| SOFTBALL TIPS |
|
|
|
| SITE STUFF |
|
|
|
|
ARCHIVES
|
| • |
June 26, 2005 |
| • |
July 03, 2005 |
| • |
July 10, 2005 |
| • |
July 17, 2005 |
| • |
July 24, 2005 |
| • |
July 31, 2005 |
| • |
August 07, 2005 |
| • |
August 14, 2005 |
| • |
August 21, 2005 |
| • |
August 28, 2005 |
| • |
September 11, 2005 |
| • |
October 02, 2005 |
| • |
October 09, 2005 |
| • |
October 23, 2005 |
| • |
October 30, 2005 |
| • |
November 06, 2005 |
| • |
November 13, 2005 |
| • |
December 04, 2005 |
| • |
December 18, 2005 |
| • |
December 25, 2005 |
| • |
January 08, 2006 |
| • |
January 15, 2006 |
| • |
January 29, 2006 |
| • |
February 05, 2006 |
| • |
February 12, 2006 |
| • |
February 19, 2006 |
| • |
February 26, 2006 |
| • |
March 05, 2006 |
| • |
March 12, 2006 |
| • |
March 19, 2006 |
| • |
March 26, 2006 |
| • |
April 02, 2006 |
| • |
April 09, 2006 |
| • |
April 16, 2006 |
| • |
April 23, 2006 |
| • |
April 30, 2006 |
| • |
May 07, 2006 |
| • |
May 14, 2006 |
| • |
May 21, 2006 |
| • |
May 28, 2006 |
| • |
June 04, 2006 |
| • |
June 11, 2006 |
| • |
June 18, 2006 |
| • |
June 25, 2006 |
| • |
July 09, 2006 |
| • |
July 16, 2006 |
| • |
July 23, 2006 |
| • |
July 30, 2006 |
| • |
August 13, 2006 |
| • |
August 20, 2006 |
| • |
September 03, 2006 |
| • |
September 10, 2006 |
| • |
September 17, 2006 |
| • |
September 24, 2006 |
| • |
October 01, 2006 |
| • |
October 08, 2006 |
| • |
October 15, 2006 |
| • |
October 22, 2006 |
| • |
November 12, 2006 |
| • |
November 26, 2006 |
| • |
December 31, 2006 |
| • |
January 14, 2007 |
| • |
January 21, 2007 |
| • |
January 28, 2007 |
| • |
February 04, 2007 |
| • |
February 11, 2007 |
| • |
February 18, 2007 |
| • |
February 25, 2007 |
| • |
March 04, 2007 |
| • |
March 11, 2007 |
| • |
March 18, 2007 |
| • |
April 01, 2007 |
| • |
April 08, 2007 |
| • |
April 15, 2007 |
| • |
April 22, 2007 |
| • |
April 29, 2007 |
| • |
May 06, 2007 |
| • |
May 13, 2007 |
| • |
May 20, 2007 |
| • |
May 27, 2007 |
| • |
June 03, 2007 |
| • |
June 10, 2007 |
| • |
June 17, 2007 |
| • |
June 24, 2007 |
| • |
July 01, 2007 |
| • |
July 22, 2007 |
| • |
July 29, 2007 |
| • |
August 12, 2007 |
| • |
August 19, 2007 |
| • |
September 02, 2007 |
| • |
September 16, 2007 |
| • |
September 30, 2007 |
| • |
October 07, 2007 |
| • |
October 14, 2007 |
| • |
October 21, 2007 |
| • |
November 04, 2007 |
| • |
November 18, 2007 |
| • |
November 25, 2007 |
| • |
December 02, 2007 |
| • |
December 09, 2007 |
| • |
December 16, 2007 |
| • |
January 13, 2008 |
| • |
February 17, 2008 |
| • |
February 24, 2008 |
| • |
March 02, 2008 |
| • |
March 09, 2008 |
| • |
March 30, 2008 |
| • |
April 06, 2008 |
| • |
April 13, 2008 |
| • |
April 20, 2008 |
| • |
April 27, 2008 |
| • |
May 04, 2008 |
| • |
May 11, 2008 |
| • |
May 18, 2008 |
| • |
May 25, 2008 |
| • |
June 01, 2008 |
| • |
June 15, 2008 |
| • |
June 22, 2008 |
| • |
June 29, 2008 |
| • |
July 06, 2008 |
| • |
July 13, 2008 |
| • |
July 20, 2008 |
| • |
August 03, 2008 |
| • |
August 10, 2008 |
| • |
August 17, 2008 |
| • |
August 24, 2008 |
| • |
August 31, 2008 |
| • |
September 07, 2008 |
| • |
September 14, 2008 |
| • |
September 21, 2008 |
| • |
September 28, 2008 |
| • |
October 05, 2008 |
| • |
October 12, 2008 |
| • |
October 19, 2008 |
| • |
October 26, 2008 |
| • |
November 02, 2008 |
| • |
November 09, 2008 |
| • |
November 16, 2008 |
| • |
November 30, 2008 |
| • |
December 07, 2008 |
| • |
December 21, 2008 |
| • |
December 28, 2008 |
| • |
February 15, 2009 |
| • |
February 22, 2009 |
| • |
April 12, 2009 |
| • |
April 19, 2009 |
| • |
April 26, 2009 |
| • |
May 03, 2009 |
| • |
May 10, 2009 |
| • |
May 17, 2009 |
| • |
May 24, 2009 |
| • |
May 31, 2009 |
| • |
June 07, 2009 |
| • |
June 14, 2009 |
| • |
June 21, 2009 |
| • |
July 05, 2009 |
| • |
July 12, 2009 |
| • |
July 19, 2009 |
| • |
August 02, 2009 |
| • |
August 30, 2009 |
| • |
September 06, 2009 |
| • |
September 20, 2009 |
| • |
October 04, 2009 |
| • |
October 11, 2009 |
| • |
October 18, 2009 |
| • |
November 08, 2009 |
| • |
November 15, 2009 |
| • |
November 22, 2009 |
| • |
November 29, 2009 |
| • |
December 27, 2009 |
| • |
January 03, 2010 |
| • |
January 10, 2010 |
| • |
January 17, 2010 |
| • |
January 24, 2010 |
| • |
January 31, 2010 |
| • |
March 14, 2010 |
| • |
March 21, 2010 |
| • |
March 28, 2010 |
| • |
April 04, 2010 |
| • |
April 18, 2010 |
| • |
April 25, 2010 |
|
|
| SOFTBALL LINKS |
|
|
|
World Cup
by Dave
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Sorry, but I've been asleep at the switch. Actually I;ve been running from practice to practice to game to game, etc. But I didn't notice that the World Cup is on. And on it is. You can watch as much softball as you want via ESPN and ESPN2 this weekend.
The only thing that bugs me about the World Cup is the price they're asking for Team USA jerseys. It is over $100. Now I'm sure some of you will pay this price but I won't. You would think they'd be able to develop a replica shirt for far less.
Follow-up post July 15:
Well, I see I am asleep at the switch. They do offer a replica ... for $89! No, I won't pay that much either.
Did you happen to notice anything odd about the tournament's TV sponsorship? Frosted Flakes is the sponsor and they have some spots running which are derived from their "we are the tigers, the mighty might tigers" commercials. What I notiuced that was peculiar is in one scene of one spot, there is a girl fielding a pop up but the ball is white and has no laces! You would think that if you were going to go to the trouble and expense of sponsoring something like this, you might do enough homework to notice that girls softball is played with a yellow ball!
Greg writes in with a question regarding the World Cup:
"I have a question regarding last night's World Cup game against Great Britain. Monica Abbot was pitching. I saw her pitch in the WCWS and she has a unique wind up and delivery. I noticed what I thought to be an illegal part in her motion. As she winds up, she slides her pivot foot along the rubber and then stops it. I believe this to be legal as she maintains contact with the front edge of the rubber at all times. However, just before strode forward, the pivot foot appeared to break contact with the rubber and the ground and was replanted just in front of the rubber. Is this an illegal pitch?
I realize you may not have had the been able to see the game but perhaps someone else can comment on my observation."
Greg, I did watch the game and noticed that illegal pitches were called on the first two Great Britain pitchers and on Abbott. I am not all that familiar with international pitching rules. I was confused with the two second stopping after the hands come together rule. I missed the commentary about why illegal pitches were called but I did notice a fair amount of crow hopping. Crow hopping occurs where a pitcher pushes off with the pivot foot and, rather than dragging, she hops to a second point of impetus. I assumed this is what the umpires were calling but I cannot be sure. Perhaps someone who knows the international rules better than I can opine as to what the infractions were.
Permanent Link: World Cup
 
Brief Thought On A Hot July Day
by Dave
Monday, July 10, 2006
In July, I am always reminded of my youth. When I was a kid, we had no air conditioning. In the early morning I would pull on a pair of jeans and a white undershirt, quickly eat some breakfast and then inform my mother that I would be at so and so's house. Then I ran out the door never to be heard from again until some time around the six o'clock dinner hour. I would, in fact, go over to so and so's house and then the two of us would connect up with a few more kids and play whiffle ball, stick ball or some such for the remainder of the day. Nobody wore shorts unless they wanted to be abused. Nobody carried a bottle of water. If we got hot, we snuck up behind somebody's house and drank warm, funny-tasting water from their garden hose. I guess we were acclimated to the heat. We didn't really care much about it unless it got over 100 for weeks on end. Today kid's live indoors (with central air conditioning perennially set around 74 degrees) out of the justified fears regarding excessive exposure to the sun and weirdoes patrolling for unaccompanied kids. I can't argue against keeping kids indoors during much of the summer. But what are the implications when we consider this new childhood environment in the context of competitive softball?
Tournaments do not frequently stop because the mercury reaches some predetermined level. Three games in five or six hours is not uncommon. And sometimes the numbers two and three catchers or pitchers get hurt causing one person to handle a tough job times three. You may say our kids are coddled but that doesn't solve the problem. If you are a coach or parent pondering how well your team or child does or does not handle the heat, some advance preparation can at least help out.
For one thing, tournament teams need to be conditioned for the heat before the local, state or national championship tournaments. A couple three or four hour practice sessions in the middle of a hot day is a good experience to condition you for hot game days. Always practicing at night to avoid the heat of the day or cutting practices short on very hot days have their drawbacks.
Practices should not be made easy because of the heat. A coach should provide plenty of opportunities for the kids to drink water but drills should not be made less intense. The team should not take frequent breaks in order to get out of the sun. Skills about how to cool oneself down can be taught and you should always be alert to the possibility of a kid suffering from heatstroke or dehydration. But the point here is to provide a realistic experience which mirrors what your team will encounter in tournaments on 98 degree days.
Teaching kids to drink water even when they are not particularly thirsty is an important part of conditioning them for hot days. You don;t have to drink 16 ounces each time you drink but at least sipping water continually provides your body some relief. I often get annoyed when, at eleven o'clock during the first inning of the first game of what will certainly be a three game day, it is just touching 80 degrees and some girl who has not had a drink of any fluids since she rolled out of bed says, "but I'm not thirsty." Sometimes girls are afraid they're going to have to "go" in that smelly porta-potty if they drink any water at all. Maybe that is justified but almost anything is better than passing out from heat exhaustion. Players must get used to sipping water throughout games.
Sometimes girls get the wrong idea about sweating. They think "if I drink this bottle of water, that is going to make me sweat more and since I don't like to sweat, I'm not going to drink." Sweating is the only thing which cools you down. You must get used to it and not avoid it by avoiding fluids. My suggested long practice in the heat of the middle of the day can help to teach girls this. Truth be told, if you get yourself sweaty, you probably are not going to have to visit that porta-potty you don't like. This needs to be pointed out to girls, especially young inexperienced ones, who don't automatically understand how their bodies keep cool.
Sometimes girls get into the very bad habit of eating sweets between games of a tournament. There's probably not all that much wrong with the practice in April or May, but come late June into July, eating candy may cause your body to heat up even while you are sitting calmly under some portable awning. Once a kid gets into the habit of eating candy to stave off hunger between games, that habit is hard to break. And, let's face facts, few girls sit quietly under an awning after 400 or 500 empty calories. They run about like 5 year old boys after a dose of sugar, which further exasperates the overheating problem.
Starting the day with a good, protein-rich meal that provides energy throughout the day isn't a bad start. Thereafter hungry kids should be fed small portions so their natural cooling systems work at peak efficiency during games. Fluids which restore not only water but other minerals lost while sweating, which are not filled with sugar, are advisable. Caffeinated beverages should be avoided. Some "sports drinks" are just liquid candy laced with caffeine. They give you a boost and then make you run around and get hot just in time for next game warmups.
Also, most girls I know do not favor crewcuts like the one I had when I was a young boy. But you can do things with their hair which make more sense. Tying it back and up so cool water can be slowly poured over their heads or on their necks between games and not leave hair soaking wet is a good idea. Getting girls into the habit of wiping their foreheads, wrists and necks with cool, wet rags also helps. Sometimes the best way to keep cool is not the stuff you put in the ice in your cooler but the ice itself. Rubbing ice on one's wrists or neck between defensive innings cools you down pretty well. These things, while they seem common sense to most people, actually need to be taught to children, especially those who are unaccustomed to playing all day out in the sun. I can hear my mother now telling me to run cool water from the faucet over my wrists. I can remember sneaking behind somebody's house to use their hose, drinking a little water and then running it over my hands and the back of my neck.
I'm sure health professionals can hand out more advice than I have in my self-cooling repertoire but I think some of what I wrote above is useful. All of it probably has occurred to you before reading this piece. I consider this merely a reminder and the opportunity to tell you that these things are habits which you need to build in your very competitive young softball players before they succumb to the heat one hot July elimination Sunday.
Permanent Link: Brief Thought On A Hot July Day
|
|
|
