Coach's Guide to Game-Winning Softball Drills: Developing the Essential Skills in Every Player [Paperback]

Michele Smith (Author), Lawrence Hsieh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2008

“Mastering these drills will arm your players with one of the biggest intangibles necessary to perform well--confidence.”
--Michele Smith

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and Hall of Fame pitcher Michele Smith throws one right down the middle with this big collection of more than 250 skill-building drills developed especially for coaches of fast-pitch recreation league, travel ball, and high school softball players, ages eight to eighteen.

Straight from the Michele Smith Gold Camps and Clinics, these drills are designed to give you all the tools you need to teach the entire range of offensive and defensive softball skills. With Michele's expert guidance and instruction, you'll coach your players to:

• Master the mechanics of footwork for fielding with hustle
• Swing for the fences and hit the fastest pitches
• Catch the ball proactively and throw it quickly and accurately to its target
• Defend the infield and outfield with speed and confidence
• Run the bases swiftly and strategically
• Refine fast-pitch skills so they can windmill like Michele
• And much more

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michele Smith has won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. National Softball Team and was inducted into the American Softball Association Hall of Fame. An ESPN commentator for the Little League World Series, she runs popular softball clinics through her company, Michele Smith Inc. (michelesmith.com). She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Lawrence Hsieh is a writer, an attorney specializing in sports law, and a volunteer youth sports coach.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (February 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071485872
• ISBN-13: 978-0071485876
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Softball
  • #5 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Olympic Games
  • #6 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Coaching > Baseball

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for youth league and travel team coaches, April 1, 2008

By 

Committed Dad - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coach's Guide to Game-Winning Softball Drills: Developing the Essential Skills in Every Player (Paperback)

As a league administrator, I'm always looking for great coaching

resources for the coaches in our league. I love this book because it's

a combination coaching and drills book. Many drills books out there

just have drills (with a smattering of ad hoc remarks on mechanics).

But this book is different. Every section of the book has a thorough

discussion of the required mechanics (hitting, pitching, defensive

footwork, infield defense, outfield defense, etc.), followed by a slew

of drills. The book contains a progression of drills for every level of

player (youth league level, as well as tons of "advanced variation"

drills for travel league and high school players). The book is very

organized, and therefore is a great resource for coaches to refer back

to on a regular basis. You can tell that Michele Smith is a stickler

for details because the photos and captions are very detail oriented and

helpful. All and all a fantastic resource!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding and Highly Recommended!, March 31, 2008

By 

Mueller (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coach's Guide to Game-Winning Softball Drills: Developing the Essential Skills in Every Player (Paperback)

This book is a great reference for any coach of U10, U12, U14 and high school girls softball. The book is very organized and well written, and explains very clearly the fundamentals behind each drill. As expected, the pitching chapter is excellent. But the hitting and the defense chapters are also outstanding. There are lots of advanced level coaching tips throughout the book, including in each drill's "hints" section. Michele Smith is in alot of the photos personally demonstrating the mechanics and drills. The diagrams are good, and clutter free.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coaches . . . get this book!, March 19, 2011

By 

Christina L. Young - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Coach's Guide to Game-Winning Softball Drills: Developing the Essential Skills in Every Player (Paperback)

As a high school softball coach for the past 18 years, I have found that coming up with challenging, productive drills that improve skills, challenge, AND entertain players can be daunting, day after day. This book is clearly one of the best I have encountered, if not the best, for quality, productive drills. The explanations and illustrations are clear. I particularly like the legend on each page that indicates the time needed for the drill, the skill level, and the cardio-level required. This feature, in particular, helps me provide a great variety of drills during a practice to maximize learning and conditioning at the same time. Brilliant. Do yourself a favor . . . buy this book! (Also, check out Kathy Veroni's book for great tips for all aspects of coaching.)