Free Softball Drills


by Becky Wittenburg - Date: 2007-04-20 - Word Count: 510 Share This!

Softball drills are what ultimately trains a team to win. It's very important that the various drills are adequate in teaching skills for different parts of the game. As the coach, it's your job to decide which drills will give the team the best practice. Here are some free softball drills that you can use.

While the main point of drills is to get practice, try to make them fun! One free softball drill that's a blast is the Machine Drill. You'll need access to a pitching machine like they have at batting cages. You must use three different colored balls: red, blue, and white. You will miscellaneously put the balls in the machine. Direct them to bunt the red balls, take the blue balls and hit away at the white balls. If the team has no access to a machine then use a large bucket with the balls in it and pitch to them.

Another free softball drill that is well-liked is called Knockout. This drill conditions the team's catching and throwing skills. You must split the team into two groups and send them to opposite corners of the field. You'll be the pitcher for one group and the assistant coach can take the other. This drill should be speedy. You'll throw the ball to the first person, the player catches it and then successfully throws it back to you. Each time this happens, the team will get a point. If the player doesn't catch the ball or she doesn't throw a catchable one back to you, no point is scored and she must go to the end of the line. This drill should only last about five minutes. Just for fun you can make it so that the winning team gets to sit out during the next running or jogging warm-up.

The last free softball drill is a team-building activity. It's called Stepping Stones. You will lay out seven pieces of cardboard and have groups of six. The middle piece should be empty. You will put three people, facing the middle, on both sides of the empty piece. The goal is for the people to exchange places with the middle still empty at the end. There are some restrictions: Only one player can move at a time; players can only move forward; a player can jump another player if there is an empty piece on the other side but you can't jump more than one player; after each move everybody must be on their own piece. There's another twist since this is a softball drill. You'll give one person a softball. Whoever is going to be moving must be holding the ball; therefore, the players will have to toss the ball to one another and catch it and it's only then that they can move. This drill calls for teamwork and communication, plus they'll be practicing balancing, throwing and catching.

All of these free softball drills work different skills. All of the skills that are being used are skills that are needed for the game. These drills are both fun and useful!


Related Tags: softball, free softball drills, softball drills, softball practice drills, youth softball drills

Becky Wittenburg has been coaching softball for over 15 years- it is her true passion. If you'd like more free softball drills, visit her blog:

http://www.softball-spot.com/

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