This video features what was a big story in the media last year.

It's a great display of incredible sportsmanship and what sport is and should be all about.

It's the kind of story that only Hollywood can come up with except that.. it's a true story.

Let's revisit what the true spirit of the game of softball is…

Softball hitting techniques is a source of many heated debates on most softball and baseball forums on the internet. Most people adhere to various hitting philosophies, styles, approaches, techniques, and terminologies. The Linear vs. Rotational debate is an especially heated one.

I personally like to learn from a variety of people and don't adhere to a  ''specific style" per say and I believe different approaches or styles will work for different hitters as every body is different. I also believe in basic fundamental hitting principles.

Observing hitters closely, especially in slow motion using my background in sports sciences (biomechanics, anatomy, kinesiology, etc.)  led me to this conclusion:  ALL the best hitters int he world, no matter what they emphasize (linear or rotational) have both linear and rotational components in their swing, just to different extent based on how they've taught and what they believe in.

Another basic biomechanical principle: you generate the greatest velocity by adding both angular (rotational) and linear forces together.

RightView Pro from hitting instructor Don Slaught has become one of the most widely used softball hitting training software.

Here a few instructional video clips describing his approach:

3 Attributes of Great Hitters

The Stance

The Stance 2

The First Move

Live Hands

Positive Move

The Decision to Swing

Adjusting from Inside to Outside Pitches

Some of you might agree or disagree with his approach and that's totally fine. I definitely welcome  arguments and coments below.  I just ask that you debate on ideas and stay away from personal attacks. Thank you

A smile like this is priceless!

If we spend a crazy amount of hours every year at the ball park, that's probably because there is a lot of positives and great things associated with this game. If not, we would not do it.

How about a list of the best things in softball?

I need your help to list all the best things in softball.

Here's my contribution to get us started:

1) The smile on the face of the girls who finally "get it" after struggling with something  <— That's worth gold to me as  a coach!

2) Softball tan lines

3) All the cheering that is a bit part of this game

Please add your contribution below in the comments' section.

I scratch my head too sometimes!

If you're like me, you've seen all kind of stuff around the softball field over the years.

Softball is a very conservative sport with many urban beliefs and where old habits die hard.

Sometimes, we even see stuff that is plain crazy or advice that would make Mike Candrea wanna coach soccer!

Help me make a list of such things, beliefs, and old-school practices that are now a thing of the past.

Post yours in the comments section below.

Here's a couple to get us started:

1. The "elbow up" advice for hitters <– probably THE biggest urban belief!

2. Running a "9-fielders-waiting-while-1-batter-is-hitting" practice

3. Doing static stretching to warm-up before games

4. Swinging a heavy bat in the on-deck circle

5. "Squish the bug" hitting technique

What else do you have?

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are essential for good health and optimal performance

We all think fat is bad for us. It's true for certain types of fat. However, there are other types of fat (EFA's or Essential Fatty Acids) that are good for you. In fact, they are essential for good health and optimal performance.

Young female softball players need these good types of fats. Some of the benefits for softball players for getting enough of EFAs (good fats) are:

• Increases brain function and decision-making
• Improves mood
• Speeds up recovery time
• Maintains joint and connective tissue
• Reduces PMS symptoms
• Helps maintain a good level of muscle-repair
• Other health benefits (decreases risk of cardiovascular disease and of cancers, etc.)

Good sources of good essential fatty acids (EFAs or good fats) are:

1. Fish oil
2. Nuts
3. Avocados
4. Vegetable oil
5. Supplements

For the best EFA supplement, I definitely recommend EFA Icon by Prograde Sports Nutrition.  The supplement is an extract from Antartic krill that is highly unsaturated (very healthy!) and been shown to be one of the best EFA source on the planet (much more powerful than all other EFA sources).

That's what I use personally.

Don Porter - President of the International Softball Federation

In this podcast, Marc Dagenais, interviews Don Porter, president of the International Softball Federation.

During their interview, Marc grills Mr. Porter  on the what is the International Softball Federation (ISF) and its role, the state of our game and its future, and of course, how we got excluded from the Olympics.

Be prepared to learn more about the game you love so much!

Several times over the last few months, I have mentioned that research has shown that swinging a heavy bat (or adding some weight to your bat) to warm-up while in the on-deck circle before an at-bat is detrimental to your performance. Doing this reduces your bat speed, it does not increase it.

Now, I know many of you are skeptical about that when you saw Major League players doing it. Let me tell you why MLB players are NOT a reference when it comes to the best practices in sports sciences.

I got an excellent question from one of my readers. He asked: "What is the most effective way to recover mentally and physically between games during weekend softball tournaments?"

While there is no secret formula, there are several things you can do to help you recover faster between games especially when you have to play 3-4 games in one day. In this video, I share a few things that you can do.

I stumbled on that short video of Mike Candrea where he discusses the importance of teaching the mental and emotional part of the game and how he spends a lot of time on these two aspects.

I find that we don't spend enough time teaching and learning softball sliding techniques.  There are a variety of softball sliding techniques: bent-leg, pop-up, hook, around the bag,  and head first just to name the most common.

Now, I've been under the assumption that the head first slide was a tough slide to teach and only the "naturals" could do it. This past spring, I got my eyes opened by Dalton Ruer, a clinician in Atlanta.  This guy can teach head first slide to any player in 5 minutes literally.

I realized that I had these false assumptions all these years about girls not really being keen or good at  head first sliding.  I tried it with a few players later this past summer and it is not that hard to teach actually.  Most softball players can pick it up relatively easily with the right instruction.

Here's a quick video on how to do it: