Everything Fastpitch - The Podcast

We have all seen it. A runner is sliding into a base or homeplate and the fielder reaches and tags the runner high and the runner is safe. Remind your players that the runner has to come to the base, so we should get in a position to tag the runner at field level on whatever body part is going to be the first to hit the base.

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This weeks lineup:

• Warmup Segment:
• Listener Question: How quickly should a player be able the change a bad habit? (@12:11)
• Paige's Power Play (@18:23)
• We had some good responses to our topic on loyalty. There are some more things to consider. (@24:03)
• How do we make the pro-leagues work? (@36:54)
• We have to teach sliding better. Let's eliminate the collisions. (@50:55)

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Players need to advance their skills by practicing skills that are out of their comfort zone but not into their panic zone. The middle ground is the stretch zone. Learn to push them, but not to far.

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This week's lineup:

• Warmup Segment
• Listener Question: Can you give me some ideas on how to make practice fun for younger players? (@14:24)
• Paige's Power Play (@26:16)
• Is there any loyalty in our game and how do we deal with it? (@28:59)
• A lot of the country is experiencing a heat wave. How do we deal with the heat and make the call that it is too hot? (@48:08)
• Get our players onboard to make practices more efficient. (@54:04)

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Today we discuss enthusiasm. There is a line that you can cross where enthusiasm becomes obnoxious. It is our job as coaches to keep our team on the right side of that line.

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This Weeks Lineup:

• Warmup Segment
• Listener Question: My daughter is a pitcher and a shortstop. How can she be ready if going straight from shortstop to pitching? (@10:21)
• Paige's Power Play (@17:24)
• Interview with the ROWVA/Williamsfield Varsity Cougar softball team. A smaller school in Illinois. The players decided to do something to raise awareness of mental health and suicide this year. Listen to the interview to hear the things that they are involved in. @21:41)
• Is having a dominant team in college softball a good thing or a bad thing? (@37:56)
• Sometimes when we do the right thing it doesn't always turn out good. Keep playing the right way and don't be afraid of the time in can go wrong. (@51:36)

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You are going to a big out of town tournament. It's costing the parents and players a lot of money. When you factor in travel, living expenses and missed work the investment is significant. Don't let "we have to get our money's worth" alter your coaching style. Your team will play better if you stay consistent. If you display a lot more pressure, it will carry over to the team. 

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This weeks lineup:

• Warmup Segment:
• Listener Question: I keep score for out team. What determines if it is a wild pitch or a passed ball? (@10:24)
• Paige's Power Play (@17:28)
• How many pitchers and additional players should a team have? (@21:03)
• Tips for trying out for a team. (@32:35)
• If practiced, bunting can be an additional weapon for your team. (@40:49)

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It invariably happens in a critical situation. The ball gets hit into the Bermuda Triangle of the field where infielders and outfielders are racing as hard as they can go to get to the ball. Communication breaks down and the ball doesn't get caught or we have a train wreck and somebody gets hurt. It happens rarely, but we need to practice it often.

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This weeks lineup:

• Warmup Segment:
• Listener Question:  My daughter plays high level softball and soccer. Her softball coach is putting pressure on her to focus on softball and drop soccer. What do you think? (@12:16)
• Paige's Power Play: (@19:38)
• College Season Wrap up (@23:51)
• Softball community support in times of tragedy  (@41:23)
• No cookie cutter approach to coaching! (@43:47)

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