SYAC Coaches Clinic Pages

Here we are building resources for Coaches, with links to places on the web that tell coaches how to run practices or games, etc., coaches' sign in page, etc.

One of the easiest and most inspiring things you can do, of course, is to watch college-level womens' softball on TV with your daughters. The College Softball World Series takes place usually at the end of May every year. Here's a clip from the 2003 World Series so you can get an idea of what it's all about:

Clinics
The first stop on your trip should be the SYAC/SHS Varsity Clinics. Materials distributed at the annual event can be found in this section. Click on a link below to go to that part of the Clinic:

A Coach's Letter to Parents	80 Ways to Say "Very Good"
Practice Organization	Softball Hitter Evaluation
Simple Hitting Drills	8 Drills with the *hit-n-stik*
Fielding Techniques	Developing the Windmill Pitch

A wonderful resource for coaches is the Tom Emanski video series on the Dynamic Practice Organization. It's also available at Online Sports.

Another great link we've found is here: http://coachnick0.tripod.com/sb2day/index.html. Check this page out.

Scoring
A very useful resource on how to manage your scorebook can be found in Dan's Guide to Baseball Scorekeeping.

Angel Mangual Teaches Fielding, Running and Hitting

*ANGEL SAYS... DON’T PUSH THE PIE >>>* “Don’t throw like you’re throwing a pie. Throw in a circular motion. Bring the arm forward, but keep the body in a straight line toward your destination. End with your palm flat to the ground.” *PRACTICE DRILL:* Begin practice with soft tosses. Have girls kneel (without gloves) five feet apart and flick the wrist to soft toss to each other. Little by little, move back but use the entire arm and then body to throw.

ANGEL SAYS... POINT TO YOUR DESTINATION >>> “To align your body to throw, point your glove where you want the ball to go and extend your throwing arm back—loosely, not rigidly. As your throwing arm comes forward, pull your glove into your body to keep your body in line.” *PRACTICE DRILL:* Hold a towel in your throwing hand. Have a teammate kneel down and hold up their glove. Bring your throwing arm forward (bending your body) and swat the glove—hard!

ANGEL SAYS...FIELD OUT IN FRONT OF YOU >>> “Field the ball out in front of you (and not underneath you). If you fumble it, you have more of a chance to recover and make the play. Remember the three C’s: catch, cover and cradle the ball.”

ANGEL SAYS...HIT THE FRONT OF THE BAG >>> “Coordinate your steps to hit the front of the bag with your lead foot. At first, run through the bag then break down as soon as you hit the bag—and look to advance on an overthrow.” *Note: This photo is from Rusty Torres' Player Skills Clinic on April 16th.*

ANGEL SAYS...HITTING IS NOT ROTATIONAL >>> “To drive the ball, don’t pull off and rotate too early. This line of balls shows the path of the bat—when you make the mistake of rotating too early.”

*ANGEL SAYS...DON’T DROP YOUR BAT >>>* “The #1 mistake is that girls drop the head of the bat to ‘swing level.’ This makes a long swing, and girls can’t catch up with the pitch. Instead, go straight to the ball with a short, compact swing.”

*ANGEL SAYS...LINE UP THE KNUCKLES >>>*

*ANGEL SAYS...MAKE AN INVERTED ‘V’ >>>* “Keep your hands higher than your elbows in an ‘inverted V.’ This helps you go straight to the ball with a short swing.”

*ANGEL SAYS...LEAD WITH YOUR ELBOW >>>* “Come through the strike zone, leading with your elbow first, then the knob of the bat, then the barrel. Practice this motion by isolating muscles: Use a small bat with the top hand only, then the bottom hand only. Do this on your knees to isolate the top of your body.”

*DRILL >>>* Isolate parts of your swing. Use a small bat to practice coming through the strike zone properly.

*ANGEL SAYS...KEEP ELBOWS IN, DON’T CAST OUT >>>* “Don’t lose all your power by ‘casting out.’ Practice keeping your swing compact by having someone hold up a barrier.”

		*<<< ANGEL SAYS...PRACTICE WITH A FENCE* “Keep your swing compact by practicing swinging next to a fence.”

*ANGEL SAYS...SMACK FIVE GLASSES OF WATER >>>* “To drive the ball, extend your bat like you’re smacking five glasses of water lined up on a table. Then finish high. This line of balls shows the RIGHT path of the bat when you drive the ball.”

		*<<< ANGEL SAYS...ROTATE WITH YOUR HIPS* “Power comes from rotating your hips in the swing, not just your upper body or your feet. Practice this motion by placing the bat behind your butt and rotating.”

*ANGEL SAYS...HIT OUT IN FRONT OF THE PLATE >>>* “Make contact out in front of the plate, and keep your hands ‘inside the ball.’ Where you drive the ball depends on the pitch. Here’s is a ball to drive to left field...a ball to center...and a ball to right, all at the spots where you should hit them.”

		*<<< ANGEL SAYS...FORGET THE STRIDE* “I don’t teach stride because too many things can go wrong, too many things throw off your balance. Pivot with the hips, instead, and you have all the power you need.”