Team Tryout Tips Wanted

For those of you out there who are experienced in holding tryouts and evaluating players, we want to hear from you. I just received an e-mail from a coach who will be holding tryouts and is expecting 40-80 players per age level. He wants any and all tryout tips from coaches who've been through this process before.

What should coaches look for?
What should they evaluate players on?
Any specific skills the players should perform or drills they should run through?
What about non-skill related issues - set up? Forms? Length of tryout? etc?

If you have some good tryout tips, please share them by leaving a comment here at the blog (click on the comment link below) or e-mail them to us at allaboutfastpitch@hawaii.rr.com.

Thanks in advance!

For parents of teens

Aloha ~ I know some of you have teenage ball players or are parents of teens. I just wanted to share a Parenting My Teen website with you. It's going to be an internet radio/podcast type program. It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. I know the owner of the site from my online ventures and learning experiences and she's a great gal.

I think it'll be a lot of fun and a cool support/resource for parents with teens. One day I'm going to have 3 teenage girls ~ Yikes! I know I'll be making use of that podcast when that time comes.

Check it out at http://www.parentingmyteen.com/

New website in the works

Hey - just wanted to let you know about a brand new website I have in the works. I'm looking at unveilling it around Sept. 1st. It's already up and functional, but I'm waiting on some graphics as well as additional content to be added. Once it's ready, I'll post an announcement here as well as send an e-mail out to all Fastpitch Members.

The new site is going to be all about training for fastpitch softball:

Speed, agility, quickness, strength, injury prevention, nutrition, injury rehabilitation and more. There will also be a section in which I'll post questions that visitors have and have our experts answer. I already have 5 trainers who all have experience with training softball players ready to contribute their knowledge and expertise to this site. It's going to be so cool! If you have any questions on training for softball please send them in to me at allaboutfastpitch@hawaii.rr.com and I'll see if I can include them on the site and have them answered for you by our experts when the site is ready to open.

Special Report for Coaches Coming Soon

I'm about to release a Special Report for Softball Coaches. This report is completely, 100% free to you. Stay on the look out for the announcement as I will post the link to where you can get this report next week. If you are a Fastpitch Member, you will find out about this via e-mail before the start of August before it's announced here.

Here's a small preview of what's in the report:

~ Words from Cindy Bristow
~ Words from Mike Candrea
~ Attracting Quality Coaches for your Coaching Staff
~ Reducing unwanted parent confrontations
~ and more....

Again this report is free - no strings - no credit card needed. Check back next week for more information or sign up to become a Fastpitch Member free to be notified by e-mail.

Playing is easier than coaching

I never had a problem playing multiple games of softball in one day or over the course of the weekend. But, boy is it tiring to coach that same number of games. I don't ever remember feeling so wiped out after playing 2 or 3 game, but coaching is a whole different matter.

On top of that, I always have this urge to go put on a uniform and do things myself. Hey, I would have blended right in with one of the 10U teams my daughter played this weekend. Most of the girls on that team were already bigger than me! Anyway, the point is, sometimes it's so hard to sit on the side and not be able to do anything. As a coach, you can't go out there and get the hit your team needs or make the defensive plays. That was one of the hardest things for me to get used to when I first started coaching - not being able to "do" anything during the game. You just have to hope that the preparation you did in practice was enough. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

I guess coaching is good practice for being a parent. At one point or another in your child's life, you have to hope the parenting you did was enough to prepare them for a happy life. You can't live their life for them and do everything for them, much as you may like to.

Back to coaching vs. playing, I think touch game situations where easier and less stressful to handle when I was playing and could actually do something about them. But I also know that showing anxiety or stress on the sideline probably doesn't help my team have the confidence they need on the field. I don't know how many coaches realize just how much their actions, facial expressions, and non-verbal communication can affect their team.

Best Coaching Tips

I'm sure you've gotten some really great coaching tips over the years. We're interested in hearing the best coaching advice you've ever gotten. Simply go to

http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/forms/use/CoachingTips/form1.html

to share your thoughts.

Annoucement - Free Speed Training E-Course

We now have a completely FREE, 5-Day, Speed Training E-Course available to anyone who's interested.

Speed Training: What Coaches (and Parents) Need to Know

Signing up for this FREE E-Course is super simple. For more information about this E-Course or to sign up today, visit http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/GetSpeed.html

Feel free to tell your friends and family about this E-Course offer. There's no catch, there's no fee to pay, it's free for everyone. Just direct them to the link above.

Pro Softball on TV Today

I plan to watch the taped delayed pro softball game on ESPN2 today. Thanks to Rick Pauly, I had a heads up on the game and was able to find when it would air on the Pro Fastpitch website. So, I plan to watch, but just in case something comes up or I forget (unlikely I'll forget) I have my DVR set up to record the entire broadcast!

Anyway - if you want to check it out, it's on ESPN2 and I believe it airs at 8pm EST because it starts at 2pm here in Hawaii. It'll be the first time I'm getting to watch a pro game so I can't wait!Thunder vs. Brakettes. Just thought you might be interested in checking it out too.

Bill Hillhouse Pitching Clinic in Hawaii

The Hawaii Pitching Clinic with Bill Hillhouse is ON! Bill will be here on October 21st and 22nd. We're working on finalizing some of the necessary details before putting out flyers, registration forms, and our press release, but there is already great interest in this clinic.

Here's a preliminary outline of the event.

Saturday - October 21
Pitching Clinic - 3 sessions
9:00-11:00 - ages 9-12
1:00-3:00 - ages 13-15
4:00-6:00 - ages 16-18+

Note: each session is limited to 20 pitchers so contact us as soon as possible to reserve a spot. Also, all pitchers must provide their own catcher.

Sunday - October 22
Small Group Sessions/Team Sessions
Take advantage of a one hour team session for your pitchers only. Bill directly with your pitchers for one full hour. There are only 5 Team Session slots available so reserve a spot for your team as soon as possible because these small group session will go fast!
Team Session Package: $100/team (no more than 4 pitchers recommended)

When we have more details (location, price, firm times, directions, etc) we'll post them here at the blog as well as at the Hawaii Softball Page.

Check back or e-mail me at allaboutfastpitch@hawaii.rr.com for more information.

Team USA dominating World Cup of Softball

Wow! USA Women's Softball Team seems to be on the top of their game this week as they are crushing opponents winning 4 of their 5 round robin games by the run rule. I was hoping that Japan would give them a tough game so that I could watch a close, intense game, but it was not to be. The US will face Japan again in the championship game where US batters will likely face Ueno who did not pitch today's game.

Team USA's bats have been so hot lately though that I'm guessing they'll be able to continue their offensive pressure. There really isn't much of a weak spot anywhere in the lineup. Lowe and Whatley supply such unbelievable speed at the top of the order. These two speedsters are then followed up by the extreme power or Mendoza, Bustos, and Nuveman. Even, the number 8 batter in the lineup hit a grand slam in round robin play. On top of all of that, I can only imagine what a coaches dream it must be to have such a deep, talent filled pitching staff.

Go USA!

July Interview Ready - Denise Dahlberg

Our July Fastpitch Interview is ready - we featured Ms. Denise Dahlberg. She is a catcher with the Texas Thunder Professional Fastpitch Softball Team. You can read Denise's interview by clicking here.

The interview with Mr. Larry Ray is still to come. The timing of it may be pushed back a little. As you can imagine, Mr. Ray is quite busy, so putting everything together is taking a bit more time that previously expected. We'll certainly keep you informed of the progress on that and let you know when that interview is posted.

Hope you are having a wonderful summer. Have a great weekend and enjoy the interview.

Getting the short end of the stick

Yes, I know that softball isn't a "revenue generating" sport, but why should football always get "world class" facilities while softball fields remain in a condition that is on the lower end of "playable?"

There is a story at InsideBayArea.com about how softball and baseball field improvements were cancelled due to funding. Of course, the district decided not to scale back football improvements at all, but decided to completely cut out field improvements. Why say something you can't even come close to doing? I'm sure the softball and baseball players would appreciate even a small improvement, like the playing field being level and much more playable.

Like I said, I know the big interest is football - even I'm a football fan, and I understand that we (softball, girls in general) will probably always get the short end of the stick, but must it be so short that it's more like a splinter than an actual full end of a stick?

What kind of coach are you?

Are you the type of coach who would take pride in having a team where all girls have good fundamentals? Each player shows they have good footwork and good mechanics?

Or would your team be one where the middle infielders can turn a double, but the rest of the players are far behind and most don't know diddly squat?

Do you approach all the players the same and if they excel great, if what you're doing doesn't work for them they fall behind?

Or do you coach each girl in a way that brings the best out of them?

Soul searching time - What kind of coach are you?

Clinic with Cindy Bristow - Good stuff

I was able to catch bit and pieces of Cindy's coaches clinic this past weekend. I definitely enjoyed what I was able to be a part of. We had a camp for players running at the same time and most of my time was spent there helping out. But I did get to meet a few people that I've previously only "conversed" with online (including Cindy). I also met some opposing high school coaches which was interesting.

If you have a chance to go to a clinic with Cindy, I would recommend it. It's always great to hear from someone who has experiences that back up what they talk about. Cindy also has a way of mixing in humor with what she's saying. I laughed quite a bit and had fun because many of the stories she told to illustrate her points reminded me of things that I've experienced. Another thing I realized (being one of only 2 women coaches there) was that often times men don't understand things that I do because I've been in the shoes of the players. Even those coaches that played sports, some of them just don't realized some things simply because they are men. I mean I knew I probably related to the players a little better, but Cindy talked about one thing in particular which was right on. I knew she was right on because it was like she was describing me as a player. But it never dawned on me that men may not understand that that's how most females are.

What she was talking about was how we don't like to separate ourselves from the group. For me that was so, so, absolutely true. Maybe as I got older, I didn't care so much because I gained more confidence and higher self esteem, but it certainly was true up through, probably my sophomore year in high school. I did not want to be singled out or be different - not even in a good way. I never wanted to lead drills. I never wanted to be first in line. I would rather see some others go through the drill less than perfect before having to do it myself in front of everyone. I never wanted to stand out skill wise above the other girls either. Because girls talk - they'll tease or make trouble to the ones that stand out. That's just how girls are. Which is why my daughter surprises me because she is the total opposite of how I was. She's only 9 and she doesn't care - she wants to always be in the front of the line. Whether she knows the drill or not, whether she can do the drill or not, she wants to try it first. Even though there have been times when she messed up going first in front of everyone else in the group, that hasn't discouraged her from racing to the front of any line she's in. If you're a guy, maybe that's not so strange, but it's surprising for me to see because I was not like that, especially at that age.

But luckily, as I got older, like I said, it didn't matter to me as much. Probably because at that point, not many people would really say anything. If my teammates talked is wasn't in a spiteful way and I knew that, so it didn't hurt. Since it didn't hurt, I no longer worried about being different. I had fun being who I was and being the best I could be at it. This wasn't only in softball but in other areas too. Where some people go through lots of peer pressure to drink and do other things they shouldn't - I never had to deal with that. No one really tried to pressure me into doing anything. I'm not exactly sure why that is, it just never happened. I'm not saying that I was never asked to drink or do any of those things, but simply once I declined, that was the end of it.

But I don't know that that happens for all young ladies. Maybe some of them live through their entire high school years having spiteful things said about them. Some of them are under much more pressure from peers than I ever was. If that's the case, they may never get out of that zone of trying to fit in.

Possible Clinic with Bill Hillhouse - Hawaii

I'm currently working on arranging for Bill Hillhouse (www.houseofpitching.com) to come to Hawaii and put on a clinic for the local pitchers, coaches, and parents. The clinic is tentatively scheduled for October 21-22. We're awaiting confirmation on a location before we begin finalizing plans.

In order to keep the costs down for the players, we are also looking for sponsors for the clinic. If you are interested in helping bring Mr. Hillhouse here for the benefit of the local Hawaii players, please e-mail me at allaboutfastpitch@hawaii.rr.com. If you know of a company or sponsor who would be interested in contributing to this type of event, please go ahead and shoot me an e-mail as well.

If you are a player, coach, or parent who is interested in attending this pitching clinic with Mr. Hillhouse and would like more information on the clinic just go ahead and contact me using the e-mail address above.

I know I'm looking forward to having Bill come down here to work with our local pitchers and coaches. So hopefully, we'll be able to get everything squared away to make it happen!

Happy 4th of July

I know it's a day early, but I probably won't be on the computer tomorrow due to the holiday. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!

Hope you're having a great weekend ~ enjoy the holiday.