Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

Hard to believe that it wasn’t so long ago that fastpitch softball was a game played by kids for the – wait for it – fun of it. Sure, there were a few adults around regularly in the form of coaches and umpires, and parents would regularly come out to see them play if they weren’t working. But it wasn’t life-and-death, with every player’s future prospects for a good education apparently hanging on the result of every pitch.

All that seems like some sort of pastoral dream, like a Norman Rockwell painting of America as we always imagined it should be. Today parents seem to be way too wrapped up in their children’s athletic endeavors.

Some are unabashed boosters/braggarts for their kids. You never want to be cornered by them lest they start to regale you with tales of Lindsay’s might line drive, or the diving catch Erin made in center field, or the 13 Ks Alice racked up in her last appearance in the circle. Still, they’re relatively harmless.

The ones who are of real concern are the ones who go the other way – fitting former Vice President Spiro Agnew’s description of “nattering nabobs of negativity.” Unlike the boosters, these parents only see their kids’ failures – and they make sure their kids hear about so they’re “inspired” to improve their performance the next time.

That’s a category that, as a parent, you definitely don’t want to fall into. Yet it seems to come naturally to some. Perhaps they don’t realize how they sound (or look, because they’re usually scowling). Perhaps they think they’re setting high standards for their kids. But the fact is nothing can take the enjoyment out of an activity like an adult you trust – like a parent – telling you how bad you are at something.

Now, I’m not saying you have to blow sunshine up their softball pants. But there are ways to get a point across without being quite so negative about it.

Take the evaluation of a hitting performance. Let’s say the player had a couple of weak hits that got her on base, plus a legitimate hit or two. Rather than focusing on the failures and the mis-hits, you could say “you took some good swings, and at least you were making contact. A duck snort single looks like a line drive in the scorebook. But let’s keeping working so you get more hits like that double. That was a beauty.”

Same message, but said a lot differently. You want to build off the one good hit out of however many at bats instead of saying you only had one good hit, and implying that one was probably lucky.

As has been said many times before, fastpitch softball is a game built on failure. Great hitters fail seven out of 10 times. A brain freeze here, an errant rock there and you can quickly become the goat for the day. And believe it or not, adults, kids know when they’ve screwed up.

Instead of harping on it or replaying it, the best thing you can do is put an arm around her shoulder and let her know that home run or strikeout, no hitter or pulled early, she’s still your daughter and you still love her. Spend as much time talking about what she did right as what she did wrong – maybe more – and you’ll be surprised how her performance actually improves. After all, no one really performs at their best with a gun to their head. Especially when a loved one is holding it.

There’s plenty of negativity already in the world. We see it around us every day, in the news and sometimes in our own lives. Don’t add to it, and don’t make negativity a part of something that should be bringing your player pleasure.

Focus on the positives and support your player no matter what. Even if she never becomes the star you hoped she’d be when you signed her up, the two of you will have a much better relationship for it. She’ll be your daughter far longer than she’ll ever be a softball player.

Anyway, that’s the way I see it.

One thing that's often said about hitting is that "hitting is timing."  Well if you're a pitcher and you want to experience success in the circle, the last thing you want to do is allow hitters to get their timing down when hitting against you.

That's why legendary pitcher Hal Skinner wrote Sneaky Softball Pitching: Sneaky Pitching Tactics to Destroy a Hitter's Timing.

Sneaky Softball Pitching contains the most sought after pieces of pitching advice in the game today. Learn how to pitch faster within seconds. Get the secret of how to stun a batter into not swinging at all. Find out what every great pitcher needs to know about the mental game, and get detailed information about the foundation for building not only top speed, but most accuracy as well!

From the author: I am a self-taught pitcher. I learned to pitch by watching hundreds of adult male pitchers starting when I was 5-years-old. I saw the ones that won most of their games and the ones that weren't as good. Most of the teams I played on were championship teams that won nearly all tourneys entered. We were champions because we did things in practice and in the games that the other teams did not do, did not do as well, or did not do nearly as often as we did.

The things we did that others didn't is included in my book. Unless your instructor was a champion pitcher at a high level, they cannot teach you most of what is in my book because they don't have the knowledge I have. They have not "been there and done that." As a pitcher, I learned very early on how to win. I pitched differently and used strategies other pitchers did not. I used pitching tactics and was very good at it.

There are a lot of pitching books and DVDs out there. But I know this book is different because I made sure to include what was NOT in others. Many of the chapters in this book were featured as editorials or instructional articles in Softball Magazine and/or the NFCA's Fastpitch Delivery newspaper. What I did, what my teams did, and what my coaches did that set us apart from the rest and made us champions…all that is included for you right here in this book!

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

With all the crazy parent stuff that goes on these days, many teams and programs have adopted the so-called "24 hour" rule. With it, parents are not allowed to talk to coaches about something that happens in a game, or playing time, or any other issue until 24 hours after a game.

Yet often the same coaches who want parents to take 24 hours to cool down forget they can use a little cooldown time too, especially after a poor performance by the team. That can be a huge mistake for a couple of reasons.

One is that it's tough to objectively assess the facts of a game in the heat of battle or directly thereafter. What seems like a horrible game at the time may not look as bad when it's a little further in the rear view mirror.

The other is that you may say something to blow off steam at the time that comes back to bite you in the behind later. Any experienced coach can tell stories about things that were said that could never be unsaid. It can lead to all kinds of trouble.

I know I certainly can. Sometimes you're just so frustrated you can't wait to let your team have it. Yet I learned from more experienced coaches that often the best thing to do is impose a 24 hour rule on yourself to give you time to collect your thoughts and plan what you're going to say a little better. It's an idea that has served me well.

It may help you too. I have a belief that you can always tell which team won a game and which team lost by the length of the postgame speech by the coach. In most cases, the losing coach will spend far more time talking to the team than the winning coach. Next time you're at the field try it. You'll be amazed at how often that happens.

One of the biggest things the 24 hour rule will prevent you from doing is singling out players, which with females is a definite no-no. I've asked my players about this, and they agree that most young girls are far more willing to believe the bad things people say about them than the good. Singling out a player's failure makes her feel awful, and can even turn the whole team against you. That's not a good thing.

There's also that temptation to blame a loss on a single event, such as a strikeout with runners on base or a ground ball that goes under a fielder's glove at a crucial time. Yet in a seven inning game there are ample opportunities to make that one play not so important. It can be hard to keep that perspective, though, when you watch the ball squirt under your third baseman's glove, which instead of leading to the third out instead ends up with you losing a four-run lead. Been there.

This is not to say there's NEVER a time for a post-game raveup. I've used it to great effect — in fact, won a 16U tournament after letting my team have it after a pool play loss due to laziness. But it worked because that was the exception rather than the rule. It got their attention because it was not the norm, and they played gangbusters the rest of the weekend.

Sometimes it can be tough to hold your tongue, especially if you're competitive — and most of us are, which is why we do what we do. But give the 24-hour rule a try. You'll be able to talk to your team in a calm, rational manner, and give them intelligent instruction rather than just blurting out whatever comes to mind. Ultimately it will be better for their psyches — and your won-loss record.

Anyway, that's the way I see it.

Who doesn't love Jennie Finch? In this episode of Fastpitch TV, Jennie Finch talks about:

• her first experience with softball
• her dad and the Finch Windmill
• what it was like being a 3-sports athlete in high school
• what position she played in high school (not pitcher!)
• her travel ball experience
• playing softball in college at the University of Arizona
• winning the national championship her junior year in college
• playing for Team USA
• winning a Gold Medal
• watching Laura Berg and Lisa Fernandez as a young softball player then playing with them for Team USA
• playing for the Chicago Bandits
• and a whole bunch more!

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

Fastpitch Drills Work Better When You Know Why You're Doing Them

Yet another story from the fastpitch front, i.e. lessons. Tonight I was doing a pitching lesson where the pitcher brought her own catcher. The catcher happens to be a girl named Lindsay, a former player of mine and a personal favorite.

As the pitcher was working, she occasionally threw a ball into the ground. My expectation was that Lindsay would drop and block the ball, or at least catch it competently. But instead, she was just sort of swatting at it, which looked very odd.

After the pitching lesson I asked her what gives, and that's when she told me she'd just come from a team workout (not sure if it was HS or travel ball) where the coach was bouncing balls into the catchers, who were only wearing masks. I asked her what the purpose/point of the drill was, and she said she didn't know. None of the catchers did, apparently.

To me, that's a problem. Forget that the drill itself is downright idiotic. Catchers need to learn to block the ball, and bouncing the ball in to them with no equipment on is no way to make that happen. It's counter-productive and pretty much guarantees runs will score that shouldn't.

For me, the problem is none of the girls executing it had any idea why they were doing it — or bothered to ask. If that's the case, how do you know whether you're doing it right or wrong, or getting out of it what you're supposed to?

In my opinion there are good drills and not-so-good drills. But even the not-so-good drills can serve a purpose in the right hands.

The reverse is also true — good drills can go bad if no one understands the point. As a player, it's critical that you understand what you're supposed to get out of a particular drill. Without that knowledge you're just wasting your time.

As a coach, it's critical that you explain the drill and what it's supposed to do. Merely asking players to execute drills with no understanding of the underlying reasons is just asking for trouble.

Even if they get it right they won't know why, and thus whatever you're trying to accomplish is not going to be accomplished; the players will just fall back on what they usually do as soon as the drill is done.

Many teams wear t-shirts that say "Practice with a purpose." Apparently some need to read those t-shirts and apply the lesson it contains.

Know what you're doing and why. If you're a player and you don't know, ask the question so you can understand it and either get the most out of it or ask someone more qualified if it makes sense. If you're a coach, be sure you understand it rather than simply copying something you saw at a clinic or someone else's practice on in a book or DVD. Because the more you know, the more likely you are to be doing something that will bring your team closer to success.

Anyway, that's the way I see it.

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

Tonight I was working with one of my top hitting students, a girl named Amy who always draws oohs and ahhs when people watch her swing the bat. She's a very good hitter, better than she herself realizes, I think, and really turned some heads as a varsity starter last year when she was a freshman.

Her normal swing is a good one, but tonight while we were doing some front toss I noticed something. At one point you could just see that something had changed with her — and changed for the better.

I had to stop and ask — did your concentration level just go up? Yes, she answered. She told me that the last swing, where the ball just jumped off her bat in what looked like it would've been a 300 foot home run if we were at a field instead of in a cage, she just totally blocked out all other thoughts and just focused on the ball.

What a concept, eh? We often tell hitters to "see ball, hit ball," but how often do they actually accomplish it? There's always some nagging thought getting in the way, whether it's an instruction, a consequence (such as I need to get a hit so we can score the runners on base), a fight with a parent or teammate, a fielding error from last inning or something else.

Yet what you really need as a hitter is that pure concentration. When you are totally focused, the ball looks bigger and gets slower. You're right there in the moment, just you and the ball, only you have a big ol' bat in your hands.

For younger players, that level of concentration is probably out of reach. (Don't even bother telling me your eight year old has it, because that's one sale you're never going to make.) But folder older players, say high school age and up, it can be done.

But like anything else it doesn't come naturally. To focus at that level you really have to practice it. Over and over until your brain hurts. It means being right there in the moment, while the moment occurs. And then letting it go.

You see, that's the other hard part about it. No one can maintain that level of concentration throughout a full game. Nor do they need to.

In case you hadn't noticed, fastpitch softball has a lot of starting and stopping built into it. What players have to do is learn to turn up the concentration like the gas jets on a stove when the pitch is delivered, then turn it back down to simmer when the play is over. Repeat until the game over.

Seeing that moment of pure concentration is a thrill to behold. It's fun when you realize something special just happened, that a player reached another level.

It was also quite a thrill for Amy herself. She just felt really good about the way she took the bat to the ball, and the result as well. Now the trick is to bottle that particular flash of lightning so it's available anytime.

It's not easy, but it's well worth it. And the beauty is you don't have to pay $300 on the Internet to get it. It's there for the taking — if you are willing to put in the work to capture it.

Anyway, that's the way I see it.

In this episode of Fastpitch.TV, Gary Leland shares an interview with former Olympian Tairia Flowers.  In this video Tairia talks about:

• when she first started playing softball
• being a catcher
• the importance of her teammates
• her high school softball career
• life lessons her high school coach taught her
• playing softball in college
• why UCLA is special
• what it's like to be an Olympian
• and more!

Written by Jen Croneberger

1. “It doesn’t take talent to hustle and be on time.” For many coaches, this is the first thing noticed.
Who shows up early? Who runs on and off the field EVERY TIME regardless of what others are doing? You should always be 15 minutes early or you will be considered late. And if you are late, you better be running, with cleats on ready to go, not having to still get “dressed” as you approach the field. Prepare ahead of time for situations that may potentially deter you from being on time so as to give the best initial impression to the coaches.
WE NEVER WALK in this game. ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. Hustle on and off the field and in everything you do and you will be noticed. You should come off the field after try- outs, and after every practice once the season starts, knowing that you gave 100% the entire time.

When you are “on time” that does not only mean “showing up physically there” at the time you are expected. It means coming to the field with your “game face” on. It means being ready to play the second the coach arrives. You are “locked on” and your mentality is nothing but focused on the game and the task at hand. Being on time is more than just what your watch says. It means being present and making sure you are 100% ready to go at all time. If you have difficulty staying focused, continually repeat to yourself, “Be here now.” This statement alone will improve your focus and overall playing ability.

Download the Full Short Report HERE

Written by Stacie Mahoe

Most coaches have fears, worries, or anxiety about something. In fact, I'm not sure I know any coaches who don't.  It's pretty normal, when you really care about something greatly, to have concerns or worries about it.

However there is one softball coaching fear in particular that I see get in the way of good coaching time after time.

Can you guess what it is?

It's the fear of what others will think about you. I've heard advisers in other areas of life say that if you really want to be successful, you have to stop caring what other people think of you and your choices.

I believe that holds true for coaching softball too.

It's an easy trap to fall into. You and I both know how many critics there are of any softball coach. It comes with the territory. It's tough not to take things personally. Sure we all intellectually know that we shouldn't, but that's not always easy.  You're not the only coach who finds challenge in not allowing whispers (for shouts for that matter) from the outside impact what you do and the choices you make as a coach.

After all, no one likes to be put down, especially when your are pouring your very heart and soul into something like many coaches do.  If you're reading this article, my guess is you are one of those coaches that really does care deeply about your responsibilities as a softball coach.  That's awesome, but it does make it tougher to "let the water roll off your back" so to speak.

While it's pretty "human" to care, sometimes too much, about what others think, the problem really comes in to play when that fear of what others think or what others might say outweighs your desire to make the best decision you can FOR YOUR PLAYERS!

When your worry or fear or anxiety over what people think becomes more of the center of your coaching life than doing what you believe is best for your team and your players, that's when you're really headed for trouble!  Don't let that happen.  Acknowledge it's human to sometimes feel hurt or upset by what's said outside your team, but also be aware of where your focus is as a coach.  Your focus, just like the focus of your team members, cannot be placed on issues outside the team if you want to succeed.

Always remember why you're coaching. You're not coaching and making decisions for the people in the stands or critics on the outside that could care less about your team, or you for that matter.  Your job as a softball coach is to help your players as much as you're possibly capable of.  Your genuine desire to truly help and serve the players you work with must always be the main force behind how you make decisions and choices as a softball coach.

The minute you start putting what others think ahead of the best interests of your team, you're asking for trouble!  Not only does that bring more stress upon you, it also typically results in poorer coaching choices and effectiveness which, obviously makes achieving success even tougher for both you and your team.

—

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Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

With fastpitch softball being as competitive as it is these days, most of us spend 100% of our time looking forward. We see the goals, they're out in the distance, and we're always looking to move ourselves closer to them.

But with the new year upon us, it might be a good time to take a look back, even just for a moment, to see how far you've come. I find that is often one of the most inspirational things you can do, and a good way to recharge the ol' enthusiasm for the journey ahead.

I've done this with a few of my students lately, especially the new ones. I ask them to think back to when we started back in August and September, and what things were like for them. I then go through a quick review of what we've worked on since then, capping it off with a count of the months we've been working on it.

For example, with a high school pitcher we might look back to find we've rebuilt her mechanics so they are more consistent and allow her to throw both harder and more accurately. We'll see she is throwing a change-up, and starting on a drop ball.

That's a lot to accomplish in three or four months. While we may still have a long way to go to reach her goals, she can at least feel good that she has gotten somewhere for all her hard work.

For a catcher it may be learning better stances, how to block, or improving her "pop" time — the time from when the pitch pops her glove to the time her throw pops the glove of the fielder on a steal. For a hitter it may be rebuilding her mechanics, adding power, increasing hard contact or overcoming mental blocks when facing an 0-2 pitch.

This "looking back" time doesn't just apply to individuals, either. You can do the same with a team.

For example, what if your bunt defense was awful in your first fall ball game, but improved considerably in the last few months? You can look at that with a sense of satisfaction, as everyone knows their assignments and the techniques to execute them.

Perhaps your team has learned several new defenses or a few defensive plays. Perhaps they've cut their times on fielding drills so they can execute successfully and faster. Your goal for ground balls may be field and throw in 3.0 seconds of less, and you're only at 3.25 right now. But if you were at 3.8 on average you've made some great progress, and are on your way to a better place.

While it's true you don't want to sit back on your laurels, it doesn't hurt to take a few moments to appreciate and enjoy your successes. Remember that reaching your goals is a long journey, and every long journey needs a few way stations along the way where you can stop and get ready for the next step.

Taking a few moments to appreciate your progress should also re-inspire you to keep going. There's a certain satisfaction in seeing where you were that can drive you to keep moving forward — lest you fall back again.

Anyway, that's the way I see it.