Every season our older, more advanced students, mainly pitchers, ask the same question: Should I register for a recruiting camp? This is a much more complex issue than it would appear, especially since my answer will likely be different for pitchers than for hitters and fielders.
Read MoreIs there a difference between practicing and warming up? Do you warm up the same way that you practice and do you practice the same way you warm up?
Read MoreAre you looking for a softball specific workout? What exactly do you think makes a workout softball specific? In this post, Joe explains how some “sport specific” exercises are not the best choice for athletes and will actually lead to worse performance on the field.
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The end of August always sneaks up on us too quickly, doesn’t it? Some of you may have already started your school year, and the rest of you will probably be going back to school sometime within the next couple of weeks. If you’re a high school senior, you’ll be sending in your college applications, and if you’re a junior, you should start visiting colleges if you haven’t already. Choosing a college can be an overwhelming process, and if you want to play softball it can get even more complicated. For the vast majority of junior and senior softball players who will be walking onto a college team, or even younger players who may be recruited but have not yet committed to a school, here are some critical questions you should be asking.
Read MoreFor this week’s post, I decided to pull some YouTube clips of college softball strength and conditioning off-season workouts. I think it’s important for parents and athletes to realize the physical committment it takes to be a part of a high level program. If you plan on playing softball in college, this will be your reality.
Read MoreAh, crow hopping. This topic has been causing frustration and controversy among windmill pitchers, softball coaches, parents, and probably umpires for years. MANY pitchers—even many elite pitchers, some of whom you may have seen on television—do it, yet it’s illegal according to the rules of fastpitch softball. Over the next two posts, I’m going to talk a bit about what crow hopping is, what causes it, and how to fix it.
Read More Like the story of the tortoise and the hare, sometimes slow is the way to go.
Pitchers can’t all throw at 70 mph. But if we pitch with intelligence, utilizing all of the tools in our shed, we can be just as effective.
This week I want to hear directly from you guys! If your goal is to play college softball, getting there can be a fun but overwhelming journey. Fastpitch Power wants to connect you readers to college coaches and players to get YOUR questions answered.
Read MoreThe technical aspects of the skills involved in fastpitch softball have been studied and developed for a very long time. Yet with all we know now about biomechanics and the development of athletes, I still don’t think there is a great enough emphasis on strength and conditioning, more importantly the RIGHT kind of strength and conditioning, among pre-college softball players. I hear a lot of questions along the lines of, “What can my daughter do to strengthen her throwing arm?” My short answer to that is NOTHING, specifically. A lot of people fall into the trap of trying to strengthen the individual parts of their bodies that they believe are most integral to whatever they’re trying to do. Really though, whenever you focus your workouts on only one or two areas of concern, particularly when those areas may already be overdeveloped from the natural imbalances that occur from playing a sport, you’re asking for trouble. To achieve your maximum potential as a softball player or as an athlete of any sport, it is absolutely critical to strengthen your entire body, including the parts that you may think you don’t really need to use. And to train effectively, it is ESSENTIAL to be evaluated by a strength and conditioning professional.
Read MoreCardio, as you know it, is a complete waste of time. Here are the four most popular forms of “cardio” and my reasons as to why a softball player has no business doing them.
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