I’d like to start off by having an introduction between myself and the player (parents are always welcome). For beginners, the most important skills to learn are fundamentals. This is crucial for every successful player. For fielding, I like to introduce what I call “everydays”. This includes nothing more than a glove and a ball, as I get players comfortable with using their glove to all of the different movements and directions a ball comes from. This helps get players comfortable with their movement and muscle memory as well as hand-eye coordination skills. For throwing, I like to start with what I call “the routine”. This includes a routine that each player will follow any time they are warming up to throw. Not only can this teach players how to throw, it will also help build muscle memory and confidence in their throwing. For hitting, I like to start with an introduction to the bat and the different components on their piece of equipment. I believe a better understanding of their equipment allows a player to better know how to use it. Then, based on a players level of hitting, we will tailor lesson plans based on where they are at.
As a student becomes confident in the basics, and is being challenged with faster paced workouts and lessons, we will begin to move forward to more intermediate skills. This will be tailored to each player individually.
As we progress, I would like to see the player being able to stick to their routines and fundamentals they have learned, being able to warm up and get loose while feeling comfortable to do so. As a player begins to feel more comfortable and confident, we will move on to faster paced workouts and lesson plans. Individual to each player, I will assess where they are at and tailor each lesson plan specific to skills we need to work on more or less.
I would like to continue on from lesson 1, and just continue working on the same skills and fundamentals until a player feels comfortable with the basics.
I always start off new lessons with an introduction between myself and the player. This helps us get to know each other better, and start to build up a rapport. I’d have a talk with each player and see what skills they are hoping to work on and what they are hoping to accomplish through lessons. After that, we will go through a warmup and stretching, and I will introduce the player to my “everydays” routine. I’d like to play catch with the player and we will go through a throwing routine. This is to gauge what level each player is at to help better tailor my lessons to their need.
As we progress through lessons, each player will have an individual training plan that is perfectly tailored to everything they need. They will learn and grow, and hopefully develop their game past even their own expectations.
As we progress, I like to build a routine with my players so that everytime they show up to a lesson, they are getting warmed up and ready to go. Once a lesson starts, we are constantly moving and a player will be trying new things. At this point, we are working on new skills and drills that are tailored to each player. Every lesson, there will be something to challenge the player. We will work on honing in their skills, all while focusing on fundamentals of the game, and being “softball smart”. This is a term I like to use for being aware of everything that is happening on a field at once. Lessons will be more advanced and faster paced. Working on harder and more complex skills. This will be explained through multiple lessons.
For the first couple lessons, I would still like to gauge where a player is at. We will move on to infielding/outfielding reps (depending on player). This will help me see what we’re working with and what we can work on. For hitting, we’ll start with a warmup and some dry swings, then we will progress to flip toss and eventually some live hitting. As we progress, I can tailor each plan to help the player based on their skill level and what they express they’d like to work on.