Dot Richardson on Fastpitch Talk Radio

Well, I am excited to announce that Dr. Dot Richardson is going to be on the next Episode of Fastpitch Talk Radio. She has so much passion and enthusiasm for the game! I think you'll enjoy the interview with her. She'll be featured in the show that comes out next Monday.

Don't forget to join us then!

Hope you have a wonderful week.

Ouch! My Finger

Sorry I haven't really posted anything in a while. On Monday my 9-yr-old was tossing me some balls and I was bunting while we were waiting for the team I coach to warm up. Well, one of her tosses went awry and came for my head. I ducked and was just going to use the bat to keep it away, but at the last second I decided to hold up my hand in front of the bat and block the ball. Yeah - wrong move! The ball did hit my hand, but apparently my hand was too close to the bat because the tip of my ring finger got caught between the ball and the bat.

I could NOT believe how much that hurt. She wasn't even throwing very hard at all. Anyway - the tip of my finger got all bruised and swollen. I could feel my pulse in that finger tip for 2 days. It is getting better now, but for someone who normally types 50+ wpm, I have been slowed down significantly because I haven't been able to use that finger. Therefore, I am only about half as productive on the computer (because typing takes soooooo much longer right now) and have only been typing when necessary. BUT, I'm glad to say that my finger is feeling a bit better and I should be back up to speed and updating this blog more frequently by the end of this week. I'm hoping to be able to put my hand back into my glove within the next few days too.

It was my left hand that got caught - I was bunting from the left side, so my right hand was down my the bat handle and my left was the one that went up to block and ended up between the ball and the barrel of the bat. *sigh* Never gonna do that again.

Mililani Wins OIA Championship

The Mililani Trojans defeated the Campbell Sabers 4-2 in last night's OIA championship game. With the win Mililani earn one of the top 4 seeds going into the state tournament and a first round bye.

Newspaper coverage of the championship game can be read in the Honolulu Advertiser.

Hawaii High School Post Season Heats Up

The Hawaii High School OIA playoff tournament is well under way. The OIA is comprised of all the public schools on the island of O'ahu (biggest conference in the state). The OIA playoff tournament starts off as a 12 team tournament (top 6 from the East and top 6 from the West). Yesterday all teams that had a first round bye (top 2 from each side) had their first playoff game and all 4 won.

So #1 & #2 from the East and from the West make up today's OIA semifinal match up. Campbell (#1 West) will face Kailua (#2 East) and Mililani (#2 West) will face Moanalua (#1 East). All 4 of these teams have already secured a berth in the Hawaii State Championship tournament which runs from Jan. 31st through Feb. 3rd.

The 4 teams that lost yesterday will play today to try to advance to tomorrow's 5th place game. Winners of the games will advance, losing teams end their season. The ones that do make it to the 5th place game will also secure a spot in the Hawaii Softball State Championship Tournament.

Newspaper coverage of yesterday's games can be read HERE.

Off to a Great Start in 2007!

Wow! I did something today that I haven't done for a while: check website stats. I have to say I was surprised, but very pleased. I have to send out a big THANKS to YOU for helping AllAboutFastpitch.com get off to a great start in 2007!

So far this month, the website has already received 61,361 hits as of end of the day on Jan. 17th! We're barely past the half way mark for the month. Compare that to November and December's numbers that were 70,986 and 60,775 respectively. That's right, AllAboutFastpitch.com has gotten more hits so far in January than in all of December!

Also, the record high for Fastpitch Member sign-ups was 138 for the month of March 2006. So far this month, 109. Definitely on track to smash the previous high of 138.

Obviously Nov/Dec is a slower time of year for softball, which was reflected in AAF website stats and I have to admit that I was getting a little discouraged. For the past few months, I kind of gave up checking web stats because what I was seeing wasn't very exciting. You have no idea how pumped up I was to see the difference this month!

Thank you so much for being a part of AllAboutFastpitch.com and for recommending us to others that you know. Now I know added effort I'm putting in to make 2007 a great year is worth it and is paying off. I'm seeing results and I thank you for supporting AAF!

How to Maintain a Positive Team Attitude

Cindy Bristow has unleashed her brand new website and I will be telling you more about it later as well as giving you my opinion on some of the products there after I've had a chance to look at them. However, there is one freebie I took a look at today and like very much.

It's called How to Maintain a Positive Team Attitude and this is such an important topic. Some years, as a coach, you don't need to worry about it as much as others, but when you get to that season when attitude is something you really need to work on, or when you know that that will make the difference between your team taking it to the next level or not, this little report just might help you out.

Go get it, it's free. Visit www.softballexcellence.com and click on the Free Stuff link that is in the left hand margin of the screen. This particular report is on page 6 of the freebies offered at www.softballexcellence.com. Here's to a positive season!

The Report Is Ready!

Yup - here it is. Ready for you to check out:

What Softball Players Really Think About Coaches

Players Thoughts Report Available Monday

Whew! I've been working hard to get this report ready for you. Once I get my mind made up to get something done, I usually end up on a roll and it's tough for me to stop until it's done.

Soooo.....what that means is, the report I talked about in my last post will be ready for you tomorrow! That's right, it'll be up and ready on Monday, January 15th. Fastpitch Members will be the first to get the link via e-mail. After that, I'll post the link here so that you can grab it for yourself.

Secrets - Players Thoughts About Coaches Revealed!

Hey coaches! How often do you get feedback from players and find out what they really think? If we, as coaches, want to be able to impact the players we work with, we have to have some idea of where they're coming from.

With that in mind, AllAboutFastpitch.com has compiled a bunch of thoughts and feedback from actuall, real, living and breathing softball players! Just as managers in the corporate world utilize employee evaluations to improve their management skills, you can take the information in this report and allow it to help you become a better, more effective softball coach.

We've just about wrapped up "What Players Really Think About Softball Coaches" and will have it available for you next week!

Check back with us or sign up to be a Fastpitch Member so that you can get this report when it's ready.

Teamwork Rules

All I have to say today is, it's amazing the results that can be achieved when a team plays together instead of as individuals. It's all over our Team Building Quotes page, but I've personally seen it in action all season long this high school season.

New Resident Expert - Marc Dagenais

We've just added a new resident expert to our team. Mr. Marc Dagenais will be joining us here at AllAboutFastpitch.com. Marc is a softball peak performance coach and also runs www.SoftballPerformance.com. He is well respected in the softball community and is also a regular contributor with Fastpitch Forever Magazine and in the NFCA newsletter.

Learn more about Marc at our Meet the Experts Page and be on the lookout for his first contribution to our column later this month.

Free clinic by Michelle Smith

Michelle Smith will host a FREE fastpitch softball clinic at Oklahoma State University (in Stillwater) on February 4th, 2007. This clinic will be open to the public and begins at 2:00 pm at the OSU Athletics Center. There will be an autograph and photo opportunity following the clinic.

At the clinic, Smith will:
~ Break down the throwing motion in easy-to-understand phrases
~ Demonstrate the proper technique
~ Discuss fastpitch fundamentals
~ and share her keys to success

The event is being held in conjunction with the 21st annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which focuses on the positive influence of sports participation. For more information, contact OSU Athletics at 405-744-3067 or visit www.okstate.com.

Interview with Rockford Thunder GM

Next week Monday, January 8th - Fastpitch Talk Radio Epsiode 7 will be ready for you to listen to. This episode will include an interview with Aaron Moore, General Manager of the Rockford Thunder (NPF). To listen, simply to go www.fastpitchtalkradio.com and click on the Listen Now button.

Again, this interview will be up and ready for you to listen to on Monday, Jan. 8th.

Fastpitch Softball Resources - What's Hot!

I just took a look at what AllAboutFastpitch.com visitors are buying as far as softball resources are concerned and I just thought I'd share it with you.

Here are the most popular softball resources purchased by AllAboutFastpitch.com visitors during the 4th quarter of 2006.

Books
The Softball Coaching Bible
101 Offensive Softball Drills
Defensive Softball Drills

DVD's
Increasing Speed: Troubleshooting Tips and Drills for Increasing Pitching Velocity

Basics 1-2-3: The Basics & Fundamentals for the Windmill Pitcher

Uphill Fitness Training

Well, I finally did it. I went over to Coach K's website and bought his Uphill Fitness Training program. I will certainly let you know what I think of it once I get it. From everything I've been reading in Coach K's newsletter I'm sure it's awesome (I wouldn't have spent the money on it otherwise).

My husband even wants to see it because he's trying to get into better shape and thinks this just may be what he needs to do so. I want it for the same reason and because I'm sure I'll be able to use it help the players I coach become faster while also getting into better shape without taking up a lot of practice time.

So for me, there were more reasons to go ahead and buy it than there were to pass the opportunity by. Plus my husband's been bugging me for about a month now to just do it.

So in the spirit of the New Year, it's done. I'm getting it. If you want it too, or you'd like to learn more about it, CLICK HERE to visit Coach K's website. While you're there, even if you don't buy now, at least sign up for his newsletter. I did and have found the messages well worth reading. To be honest, my guess is that you'll eventually get Coach K's Uphill Fitness Training anyway, so, in the spirit of the New Year - Just Do It!

PLUS, if you click the Order Now button today and proceed to checkout, you'll see that Coach K is offering a special 20% discount right now. If I'm not mistaken, there are only 5 more left at the discounted price though.

There were 6, but I took one, so Go Now and get Coach K's Uphill Fitness Training today.

Happy New Year

Well 2007 is finally here! I'm looking forward to this year and hope it's a great year for you too. In this New Year, I'm working on a new project and am asking for your help in making it the best it can be. Basically, all I want to know is:

What is your #1 question on strength and conditioning for softball?

Those of you who are fastpitch members have already started sending questions in (Thank you!). But for those of you who aren't - this is your chance to have that question answered. Just e-mail me what you'd like to know about strength and conditioning for softball the e-mail address is:
allaboutfastpitch [at] hawaii.rr.com (replace [at] with the @ symbol).