each training session should be reminder-based or build off of previously taught skills.

Take 5 - 7 minutes to teach each of the 4 warm-up drills. Explain why the athletes will be performing these drills and why they are important (and yes... do this with even young pre-adolescents. You are building a long-term approach to their development and need to invest the time to acquaint them with your system. Even young kids are ‘teachable’ given the proper application of stimulus).

Once the teaching time is done, assign them each to an exercise.

Now, you have the time to flow and work with each of them individually and correct body alignment, movement habits and execise adherence. Because they are all doing different things, you can apply the proper style of coaching to each individul.

Application

Athlete 1 (direct) - Hip Circuit
Athlete 2 (inspire) - Prone Bridges
Athlete 3 (delegate) - Shoulder Circuit
Athlete 4 (guide) - Hurdle Walk-Overs

Coaching Cues

Athlete 1 - Get down to his level (which would be on your knees given the ‘Hip Circuit’) and quietly let him know what a good job he is doing. Ask him if he has any questions about what he is doing. Chances are, if he did have questions, he would not have asked them when the entire group was together. The key here is the tone of your voice - be patient, relaxed and easy-going.

Athlete 2 - ‘Seriously Johnny, that is even better than last week!’. ‘Your making this look easy, let me show you a more challenging method, because I know you can do it!’. Remember, they have low motivation, but high skill - Encouraging and challenging are good methods to employ.

Athlete 3 - Ask him what he thinks. ‘How’s it feel?’ ‘You feeling good with that today or you want to switch it up a little?’ ‘What do you think we could add to it?’ Delegate some of the responsibilities of their training to them and help them make it work . Empower them to seek out and create new ideas.

Athlete 4 - Verbally reward their effort and work to make them understand the movement better. "That looks great, Sally! Now, you see how your left leg is pointing out to the left when you go over the hurdle? How can we fix that?"

This flow and sequence of coaching can be taken through the entire workout - even through your movement and strength skill portions. Just create and segment the exercises, include a teaching component preceding each portion and apply the appropriate style of coaching to each individual athlete.

Learn more about Brian's complete system of developing young athletes - www.CompleteAthleteDevelopment.com

Coming Up Next Week...

Just to give you a quick heads up...

Next week, here on the blog beginning on Monday, I'm running a 5-Day Mini Guide to Coaching Kids. Some very interesting stuff I thought you'd be interested in.

Plus - Fastpitch Talk Radio - Episode 19 will be ready for you soon. Continuing on the "Hot Topic" of the Month, College Recruiting. I'll going to talk about an Academic Eligibility Issue you may not fully understand, so tune in to Fastpitch Talk Radio next week to listen in.

Hope you're having a great weekend. I'm looking forward to the Bill Hillhouse Pitching Clinic tomorrow. IF you are on the island of Oahu and have any interest in learning about pitching, please feel free to stop by. Demonstrations will begin at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm at Kapolei High School. Call me if you have any questions, 864-3346.

Sports Specialization and Injuries

Many parents and coaches fall into the trap of believing that kids have to concentrate on only one sport to keep up with the best. I do suppose there are a few situations where that may be true and they are mentioned in an article I read about youth athletes.

However, playing more than one sport has it's benefits, even for those striving for that college scholarship. College coaches love "athletes" and being able to play more than one sport shows that you have the coordination, speed, and agility to do more than just play first base. Playing mulitple sports may also help prevent overuse injuries as well. Overuse injuries has risen substantially in the past 15 years.

Do not make the mistake of pushing your players/child(ren) too hard too often. Playing too hard too often can cause some serious damage and, in some cases, end softball careers far before college is even a reality. Click here to read the article that will tell you just how much overuse injuries have risen in the past 15 years.

More Hustle and Guts Needed

Just sharing a few thoughts I had after this summers tournaments were over. 

Those on the AAF mailing list probably already read this, but if not, here it is again.

ALWAYS hustle down the line after you hit the ball, NO MATTER WHAT.

However you hit the ball, strong or weak, fair or foul ALWAYS,
ALWAYS, ALWAYS hustle down the line.

Hustle is your second weapon in an at bat. First, you hit the ball,
then you RUN like heck!

The defense needs to first defend your hit THEN beat out your
hustle. Your first strike is the hit you put on the ball, you
"attack" again by running your FASTEST to put as much pressure as
you possibly can on the defense AND to make them PAY if they make a
mistake.

I saw too many girls, including my own daughter, slow down before
first base. Granted some of them were already out by the time they
were within a few steps of the base, but I believe all players
should run all hits out at their best speed no matter what. If
they're able to slow down and stop before the base on a ground out
to the left side, they probably weren't running their hardest.
Some are slowing down before the bag and are only out by a step or
two, that's just not the way to play. Imagine if these players had
been hustling down the line, they could have rushed a throw, they
could have shaken up the 1b to possibly mishandle the ball because
they were right there - you never know, RUN LIKE HECK after you hit
the ball.

Then there was another situation when a girl popped up soooooo
high, she should have been standing on 2nd when the ball popped out
of the SS glove. Instead, she's dogging it and almost gets caught
in a pickle between 1st and 2nd because she wasn't going hard. She
was just trotted around 1st and then, bam, the ball pops out of the
SS glove and now she's in no man's land between bases not even at
top speed. Seriously, she would have made 2nd easy if she had run
as hard as possible from the get go. She hurt her team by giving
less than her best. I didn't stay at that field to see what
happened after that, but it's quite possible that her team had to
give up an out to move her to 2nd, a base she could have had "free"
if only she gave her best effort after her mis-hit rather than
pouted and felt sorry for herself. Team players, and players
giving their best effort, never give up on a hit. If you're giving
up on hits, if you have players that are, it's time do to a self
check and step up your game because you're selling yourself short.

I recently received an e-mail from Tom Hanson and he talked about this very issue.
Here's something he reported from an MLB game...

"I loved that he pulled Upton (after he'd run out to his OF
position...ouch) for not hustling on a play.

Even with Longoria and Crawford out he pulls arguably his most
talented remaining player for not running out a ball."

Apparently, even pros need do to self checks every once in a while,
so don't beat yourself up over it if that's you. Just make the
adjustment and get better.

AND....more coaches need to have the guts to reward those who do
play all out and sit those who don't. You're not doing a player
any favors by rewarding them with playing time (or anything else)
when they play and practice selfishly (showing up to practice when
and if they feel like it, walking on the field, doing drills half
way, etc, etc, etc). You're only asking for trouble because the
ones who only go all out when they feel like it will continue on
that path, and those who do go hard all the time (and never get
rewarded for it) will start playing like the others - only going
"all out" sometimes. Next thing you know, your whole team is
playing selfish, "go hard only when I feel like it" softball.
You'll have far bigger problems than you started off with and
you'll wish your only issue was having to play a game or two with
your "stud" on the bench and "less talented/big hearted" on the
field.

If coaches can do it (sit "studs") in the major leagues where jobs
depend on success and wins and losses, then you can do it too.
Telling your players that they should give their best all the time
and backing that message up with your actions are two different
things. But if you can create an environment where your players
know that nothing less than their best is acceptable and nothing
less than their best will be tolerated, your season will be filled
with much less headache. However, that will never happen if you
continue to reward the "slackers" and the "it's all about me"
attitudes. The rules have to be the same across the board -
consistency is key. You can't have one reward/punishment for some
players and another for other players. Be fair, be consistent,
back up your words with actions, and you'll have much more success.

Here's to having the guts to "honor the game."

Are You in the 21st Stretching Century?

I recently received an e-mail from Marc Dagenais as part the softball performance tips he gives out in his free newsletter.  This one was about dynamic stretching.

Now I have to admit, the first time I heard about this, I thought it was just some quack "trend" that would be forgotten about after a few months.  After all, I'd been doing static stretching all my life too.  But the more I learn about it, the more it makes sense and the more convinced I am that it's the best thing for fastpitch softball.  

Of course, not everyone is so open-minded.  Here's an ecerpt from Marc's e-mail that illustrates eactly that point and also gives you doubters something to think about.

"There's a coach that I've known quite a few years who reads my emails that came up to me to tell me that all the hype around all that "dynamic stuff" is just B.S. and he doesn't believe in that $&*@.

Now, I know this coach, it's not surprising coming from him. He's very opinionated, close-minded, believes he's always right and when he's not happy with how things are going, he yells and gets mad.

Just as a curiosity, I asked him: "Why do you believe that dynamic warm-ups is just a bunch of B.S.?"

He answered that he's been using static stretching for 25 years for himself and with all the teams he's coached and he never had any problems.

I replied: "So, if my 83-year old grandma has been a smoker all her life and is still healthy today, I must assume that smoking is good for me right?" (interesting perspective huh?)

You should have seen the look on his face. I think he got my point and didn't really know what to reply to this twisted logic. He mumbled something and left.

My point is this: we are creature of habits and habits are hard to change.

We are comfortable with routines and we hate change.

Trying to come up with a new way to warm-up is not always easy.

Athletes will say: "I don't feel like I've stretched".

The purpose of a warm-up is not to feel like you've stretched (which you get with static stretching), it's to make the muscle ready to perform and prevent injuries.

They muscles must be warmed, have adequate range of motion, and be ready to fire. Dynamic warm-ups accomplish that.

Some coaches will say: "I've used your stuff and I have an athlete that blew her knee out. Your stuff doesn't work."

First, it's not my stuff. It's just what almost every elite strength and conditioning coach and athletes now used to prepare themselves and while it helps decrease injuries, there will always be injuries in sports!

Bottom line, just because you've been doing something fora long time without problem doesn't mean there isn't a better way of doing it.

Watch out for Thursday, I'll release my brand new Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball System.

You don't want to miss that."

Hey Thursday is tomorrow!  One thing that's tough about making the switch to Dynamic Warm-Ups is knowing what to incorporate.  

• What exercises should your players be doing instead of the good old static stretch?  
  
• What order should these exercises be done in for optimal effectiveness?
  

Well, when I was learning, basically what I did was watch other teams that used dynamic warm-ups (DI schools and the USA National Team).  I took ideas from that and put it together to use for the teams I work with.  

If you don't have that luxury, however, OR if  you want a more complete set of instructions on exactly how to incorporate dynamic warm-up into your softball training, Marc's Dynamic Warm Up for Softball System will give you all of that PLUS he'll tell you how to properly use static stretching because it does have it's place too.  Be on the lookout for this brand new Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball resource tomorrow - Thursday!

Labor Day Special Ends Today

A few days ago in another post, I mentioned my Labor Day special offer for the Coach of Action Academy.  In celebration of this holiday weekend, I offered you a special 50% off price for the Coach of Action program.  

Obviously, this offer won't last.  In fact, when this day is over, so is the special offer. 

Remember, the Coach of Action Academy is designed to help you:

• Be active in increasing your coaching knowledge
  
• Overcome the uncertainty that comes with change
  
• Utilize simple tips and strategies for APPLYING the new knowledge you gain
  
• Develop or improve your vision for your program and for yourself as a coach
  
• Set effective goals
  
• Identify your BIGGEST coaching goals 
  
• Develop a solid plan of ACTION for achieving your big goals through a simple yet powerful 5-step goal setting process
  

Oh yeah, and one more thing I didn't mention on Friday, Join Now and you'll also get FREE access to my Private Coaching Program ($29/month value).  

That's right, for a VERY LIMITED TIME only, I'm offering current Coach of Action members FREE Access to my Private Coaching Program which gives you one-on-one personal guidance through the course.  

Let me tell you, this is the last time you'll see an offer like this for Coach of Action.  Don't wait,  Join Today before the offer ends.  

Winning is Over-Rated

You've probably heard the saying, "Winning isn't everything. It's the ONLY thing." Honestly, I've never cared much for it. It may sound good as a "slogan" and it may be motivating to some and look cool on t-shirts and stuff. But the truth is, it's totally and completely FALSE.  You may or may not agree with me, but in my world, that saying just never really connected with me for a number of reasons. I was reminded of why I feel this way over the course of this softball year.

IF winning truly was everything OR the "only" thing then, technically, there would be no gripes and no grumbles when a championship was won.  Everyone that had anything to do with the championship team (parent, fan, player, coach) would be utterly and completely happy and overjoyed if winning really was the ONLY thing. No one on a championship team would ever have any sort of ill feeling or complaint about anything related to the team or the season or the coaching or the players or the organization as a whole if winning was the ONLY thing. But that's simply not the case.

Even when a team wins a championship there are times when players or parents are not completely happy and satisfied with how the season/tournament went. Why?  No, it's not because they're cry babies (although some may be).  It's usually because they are HUMAN and because THERE IS MORE TO THIS GAME, TO THIS EXPERIENCE, THAN WINNING!

Don't get me wrong. Winning is great! Championships are awesome!  Any time I step on the field I'm out there to out-do my opponent and come out on top. But these things are not the end all/be all of participating in this sport. 

I'm sure you'll run into coaches or parents or players who've had "successful" seasons tainted by something that happened during the season (the way a situation was handled, the way the players were treated, the way the coaches acted, the lack or organization of the season, etc, etc, etc).  You will probably also meet people from time to time who will tell you that they've experienced a higher level of enjoyment and fulfillment in seasons where their record wasn't necessarily the best. If winning where "everything" OR the "only thing" that wouldn't be possible, it would never be true. But it is. Maybe not always, but it certainly is true and does happen on occasion.......because in this game, in any sport, in life....winning is NOT everything NOR is it the only thing.

When all is said and done, I wouldn't want people to remember me only for the championships I've been a part of, but hopefully also for positive qualities like integrity, honesty, determination, inspiration, etc.  In fact, if they could know me for either championships OR those positive qualities - I would want them to remember me for having those positive qualities. If I had to choose between being known as a coach with those positive qualities and no championships OR a coach with championships and but little integrity, little honesty, and little inspiration - I don't think I have to tell you which scenario I'd choose. What a shame it would be to be known for a championship or two and nothing else.

Winning isn't everything nor is it the only thing.  However, many have reminded me that while winning isn't everything, expecting to win and striving for perfection is.

What do you think?  Leave me a comment below and share your thoughts.

*NOTE: Yes, you may reprint this article.  Simply credit the author (Stacie Mahoe) and provide an active link (if posted online) either back to this post or to www.AllAboutFastpitch.com.

Are You Still Doing the Same Old Thing?

How many times have you seen great new drills or head cool new tips from other coaches?  It probably happens a number of time throughout each season.  As coaches, we always try to stay up to date with the latest training techniques and drills.  But how many of us actually use the new information we acquire?  How many times have you seen those cool new ideas, then 6 months down the road, nothing has changed.  Your practices are the same, your game strategies are the same, and you're still dealing with the same problems you had 6 months ago.  This is one of the biggest and the most common coaching mistake made!  

Hey, change can be scary, but if you never change you will NEVER improve!

In order to improve, change is necessary, and change requires ACTION.

It's wonderful to be a life long learner, but what's even better is actually APPLYING all that new knowledge you put into your brain!

Coach of Action is designed to help you

• Be active in increasing your coaching knowledge
  
• Overcome the uncertainty that comes with change
  
• Utilize simple tips and strategies for APPLYING the new knowledge you gain
  
• Develop or improve your vision for your program and for yourself as a coach
  
• Set effective goals
  
• Identify your BIGGEST coaching goals 
  
• Develop a solid plan of ACTION for achieving your big goals through a simple yet powerful 5-step goal setting process

But we're not going to just throw all this great information at you and leave you to sort through it and digest on your own.  We've broken it all down into manageable, bite-size pieces so that you can completely understand the concepts (and begin applying them) before another lesson is sent to you to digest.  

You'll practically be spoon fed all of the material so that you won't be overwhelmed with too many new ideas, strategies, and tips at once.  Remember, the whole idea is that you TAKE ACTION and sometimes with too much information you just don't know where to start, so you end up doing nothing at all.  Coach of Action is designed to give you only what you can handle AND we also give you specific instructions on how to actually USE the information covered in each lesson. 

If this is the kind of step-by-step, long-term help your looking for as a coach, then check out CoachofAction.com for more information.

Go, now and I have a little something special waiting for you ~ through LABOR DAY ONLY, get 50% off the regular price.  

Yup, you can have full access to the entire program at half the cost.  But when the Labor Day holiday is over, this offer will be gone!  Get it HERE.

Who Does It Better? Men or Women?

What do you think?

Who does the softball coaching job better?

Men or women?

Women, I think, have an advantage as far as being able to relate to the players and understand them. However, men can sometimes get a response out of players that most women can't/don't get.

Then again, others will say that gender doesn't matter, it's the individual themselves that does.

BUT, "in general" - what's your opinion?

Are men better at coaching women's softball or do women do a better job coaching female softball players?

If you're a Fastpitch World member - you can answer this question in the forum. If not, leave a
comment here and let me know what you think. I'm interested to see what you have to say.

Who does it better?

More Fastpitch Videos at Fastpitch World

I've put up some of the Sportskool videos up at www.MyFastpitchWorld.com. However, those aren't the ONLY fastpitch videos there. Other members have uploaded videos with useful information as well. These videos are all free to view and becoming a member at www.MyFastpitchWorld.com is also free.

One of my favorites is the one I just added on fielding (from sportskool).

Some of you may know how I feel about doing the "alligator." The long and short of it is that I don't care for it. The reason is because of the very issue Mike Candrea warns against in the video - improper positioning of the throwing hand.
I've seen TOO many young player jam their throwing hand fingers because they aren't getting their hand into the correct position for this technique.

Of course, after voicing my opinion and saying that I use a different technique, I've had people ask me what the alternative is. Needless to say, it's not always easy to put softball techniques into words. Sooooo, the reason I like this video is because it shows the "other" technique which is the one I, personally, prefer. It's not more "right" it's just my preference. Like I said, I just see too many not using the proper hand positioning for "securing the ball" with the "alligator." Many players DO use this technique with success (as you will see in this video I've added to Fastpitch World), but if you do use it, or if you do teach it - make sure to emphasize proper positioning of the throwing hand!!!!

Actually, if you look at the picture I found to include here - this is an example of the fielder who is NOT doing the "alligator." Her hands do not form the top and bottom jaw of an "alligator" getting ready to chomp on the ball.

Fastpitch Softball Video: Baserunning Basics

Here's one of those videos I was talking about.

If you want to learn about how to run bases or learn about how to teach baserunning. This is a video you have to see.

Baserunning is such a tough skill to teach. A good baserunner is such an asset to the team. In this video, Mike Candrea explains that you don't necessarily have to be the quickest on the team to be a good baserunner. Knowing what to do in different situations and how to properly maneuver around the bases, though, are very important.

Of course, the cool thing about this video is being able to see demonstrations!

Watch the baserunning video here...

Cool Fastpitch Videos at SPORTSKOOL

Thanks to a Fastpitch World member for giving me the headsup on this website. So far, I've only watched the baserunning video, but there is some GOOD stuff there. If you want information, with a visual video to go along, about pitching, catching, fielding, and more, you have to take a look at this website.

CLICK HERE to go to the page of softball instructional videos.

This link will take you straight to the pitching video.

I hope you enjoy these. Oh yeah, did I mention that it's Mike Candrea and members of the USA National Team that are doing the instructing/demonstration in these videos?

New Freebie on Goal Setting in the Works

Hi, just stopping in to let you know that I'm working on a new resource on goal setting. It's called Avoid These 7 Costly Goal Setting Mistakes.

Not only will I share these 7 goal setting mistakes that I see many people make, I'm also going to share:

• Why Goal Setting is important
• How Goal Setting can help you
• Simple tips that will make you more effective at reaching your goals
  
• How to Avoid the 7 Common and Costly Mistakes in Mention in this resource

I hope to have this resource done by the end of August if not sooner, so I'll keep you updated on it's progress. The information will be in both audio and pdf format. I can get the audio part done quickly, but turning that into a written file is the part that I'm unsure of as far as how long it will take to be completed.

At any rate, stay tuned here or get on my mailing list and I'll keep you updated!

Don't Throw Hard

"Don't throw hard. Just throw strikes."

Eek! I cringe when I heard coaches or fathers saying these words to their young (or maybe even not so young) pitchers. I know I'm guilty of it sometimes too. Well, not the "Don't throw hard" part, but the part when I see a pitcher trying to hard to be too "fine" and I just want the ball in the zone because I know the batter isn't going to do much, I catch myself saying something to the effect of just having the pitcher get the ball over the plate.

But I do NOT tell a pitcher to slow down in order to gain more accuracy.

So many times I hear young pitchers being told to slow the ball down and not throw hard in exchange for strikes. More often than not what I end up seeing is this young pitcher begin to throw both slow AND wild. So she just went from having 1 issue (not throwing accurately) to having 2 issues (not throwing accurately AND not throwing with any speed/power).

How often to you hear coaches telling their infielders, "Don't throw hard, just get the ball to the 1st baseman's chest." I don't know, maybe you hear something like that on occasion. I personally can't think of a time I've heard that though. If we don't use this "logic" for throwing overhand, why do so many insist upon using it for throwing underhand, for pitching?

I know some young pitchers try to "aim" the ball on their own. My 8-year-old does this. She starts of throwing nice and strong. Sometimes she's a little off - the ball is the right height, but off left or right OR the ball is straight, but too high or too low. These are very minor "problems." Yet, she will try to slow down to gain more accuracy. It NEVER works. She still throws off the plate, sometimes even worse than when she was going all out, and her ball has very little on it.

So I just remind her that she's not gaining much by trying to go slower. I ask her if the ball was going straighter (where she wanted it to) when she was throwing slow. She always says, "No." So she's beginning to realize that's not the answer. She's starting to correct the part of her motion that IS causing the inaccuracy (releasing too late or too early, not keeping her arm swing close to her body, not stepping toward the target, etc).

The results are much better with those kinds of adjustments than they are with "slowing down" to gain increase accuracy.

I talk a little more about this in the most recent Fastpitch Talk Radio episode. It's just a short episode and you can listen to it HERE.

Why Jump Ahead?

Now that summer softball season has begun here in Hawaii, I'm having a chance to see some coaches work with a new bunch of players. They are working with teams who added a bunch of players as older ones moved up, or they are working with entirely new teams who are in their first season together.

One thing I noticed is the tendency for coaches to want to "jump ahead" because games are right around the corner. For me, with a new team especially, some of the things I want the girls to know before the first game are how to field a ball, how to catch a ball, and how to throw a ball. After that, basic infield/outfield coverages, maybe bunt coverage, and how to relay the ball in from the outfield. On the offensive side, we'll probably just go over how to do a sacrifice bunt and go over just a few signals (probably take one, sacrifice, and steal). That's IT unless the girls are ready for more. Obviously I'm talking about younger age groups here where you actually have to teach how to catch and how to set up a relay and such. But even for older girls on more advanced teams, I still would go over this stuff in the beginning to get a feel for where the girls are at.

When I talk about how to field, how to throw, and how to catch, I believe that these basic mechanics should be gone over with EVERYONE in EVERY season. Sometimes you need to spend more time on it, other time the girls are doing things great and you can move on faster, but I still think it should be covered with the team as a whole.

Even with infield/outfield coverages or plays (i.e. where to throw the ball and who covers what base and when) I like to run the whole team through drills/exercises that cover these concepts. For example, I'll often have everyone take and outfield position and have them field/catch fly balls and throw to second, throw to third, and throw home. You never know who you'll need to play outfield and any given time and by putting everyone out there, you at least know you've given every person on your team some practice out there. A great infielder that never practices fly balls can do just horribly in the outfield if they ever have to play out there. This is part of why I like everyone to get some time out there every now and then. Plus it can help infielders get more comfortable tracking, and hopefully catching, those annoying bloopers that try to drop just over the infield.

When teaching relays, I always like to start out with simply setting up lines of girls and teaching them:

• which way to turn after the catch
• how to get rid of the ball quickly
• how to position their bodies before and after the throw/catch etc.

Then take it to the field and cover who is the cover for which plays before ever putting people into positions and hitting balls out for relay practice.

I think you get the idea of what I'm trying to say. I really believe it's much fairer to your players and much more effective to TEACH what you expect before just throwing the girls into the situation and trying to teach as you go.

I've seen coaches just put players in position, hit a ball outfield and tell the girls to "set up the relay." Half the time, I don't even know if the girls knew what that meant because they had never even done a relay before (this is at the 8U/10U level). Then while the ball is in the outfield they are telling the short stop, "You're the cut." I swear the girl was thinking, "What's a cut?" Because as I said, they had never practiced a relay, been taught a relay (what it is, how it's set up), nor did the coach ever go over who is the cuts are for the different outfield plays. This is what I'm talking about when I say coaches are "jumping ahead." All of that should have been introduced to the players before ever setting up a defense, hitting a ball past the outfielder, and asking the players to relay the ball home.

I understand the need and desire to practice these sorts of things before the first game comes around, but trying to teach it as you go just doesn't work as well. You still need to take the time to explain to each person what they are supposed to be doing. It's so much easier if you go over it first, explain and show the girls what's supposed to happen, let them try it AND THEN take it onto the field in a more "live" setting to practice the concept instead of jumping straight to the "live" situation and then stopping your practice each play to try to explain individually to each player what they are supposed to be doing and what is supposed to happen. Not only is this time consuming and possible confusing for the players, but they often times don't get "the whole picture" because usually the coach is only telling a particular player what their individual job is in the grand scheme of things when they try to instruct during the practice of the "whole enchilada." When you then try to put them in a different relay situation, you often have to go and do more explaining for that particular situation. It's much simpler and much more effective to cover all those basics first, then go into practicing the actual application of the skills and concept you're teaching.

One good point I learned from Cindy Bristow is that it really helps to sit down and think about what you want to have covered before the first game of the season. What is it that you want your girls to know by then? Then what do you want them to know by the half way point of the season? Are you going to go over bunt coverage before run downs or the other way around? Make a list of all the things you want to go over defensively and offensively and then prioritize the list and make a plan of what you want the girls to learn and by when.

The point is that "jumping ahead" usually doesn't get you "ahead." It only causes you to have to go back and "re-do" the foundation because you didn't do it right the first time. I have an analogy from dog training which I'm doing a lot of right now, but I'll save that for another day. AND I remember reading something that fits well with this in Coaching the Mental Game, but I can't quite remember it right now, so I'll have to look it up and share that with you on another day as well.

Coach of Action Academy will Open Doors...

Tomorrow! Yep, the Coach of Action Academy will be open TOMORROW, June 25th!

That means that TODAY is the last day to qualify for Pre-Launch pricing (50% off).

All you need to do is go to Coach of Action now and enter your name and e-mail address and tomorrow you will get the link where you can get in at 50% off the regular price.

The Coach of Action Academy was designed to help you tackle one of the major fundamental problems coaches face in their quest to improve their coaching skills. AND, we help you through it in manageable, bite-sized chunks over the course of 12 weeks. This is NOT a 50+ page e-book you have to make your way through on your own. Learn more and sign up for Pre-Launch pricing at www.CoachofAction.com.

Hope to see you on the inside!

Coach Be Consistent

When you learn about raising children, you hear about consistency. When you learn about working with animals and training animals, you hear about consistency. I think it also applies to coaching softball as well.

It's only fair to your players (and vital for you) that you be consistent in your actions, words, rules, and discipline as a coach. Ground rules should always be laid out at the beginning of the season. This should also include potential disciplinary actions for when those rules are broken. Be sure that you do NOT set a consequence that you will not enforce. I think this would have the same effect as "empty threats" in parenting...

1. Your players know that you won't follow through and will push the envelope as far as possible
2. You are undermining your own credibility and believability because you haven't kept your word
3. You may even lose respect or simply make it harder to gain the respect of your players.

Whenever you give your word as a coach, be it in speech or in writing, ALWAYS do your best to stick with it. Avoid making up rules and consequences as you go along. Clear guidelines and boundaries make life much simpler for players, parents, and coaches. Be up front about what your expectations, your rules, your guidelines, and your consequences and follow through.

Following through only *sometimes* is only asking for trouble as a coach.

Be consistent.

For additional coaching tips, check out our FREE Special Report for Coaches or
Softball Coaching Essentials from A to Z

It's all in the FUNdamentals

I'm huge on fundamentals and mechanics - and, as you can see by the title of this post, FUN! You As I've said many times before, fun is so important when it comes to softball, or any sport for that matter. The two times in my life that I SERIOUSLY thought about quitting this game and giving it up completely as a player, the main thought going through my mind was that it wasn't fun any more. I wasn't having fun playing the game and that was the main reason behind dropping the game altogether. That's why I feel it's important to remember that as a coach, especially at the younger ages.

Another thing I'm picky about is fundamentals. I am big on working proper fundamentals, proper mechanics until it's second nature. One of my first softball coaches did this for me and I went back to it time and time again whenever I started to struggle. I've often wondered what kind of player I would have been had that ONE coach not done that because NO coach after her stressed those mechanics and drilled them like she did. I don't know that I would have had that to fall back on if she hadn't been so insistent on going over those fundamentals again and again and again.

Too often I see coaches breeze through the basics. They are so anxious to move on to other more "advanced" skills, but I just don't see the rush if your team hasn't gotten the basics down yet. For example, I've seen 10U coaches want to work on turning the double play when their team has a tough time simply fielding a ball and making a throw. Why even worry about how to turn a double play when you're still having trouble fielding a ball and making good throws? I'm not saying that you should never work on it, but it just seems a little silly to me to drop the work on the basics to "move on" to something like that. I would still work the basics in practice and give it some quality time, then maybe introduce the concept of the double and work it a bit. But to spend all your defensive practice working the double play in that particular situation doesn't make sense to me. Work the fundamentals and those "advanced" plays will come.

Same with when you start pitching. Work those fundamentals! It always baffles me to see coaches/parents/players wanting to go from never pitching before to throwing 5 different pitches in a year. Of course, if you have an unbelievably talented athlete that happens to catch on to the fundamentals and to all of the other aspects of pitching THAT quickly, than by all means, go for it. But most of us don't have that type of superhero ability. Fundamentals is what's going to give you the most power and the most accuracy whether it's throwing overhand or underhand.

If you're looking for a DVD on pitching fundamentals, the one I personally bought is from www.HouseOfPitching.com (Building the House by Bill Hillhouse).

Another one that's currently on special for $19.95 is available at Softball Performance. But that pricing is only going to last for the next day or so. If this is something you've been looking for, now's a good time to get it.

You Make It Their Business

Wow! The drama post brought out some strong feeling/opinions in those who read it. Funny thing is, I just read about another example of it online. This time it was in the online business world and no fist fight broke out, but again, insults, attacks, name calling and your basic drama. However, one of the guys involved admitted he was wrong, admitted that he should have privately contacted the person he was upset with, and admitted that there are so many other things to do than be involved in drama. He also talked about the fact that if you stay away from the NEGATIVE and stay focused on the POSTIVE you'll have much greater returns.

You see, this is not only a lesson for your softball team. This is a lesson for life AND business.

I have one more thing to add to it. Often times people who DO bring their personal life into public areas end up saying something like, "This has nothing to do with you, you should keep your mouth shut and stay out of it."

Well, that's true. Your personal life isn't the business of your teammates....UNTIL YOU CHOOSE to bring it on to the field with you. At that point, YOU'VE made the conscious choice to make your personal business the business of everyone on the team because now your personal issues have invaded team time and space. So if you want everyone to "stay out of it" do NOT bring NEGATIVE opinions/actions/words of anyone onto the field with you. If you have a personal problem with your left fielder, keep it personal and keep it private. Then your SS or your P has no say in how you handle that issue.

However, IF you DECIDE to bring it up in ANY way shape or form during softball time, you've just made it the entire team's business. Again, I'll say it, personal drama has NO place on the softball field and you are not being the best softball player you can be if you bring it there. I'll explain why have such little tolerance for this in another blog post.

If you haven't read the original drama post and left your comments yet, I'd still like to hear from you. Or, if you have thoughts on what was said here, feel free to leave a comment on this post.

Scholarship Winners Announced

As promised, the winners of the drawing for the 3 Full Ride Coach of Action Academy Scholarships will be announced today, right here in this blog post.

But FIRST - I just have to remind you that if you didn't get a chance to enter, or if you didn't get one of the 3 scholarships being awarded today, you still have a chance to get in to the Coach of Action Academy at a discounted price!

What do you have to do to qualify for the 50% discount?

1. Go to the Coach of Action Academy
2. Enter your name and e-mail address to sign up for the Pre-Launch special
3. Check your e-mail when the Coach of Action Academy opens so you know how to get in at 50% off

Okay - now that that's out of the way, let's get to the announcement!

The 3 people who will have COMPLETE access to the Coach of Action Academy when it opens in less than a week ARE...

drum roll please....


Matt of Englewood, NJ

Coach Lisa of Anderson, IN

Jeff H from Pennsylvania

WooHoo! Congratulations to our scholarship winners! Winners will also be notified via e-mail.

Winners Will Be Announced this Friday!

The winners of the drawing for the 3 Coach of Action Academy Scholarships will be announced this Friday, June 20th, 2008.

Winners will also be notified via e-mail. Remember, even if you're not one of the 3 that were selected, you STILL have time to get on the list for Pre-Launch 50% off special pricing for the Coach of Action Academy. Your time is running out though because once the doors of the Coach of Action Academy open, your chance to get your name in for the special discount ends.

How much time do you have exactly?

When will the Coach of Action Academy finally open?

In LESS than ONE WEEK!

Yup - Coach of Action will be OPEN in less than ONE WEEK. Stay tuned for the exact day. If you're an AAF member, keep your eye on your inbox for the date.

Last Day to Send in Your Coaching Tip...

...for your chance at a "Full Ride" Coach of Action Academy Scholarship. Everyone who sends in a tip will be eligible to win one of 3 scholarships to the Coach of Action Academy. Winners will be announced next week!

Even if you don't win, you can still get in the the Coach of Action Academy for 50% off if you sign up for the Pre-Launch special. Go to www.CoachofAction.com and enter your name and e-mail to be notified of when the Coach of Action Academy will open it's doors and to take advantage of the 50% off Pre-Launch pricing when it opens.

Back to the scholarship opportunity....

Get your best coaching tips in by the end of the day today for your chance to win - send your entry (best coaching tip(s)) to stacie@coachofaction.com.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sharing a Story: "What you look for..."

I heard an interesting story recently that illustrated an interesting point of "What you look for is often what you see." I think this is an interesting concept that applies to any part of life, including softball, but the story is REALLY cool. Honestly, I don't know if it's true or not, but it illustrates a point very nicely and it's one that I think you'll be interested in hearing, so click on the play button below to hear the story and don't forget to let me know what you think with the "What Do You Think?" link below.

Raise Team Funds with Softball Today

Eek! Fundraising! I've done quite a bit this year myself. Often times it's the same old thing. Although this year I did do a couple of Jamba Juice Fundraisers for the first time ever.

I don't particularly like fundraising, but I also know how expensive softball can get if you're paying everything out of pocket. Remember, I'm a coach and I also have 3 daughters who play
too. Between the umpiring fees, league fees, tournament fees, jackets, banquets, pictures, trophies, balls, practice equipment, game equipment...well, you get the idea. This sport is probably not as costly as football, but it's getting there.

The thing is everyone LOVES football, but not so many people are as eager to support/sponsor softball. BUT, I just heard about a unique, relative fundraiser that teams are using to raise money.

Softball Today offers a fundraiser that gives teams a 50% profit.

There's even a chance of your team being sponsored by DeMarini if you partner with Softball Today for your fundraising needs. There are no minimums to meet and no money to pay up front. This is not an elite fastpitch magazine only so a variety of softball people can benefit from a subscription (slow pitch, fastpitch, travel, high school, and rec). For more information on working with Softball Today (and your team's chance to get sponsored by DeMarini) visit http://www.softballtoday.com/fundraisers.asp

Win a Coach of Action Academy Scholarship

Yep, I'm giving away 3 "full-ride" scholarships to the Coach of Action Academy. If you win a scholarship, you will get to go through the full Coach of Action program for FREE.

All you have to do to enter is send in the BEST coaching tip(s) you have. Each tip will be considered a separate entry IF sent in a separate e-mail.

In ONE WEEK, all entries will be entered into a drawing for 1 of 3 "full-ride" scholarships to the Coach of Action Academy. To qualify for the drawing your entry must:

• be received by the end of the day, Saturday, June 14th
• contain your best coaching tip
• contain at least your first name AND your location

Send your best coaching tips in to Tips@coachofaction.com.

New Coaching Freebie

Yep, I'm working on yet another free coaching resource. I think it'll be the best one yet. Yes, Coach of Action Academy is also still in the works, but I'm waiting on a technical ordering issue that is not under my control before I can really move forward and open it up.

Stay Tuned
BUT, keep your eye on this blog over the course of the next week (hopefully just the next few days) for an important announcement about the Coach of Action Academy. This announcement also involves the word FREE and is time sensitive, so please check back here over the weekend.

The New Coaching Freebie
Anyway - back to this new free resource. It's coming along great. I can't wait until it's all put together and ready for you to download because it's going to GIVE you the Secret Every Championship Softball Coach Knows. You won't want to miss it. Besides, it'll be free, so there's nothing to lose.

I'll let you know when it's complete!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the game.

This is Why We Call for the Ball

...and set up priorities (i.e. which players back off to who when more than one players is calling for the ball. It shouldn't just be whoever calls first or loudest.)

Explosive Power for Softball DVD Giveaway

Did you know that Marc Dagenais is GIVING AWAY his Explosive Power for Softball DVD? I didn't know it either until today when I saw the offer up on his website.

This DVD normally sells for $39.95 and he's giving it away free.

In this video a variety of softball and training experts go into great detail explaining and illustrating plyometrics exercises and medicine ball drills for developing greater explosiveness, speed and power for softball.

The DVD also features

• The best plyometrics exercises to increase explosiveness
• Innovative jump and medicine ball drills that you can do anywhere with minimal equipment
  How many sets and reps you should do
• How long your should rest between each set

Of course, this offer isn't going to last forever....
so check it out at Softball Performance. Scroll down and look for the Softball Performance Achievers Club" link. That'll take you over to this free DVD offer.

Coaches and parents, this is a great way to get ideas for helping your players get faster and stronger. And the really cool thing is that it won't cost you anything, so why not take advantage of it? Get your Free DVD.

7 Free Ways to Increase Your Coaching Knowledge

Great coaches know there is always more to learn about the game. Most are actively seeking new knowledge on a regular basis. If you want to step up your coaching game a bit, there are certainly a multitude of options. But if you're just starting out or simply on a tight budget and don't want to spend a lot of money on books, DVDs, coaches clinics, seminars, or other paid resources just yet, I have good news for you. There are a number of free resources with quality information available for you to learn from. Not only will you gain useful information from these resources, but they'll also help guide you when you are ready to invest some money in a paid coaching resource. Here are 7 free ways to increase your coaching knowledge.

Borrow Books from the Library
Typically, there are a number of great coaching books out there. But if you're like me, you probably can't afford to buy every one you want. This is where your local library can help. You will probably be able to find at least a handful of good coaching books there. As long as you return the books on time, you can read each and every book they have to offer for free. Of course, if you come across one that you particularly like, you can always make the choice to purchase it for future reference. But only after you've gotten a free use of a number of books and are able to choose the one(s) you like best.

Visit Free Informational Websites
If you do an internet search for your sport or coaching tips for you sport, you will probably be able to find some website out there with free tips. For example if you are a softball coach you can search for "softball," fastpitch softball," "softball coaching tips," or "free softball tips." I'm sure you can think of more, but those are just a few ideas of what you could enter into a search engine to find free information about your sport. The cool thing about learning from websites is that you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Plus, it's easy to share with a friend or colleague.

Read Free Articles and Free Newsletters
Most free information websites have these next two items: free articles and free newsletters. Often times there will be a page with links to free articles you can read. Most of these sites also have free newsletters where you can have tips sent to you via e-mail on a regular basis. Usually all you need to provide is a first name and e-mail address and you're set to get free tips delivered right to your inbox.

Fastpitch related examples:
Softball Peformance
Get Softball Confidence
and of course...this site!

Download Free e-books/Short Reports
Some websites out there also offer free short reports or e-books. These resources are usually provided by instant download in a pdf file. Even websites that offer paid products usually have some sort of free short report or e-book that you can take a look at. I like e-books and reports because you can print them out and take them with you to read when it's convenient for you. You can also highlight, circle, or otherwise mark the important parts of the report. Another cool thing about free reports or e-books is that, often times, you arealso allowed to pass the report on to others. The publisher of the report will tell you in the first couple of pages whether or not it's okay to reproduce or redistribute the report. If it's okay, you can make copies for your coaching staff or your players if it's something you'd like to pass along to them.

Participate in Free Forums
Another great place to learn is at online forums. There are paid ones out there, but there are often many free ones as well. Some are better than others, but usually there are one or two with a lot of activity and input from experts in the sport as well. A forum or message board is a great place to ask your coaching questions and have them answered by a variety of people. They are also great for browsing just see what hot tips or products other members are talking about or see what questions other coaches, parents, or players have about the game. Typically you'll have to register at a forum before you can ask or answer questions there. For the free ones, all they usually require is that you provide a username and password and maybe your e-mail address.

Network with Other Coaches
Networking can be done over the computer or in person. Basically, just talk with other coaches. When you attend tournaments, clinics, or coaches meetings, take the time to talk with other coaches who are there. Everyone know something you don't, so you never know what you can learn by simply introducing yourself and talking with others in your sport. Networking can also be done via e-mail or in forums as mentioned above. This may not be something you're completely comfortable with at first if you're not the outgoing type, but just think of the opportunities you may miss out on simply because you're more "comfortable" staying to yourself. Challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone just a bit and make contacts wherever possible. You just never know what someone else may be able to offer you one day down the road if not sooner.

As you can see there are a number of ways to increase your coaching knowledge or knowledge of the game for free. Successful coaches are life long learners. There's no reason you can't learn something new today with all the ideas listed in this article. When you're ready to take the next step and make an investment in yourself as a coach, these free resources will be a great starting point to find the paid coaching resources that are the best fit and value for you.

Don't forget to apply what you learn! The Coach of Action Academy is dedicated to help you USE the coaching knowledge you acquire.

Coach of Action Academy Coming Soon

So the Coach of Action Academy is almost ready! This is a 12 week program which is delivered straight to your e-mail inbox in bite sized pieces that you can easily digest and learn from. Learn how to increase your coaching knowledge AND put it into action. Plus you'll be walked through 5 steps to reaching your coaching goals.

For a sneak peek at what the Coach of Action Academy is all about, visit www.CoachOfAction.com. Once you're there you can sign up for the pre-launch special which entitles you to go through the program at 50% off the regular price once it's ready to go. Also, SPACE IS LIMITED for this program so you'll want to know exactly when it opens up. Only 150 coaches will be allowed in at any one time, so you won't want to miss out!

Again, the link is www.CoachOfAction.com.

New Articles on Catching

It's been a while since I added articles to the Articles Page, but there are now two new catching articles up there for you to read.

Both are written by Dave Weaver founder of The New England Catching Camp LLC. Coach Weaver teaches at numerous facilities throughout New England and conducts group clinics, team workshops, coaches clinics, as well as private sessions with catchers of all ages.

The first article is called Never Teach Your Catchers to Frame a Pitch.

The second article is Blocking is the Easy Part.

Both articles are absolutely free for you to read and learn from. Check out the articles and let me know what you think of them by leaving me a comment below. (Click on the "What do you think? link)

Free Performance Program For You

Mr. Tom Hanson of www.GetSoftballConfidence.com has put together a free program for you called:

"How to Overcome Failure and Play as Well in Games as You Do in Practice"

Wouldn't that be great? Do you find yourself (or your players) performing great in practice when there's no pressure, but not quite so great in game situations when the play or hit really counts? Find out how you can take your success from practice field into game situations. After all, it doesn't do a whole lot of good if you can hit the ball out of the park in practice, but can't even tough it in the game. It doesn't matter much if you can throw every change-up just right in practice, but don't have any command over it in the game. And it can be very frustrating to field zillions of grounders in practice just fine (and follow it up with a great throw too), but miss the simple ground ball your team needed you to stop in the game.

This free program can help. It includes 5 Lessons which take you step-by-step through the fundamentals of the mental game. Get it now at
http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/CoachingProgram.pdf

The other day I received an e-mail from a coach who asked for help because his team would often fall apart once errors were made in the game. That made me think of the title of this program "How to Overcome Failure..." Again, this program is designed to lead you through the fundamentals of the mental game which is what needs work if your team is unable to overcome mistakes.

There's no cost, no risk, nothing to lose, just knowledge and simple, helpful tools you can use to improve your softball performance.

Instantly download your free copy of this program at
http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/CoachingProgram.pdf

After you've had a chance to go through this program, please let me know what you think my clicking on the "What do you think" link below an leaving me a comment.

Don't Assume They Know It

I think there's something that amazes me every time I watch a softball game. The other weekend it was my oldest daughter. No, she didn't amaze me with her unbelievable talent, LOL. It was something else. She was pitching that day. You know how sometimes during an umpire timeout the pitcher rolls grounders to her infield to keep them on their toes and keep them from getting bored? Well, I guess my daughter has seen other pitchers do this, so during a break in the action during her game, she rolled a grounder to each of her infielders. I know, not that amazing. But the thing was.....it was a rainy day. The ground was WET!

My daughter has to be the only pitcher on the face of this earth that I know of that purposefully rolls the ball she's going to pitch on the ground when it's wet (and not just once either). When play resumed, guess what happened. She walked the next batter on 5 pitches. *sigh*

I discussed this with her after the game and let her know that if the ball ever feels too slippery, she is allowed to ask the umpire for another ball. Of course, I also advised her that she probably shouldn't roll grounders to her teammates to pass time if the ground is moist.

New Coaching Resource - Sneak Peak

If you're a fastpitch member, you know I'm working on a few new resources. Well, I got a small preview of one of them up and ready for you to check out. The original name of the resource was going to be 5 Steps for Achieving Your Coaching Goals (plus 3 Keys to Coaching Excellence), BUT instead of just creating a short report for you to digest on your own, I decided to go with a new approach and a completely different method of delivery which I think you'll get a LOT more out of.

This new resource is NOTHING like anything we've ever done before here at AllAboutFastpitch.com and I think you're going to love it. It's called Coach of Action and you can get a taste of what it's all about and how it's going to work at www.CoachOfAction.com.

Sue Enquist Videos - I love it!

I've never seen these before, but I LOVE them. If you haven't seen them either or heard Sue Enquist talk about "Prepare for the Game," "Love the Game," and "Honor the Game."

The clips are great. You can view them at
http://sueenquist.com/speaking/prepare.html

Heads Up Baseball - First Impressions

I've been talking about the book Heads Up Baseball that I ordered and have recently received. I just wanted to share some of my first impressions of it with you.

1) The book was bigger than I thought it would be, but it can still fit in my bag or a players softball bag.

2) There are pictures in it! Yay - that's a big plus if you want players to read it...they like the pictures.

3) Then I started reading the little testimonials and the cover and the beginning and already I was Loving It! It covers exactly the type of material I was hoping for.

4) It's not "just a book." One worry I had was that it would be full of great information, but that none of it would be applied. That happens often, we go to a class, we read a book, we get training in something, but we don't apply what we learned so that we can get better. Well, if you've already been through the book, you already know, or if you've already ordered the book, you will soon see that this is not "just a book." It actually helps with some of the application - it helps people who are reading it TAKE ACTION which, in softball AND IN LIFE, is always the first step after being a life long learner. Not only do you have to continue to be open to learn, but you have to take at least a few things from your newfound knowledge and APPLY them so that you can actually make your game or your life better.

I have to say though, I was not expecting my 4th impression at all. I really thought it was "just a book." I'm very impressed with the layout thus far and even though I haven't gotten through the first 20 pages, I already see the value and the wealth of information the book contains.

This book was meant for high school age and up, but I think I'll have my 11 year old read through it too....and I'll have her read it again....and again....and maybe one more time when she's a little older.

Seriously, if you work with players of the high school age group and above, this is a book you want to have. You can get it at Amazon for about 10 bucks.

Joining the Gym to be a Better Coach

Yup, I'm going to The Gym. Well, no, actually The Gym (by Tom Hanson) is coming to me. As you can see, I'm doing a lot of "being a life long learner" at this point. I guess I'm just in that mode right now. I've learned a lot, but I feel like there are great tips out there that can help me hone in on where I can get better and there are ways that I can help my team get better. So in addition to the books I've talked about recently, this is the other resource I really wanted to check out.

The things that really caught my eye with this Gym were...

• "How to Get Players 'On Board' with Developing their Mental Game Skills"
• “How to Teach Pre-Performance Routines so Your Players are More Consistent,”
• "How to Work on the Mental Game During Practice,"
• "How to Give Feedback," and
• "How to Work Effectively With Parents."

Then of course there are the bonuses for joining for a year...

• Pitching Dominator DVD -- Watch me teach the mental mechanics of pitching. Shows exactly, step-by-step what to do on the mound to pitch with a dominating mindset ($67 value) (mailed to you).
• Hitting Dominator DVD -- Watch me teach the mental mechanics of hitting. Shows exactly, step-by-step, what to do at the plate and before you get there, to hit with a dominating mindset ($67 value) (mailed to you).

You see, I KNOW how important the mental game is, but I also know how hard it is to teach. I don't know that anyone really took clear cut steps to "teach" it to me, but being mentally strong and having the right mind set to be successful is something I learned along the way as I played softball and became an adult.

As a coach, I always want more consistency from my players. To me, one thing that separates good players from great players is consistency. They almost ALWAYS get their job done, no matter what the situation. I'm not saying they are always perfect. Everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes, but I'd much rather have someone consistently make those routine plays rather than be hot and cold and sometimes make unbelievable plays, but not consistency make the routine ones.

Then there's working on the mental game in practice....any time I can learn more about how to work on the mental game in practice, I'm in.

So, again, I will let you know how things go in The Gym!

Going to the Post Office

Yay! I'm going to the post office today to pickup my copy of "Heads Up Baseball." I guess the packaging couldn't fit in my mailbox and since I have a long driveway that's locked, the mailman can't exactly come to my door to have me sign for it. So it's off to the post office I go. Again, I've heard a number of great things about this book. I'll definitely let you know what I think of it when I'm going through it and when I'm done with it.

Of course, you could always get it for yourself at Amazon and read it with me. ;)

Learning to be a Better Leader

I'm all excited because I believe in being a life-long learner and right now I'm actively exercising that belief. My book came in the mail yesterday, the one I mentioned on another post. It's Tom Hanson's "Who Will Do What By When" - I started reading it last night before I went to sleep and I'm already just about half way through!

If you didn't read the other post and don't have any idea what this book is about, it was created to help you get powerful results for business and in life. Learn about leadership as you read the story about a guy who was an all-star salesman, but was promoted to a management position. His job was in jeopardy because his team's sales had been dropping ever since he became the manager. So you follow along with him as he learns how to be a better leader and help his team achieve everything they are capable of.

I can't go back to reading it just yet, other responsibilities need to be taken care of first, but you can bet, first chance I get today, my nose will be back in the book. I have a feeling I'll have to re-read it (or at least review the main ideas) to really get everything out of it and have some of the main points STICK so that I can APPLY them.