NOTE: Learn to check yourself from the feet up…every time. This will keep you from missing certain parts of the swing and more easily allow you to remember all details.

Rest Position – How does it look, how does it feel? Are you comfortable? Is your weight about 40% front foot and 60% back foot? Are you on the balls of your feet with your weight bearing on the inside of your slightly flexed knees and again, the balls of your feet? Hands about 4-6” from your body? Tall back side? Head equal distant between both feet, eyes level, so both eyes see the ball?

Load Position – Take a negative move (this is when you “load” with your hands moving toward your back shoulder) and hands held high (at the top of the strike zone). Can you feel the slight pull of muscles from your torso and upper body…like the winding of a spring? Keep your stride shorter rather than longer! Hands go toward the back of your body while front foot strides toward pitcher (some coaches will call this ‘walking away from your hands’).

NOTE: Your body should now be 80% on the back foot and only 20% on front foot with knees slightly flexed.

Contact position – Are you up on the toes of your back foot, is your front foot slightly open at a 45% angle with FRONT KNEE BRACED AND LOCKED? Are your hands in a palm up and palm down position? Head still and between both legs like a stickman drawing? Are your eyes staring right at the point of contact?

Finish – Are you hitting off a firm front side with your front knee locked? Are you still balanced with head between both legs so as not to be lunging forward? Is the bat completely wrapped around your back? Is your head still?

Coach JP’s Note
This is a generic list of checkpoints and should help most players. It is not designed to change any advanced players who now have a set schedule and their own way of doing things. This should supply you with solid information that will keep you in a good, strong hitting position throughout the entire swing.

Face it, on any given day there are a multitude of factors that can adversely affect your game. The biggest dynamic I see in the game is SPEED - pure running speed. It seems that no matter what else may be going on on the field, it shows up every day, on every play. In our on-going efforts of attempting to dispel the training myths of baseball, so that you can perform better and more safely, adjust your running program to include speed development.

Speed changes the face of most any game. Look at this graphical representation of how 40 yard dash times play out on the football field:

[NOTE: You’ll need to go to www.baseballfit.com/baseball-speed-training.htm to see this chart]

Note that there is 2-3 FEET separating each of the times; i.e., when the guy running a 4.3 time finishes, he’s about 3 feet ahead of the 4.4 guy, and so on down the line. Times that are only .1 apart are not that significant, but look at the difference between times that are .2 or more seconds apart (approximately 6 feet of distance). If the defensive lineman with 4.8 speed doesn’t grab the 4.3 or 4.4 running back as he scoots through the line, he has no chance of catching up to him.

So let’s translate this to baseball and softball.

What happens when a hitter with lightning speed steps into the batter’s box? Depending on the game situation, the coach may have the IF defense play “in,” giving them a better chance to throw out the batter on a bunt or slow roller. However, this makes it tougher for the IF to react to hard hit balls, increasing the chances of the ball getting through for a hit.

Remember, baseball is one big race. A runner’s speed down the baseline against a fielder’s quickness and throwing speed in catching the ball and firing it across the IF before the runner reaches the desired base. There’s the “race” between the base runner and the “battery” (pitcher/catcher). And this leads us to another key way speed affects baseball: when a pitcher has to deal with a base stealing “threat” on base.

As this runner takes his lead, do you think the batter has the pitcher’s full attention? No way! That runner’s speed is a distraction - if even a small one - that increases the batter’s chances of seeing a more hittable pitch.

Using our figures from the football example above, we know that .1 of a second translates to about 3 feet of distance. Three feet of distance can easily be the difference between a stolen base and an out, or beating out a slow roller for an IF single.

And all of this means more base runners, which usually means more runs, which usually means more wins. And the really great thing about speed is this:

SPEED SHOWS UP EVERY DAY

Pitchers don’t always have their best stuff, hitters go through slumps, and fielding errors are made all the time. But I have yet to hear a speedy ball player tell me, “Coach, I feel SLOW today.”

I could go on with this, but I think you get my point. SPEED, pure running speed combined with intelligent base-running, can be a devastating “weapon” to unleash on your opponents. It is used offensively AND defensively and is essential for ALL players, other than pitchers.

How To Train For Speed Development

Running speed has two main components: Stride Length and Stride Frequency. Both of these refer to running mechanics, which is beyond the scope of this report. A good way for ball players to improve their running mechanics is to talk to their school’s track coach to see if they can get some help with their sprinting technique.

From a conditioning standpoint, a key factor in speed development is intensity of effort. When you sprint at speeds below 90% of maximum effort, you are training for something other than speed. Data suggests that you have to train at or near 100% of maximal effort to maintain or improve speed. [1]

The best way to increase your speed and train the alactic-anaerobic energy system is through interval training, otherwise known as running sprints. A distance of from 30 - 100 yards is sufficient; vary the distance each workout. Use a work:rest ratio of 1:5, with 8-10 sprints per workout, 2 days/week. The longer the sprint distance, the fewer the reps.

Also consider speed enhancement techniques such as Assisted Acceleration (like running downhill on a slight 7-10 degree slope). This is also known as “OverSpeed Training” which trains a runner to move the legs more quickly through the range of motion. Resisted Acceleration (OverLoad Training) employs weighted vests, dragging a sled, and parachutes. This trains a runner to move more quickly under a heavier than normal load.

These techniques can help even the slowest player improve their speed by a tenth of a second or two. Remember, that tenth of a second can be the difference between a base hit and an out!

Make yourself more valuable to your team - Train For Speed!

The best magnetic lineup board is about 8.5″ x 14″ and consists of a position diagram of the softball field on the top, positions for a batting order on the bottom, and a hook so it can be easily hung in the dugout for everyone to see. You simply place magnets with the player’s names in the position on the diagram that they will be playing. If you will be subbing in to a position you can go ahead and put the sub’s magnetic above or below the starter’s magnet. The same is true with the batting order. If you know you will be subbing in for a hitter just put the sub’s magnet next to the starter’s magnet.

The real beauty to a magnetic lineup board is before the game has started when you are putting together your game strategy. After making your initial batting order it’s very easy to adjust for who’s hot and who’s not, or if you need a bunter in the second or third position, and if you change the batting order will that change who you want to play on defense and where you can make those changes. You can also see the effect your substitutions will have on positions and the batting order. What you used to have to envision in your mind you can now see on the board, both offensively and defensively and for the entirety of the game not just the start of the game. It let’s you create your game strategy prior to the game. It’s called HAVING A PLAN.

Hey Coach, Listen Up

The decisions you make in determining your lineup WILL AFFECT the outcome of the game. Once the game has started there’s not much opportunity to correct a poor batting order. Sometimes it’s easy to put together a line up. Other times, we’ve spent 10 or 15 minutes maneuvering players around on our magnetic lineup board to assess the strengths and weaknesses and determining what we needed for the upcoming game. I can’t imagine going through this exercise with paper and pen.

Whether your fastpitch softball team, or baseball team, is a beginning team or a highly skilled tournament team, putting your players in the right positions, building the best batting order, and having a plan for your substitutions, will decide the outcome of many fastpitch softball games. A magnetic lineup board costs about $20.00. Twenty dollars is a cheap investment to KNOW that you have given your team their best opportunity to win. Hey, it’s worth the twenty bucks just not to have to answer the question “who do I bat after” 500 times during the season.

There are two magnetic lineup boards on the market. The Easton brand and the Coacher brand. They both cost about $20.00, HOWEVER, the Coacher board is the clear winner. The Easton board does not have a field diagram which prevents you from visualizing the starting defense and, just as important, the defense after substitutions have been made. The Coacher board does have the field diagram.

In conclusion, I would grade the Easton board a C because it is better than using a piece of paper. The Coacher board gets an A+ as it is the complete package and the superior product. For the same investment, you have the choice of the Mercedes or the Pinto.