Softball Skills & Drills [Paperback]

Judi Garman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Softball Skills & Drills | Publication Date: January 19, 2001

Looking for the ultimate softball “how-to” book to help you learn and master the essential skills? Softball Skills & Drills covers all the fundamentals to build strong individual players and winning teams. Written by one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history, Softball Skills & Drills shows how to perform and improve hitting, bunting, slap hitting, baserunning, fielding, throwing, pitching, and catching skills.

Author Judi Garman has more than 30 years of experience, more than 1,100 victories, and a spot in the National Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. She has proven that she has what it takes to win consistently. Now, Garman shares her formula for developing the fundamentals by packing 170 drills, 142 photos, and 49 illustrations into Softball Skills & Drills.

Get complete details on every facet of the game:
- Power hitting techniques
- Bunting and slap hitting techniques
- Baserunning techniques
- Pitching and catching techniques
- Position-specific fielding techniques
- Offensive and defensive tactics

Softball Skills & Drills gives you more than Xs and Os. This practical handbook is loaded with tips that will speed players' skill development. And it comes with a companion video series that shows the techniques and drills in action.

Editorial Reviews

Review

""A great resource for any coach or player who is a student of the game. Take advantage of learning from one of the game's finest coaches!"
Mike Candrea
Head softball coach
University of Arizona

"Judi Garman is truly one of the pioneers in the game of softball. We can all learn something from those who contributed to the growth of the game as we know it today."
Teresa Wilson
Head softball coach
University of Washington

"""This book is a great tool for any coach or athlete who seeks the necessary information to improve their game. Coaches can choose from a variety of drills to customize their athletes' training programs. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to better their knowledge of the game."""
Michelle Venturella
2000 Gold Medal Olympian
United States Women's Softball Team"

Review

"

”A great resource for any coach or player who is a student of the game. Take advantage of learning from one of the game's finest coaches!”

Mike Candrea
Head softball coach
University of Arizona

”Judi Garman is truly one of the pioneers in the game of softball. We can all learn something from those who contributed to the growth of the game as we know it today.”

Teresa Wilson
Head softball coach
University of Washington

""This book is a great tool for any coach or athlete who seeks the necessary information to improve their game. Coaches can choose from a variety of drills to customize their athletes' training programs. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to better their knowledge of the game.""

Michelle Venturella
2000 Gold Medal Olympian
United States Women's Softball Team

"

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics; 1 edition (January 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736033645
• ISBN-13: 978-0736033640
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Softball

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a "must have" book for the softball coach, March 8, 2002

By 

James H. Mccune "Jim McCune" (Onalaska, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Softball Skills & Drills (Paperback)

I used to attend Judi Garman's softball clinics at Cal State Fullerton in the 1980's. I never went away sorry about the time spent there. Judi is a veritable fountain of knowledge about the game. Softball Skills and Drills draws from Judi's life-time of coaching experience. You'll not only find skills and drills in this book. You'll find strategy, both for offense and defense. Check out the chapters on slap-hitting and bunting. If my house was on fire, and there were only two books on fastpitch softball I could rescue, it would be Softball Skills and Drills by Garman and Fastpitch Softball: the Windmill Pitcher by Barry Sammons. If you're into fastpitch, you gotta have this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Fundamentals and Drill Book I've Seen, April 18, 2002

By 

John Komin (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Softball Skills & Drills (Paperback)

I agree with the previous post - this is a must-have book for softball coaches. Just the section on proper throwing technique was worth the cost of the book. Garman does an excellent job of putting into words all of the things I knew how to do by muscle memory but couldn't succinctly describe to my players. The accompanying drills make sense and reinforce the fundamentals I'm teaching. I'd recommend this book for coaches of all levels and experience.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great For The Novice; Even Better For The More Experienced, July 20, 2005

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Softball Skills & Drills (Paperback)

"Softball Skills & Drills" by Judi Garman is a valuable book for any softball coach or player. I have to admit that I am an inexperienced softball player, who has recently joined a league for recreation. Because I had little knowledge of the game, I bought this book because it is advertised on the cover as "The best book on the basics of the game." In retrospect I think that claim may be a bit of an overstatement because the book does assume a general working knowledge of the mechanics and rules of the game of softball. While these fundamentals are explained in pieces throughout the book, I would have really enjoyed a more thorough overview before Garman raced into chapter one, "Catching." Don't get me wrong: this is a great book, but absolute beginners may also need an even more basic text.

What the book does do superbly is to break down all the fundamental skills of the game of softball and give easy to comprehend (if not to execute, sometimes) explanations, tips, and techniques related to these skills, as well as sets of drills designed to develop those skills. In reading the book (from the viewpoint of a neophyte player) I couldn't help but believe that the single best audience for this book would be coaches. This book would be a positive treasure trove of information for coaches at any level of competition.

I think this is an excellent book, and would have given it five stars if not for the omission of a general introduction, overview, and strategy section that would really help those who need the most basic "basics of the game." As it is, I would like to give it four and a half stars, because it really is an excellent text.

Highly recommended to softball players and coaches everywhere.