Sliding.

In softball you have to know how to slide. You always want to slide into second, third, and home when there is a play being made at that base. By sliding you are trying to avoid being tagged, running into the other player, and you are causing the other player to try to tag you before the ball is in their glove causing them to make an error. When sliding you want to try to keep your hands up and not to drag them behind you. You also want to slide in a way where you can easily get up so you can keep running if the ball has been over thrown. When at first, you never slide feet first back to the bag, you dive back. You want to be far enough away so that you are not flopping onto your stomach right at the base. If you have trouble sliding, you can always practice in the grass after it has rained.

Team Bonding.

Every team needs to be able to get along with each other. When everyone on a college team come from different places, and believe in different things, the team needs to get to know each other so that they are comfortable with each other and trust each other.

A way to do this is through team bonding. Have your team get together about once a week and do activities to "break the ice" between each other. There are many things your team can do to have a good time. You could go out to a movie then out to eat. Or stay in the dorms and have a movie night.

Having a team that gets along together helps them play together too. They trust each other to make the play or get a hit. They respect each other and help each other when one is having a rough time. It's like having another family.

Early practices.

Most teams have practices in the afternoon on the week days, and maybe around 8am on Saturdays. High school teams usually do this. You would never think about having practice at 5am on a school day in high school would you?

I never thought about having softball at 5am when I was in high school either. But now that I'm in college we have practices at 5am Monday-Friday and on Sundays we practice from 8:30-11am. It is no different then having practice in the afternoon, other than be a little more tired than usual. I think it is nice because I feel refreshed for the rest of the day. It also gives me more time in the evening to do other things with friends.

Defense.

Defense is crucial to the game of softball. In order to have a working defense, everyone on the team needs to know what is going on at all times. Everyone needs to have their head in the game and be ready to make a play. The catcher can see everything that is going on on the field and should be communicating a lot. The middle infielders should be talking to the outfielders letting them know what the play is gonna be or what the pitch is so they can be ready. Everyone works together to get the outs, and get on offense as soon as possible. Every team has some type of plays they use to try to and confuse the runners so they can catch them off guard and get them out easier. For example, if there is a runner on first and third, the catcher may throw the ball to short stop after the pitch to try to get the third base runner to head for home.

Hitting.

  Some people think hitting is the best and most easiest part of softball. All you have to do is stand at the plate, watch the pitch and swing right? WRONG! There is more to hitting than that. 

There are a lot of different ways one can hit. Everyone has their own style, yet everyone has the same technique. You want to keep your elbows up, eyes on the ball the entire time; starting in the pitchers hand till it is either in the zone for you to hit or in the catchers glove, your feet need to be balanced; not to wide and not too narrow, and you want to stand straight not bent over to much. 

I was always taught that if the pitcher was faster you stood more in the back of the batters box so you had more time to see the ball, and if the pitcher is slower you want to stand in the front of the batters box so you can time it better. 

When hitting you have to be patient and wait for the right pitch. Don't swing at the high ones or the low ones. Stay focused on the pitch up the middle and don't let it fly by you!

Conditioning.

Sunday through Friday, 5am till about 5:30-5:45, my teammates and I are working our butts off. We are either lifting or doing some kind of running workout. If you are looking for some ideas on what do to for a work out, I have plenty of ideas for you. You can go to a gym and do a number of things. My favorite would be Big Ben. Big Ben is basically doing a suicide, but it is broken down into five different stages. You start by sprinting to the free throw line then jogging the rest of the way down the court eight times. Then you sprint to the free throw line back to the end line then sprint to half court, then jog the rest of the way down the court six times. Next, you sprint to free throw and back, half court and back, then other free throw and then jog to rest of the way down the court four times. After that you, sprint to the free throw and back, half court and back, to the other free throw and back then sprint to the end line two times. Finally you do a full suicide once. Then we go back down doing each one again. You can also do pain pyramids, which is where you start at the base line sprint to the other end of the court and back, that is one. You then go up to at least five, sprinting each down and back. Conditioning isn't any one's favorite thing, but running as much as we do for softball is getting us in great shape for our approaching season.