Crime and Punishment in Softball

Over the weekend I heard about something that just made me shake my head. It came from the parent of a 12U player. Apparently, after her daughter’s team lost their game, the coaches decided that what was called for was a little punishment. They lined up all the girls and made the entire team run a sprint for every error and every called third strike in the last game. Essentially they meted out punishment to the girls for losing the game. After the next loss they did it again. Maybe I’m just soft but I don’t understand what good that could possibly do. Research has shown that making mistakes is an essential part of the learning process. Child development experts concur — children must be allowed to make mistakes in order to discover how things work and who they are.

Yet in spite of all of that, our society is so winning-focused that an otherwise reasonable adult believes that corporal punishment for losing a softball game is a good idea and perfectly acceptable. The belief is that the sprints will act as some sort of aversion therapy, making sure the players don’t make the same mistakes again. Actually, it almost guarantees they will. No one performs well with a gun to their head. When you’re in that situation, you don’t really focus on doing your best. Instead, you do whatever it takes to avoid getting shot, even if it’s the wrong thing. Take the hitters and called third strikes for example. The punishment is supposed to get them to get the bats off their shoulders and swing. It will, too, because once those kids have two strikes on them they’re going to swing at anything — a ball over their heads, a ball in the dirt, a ball pretty much anywhere.

The opposing pitcher could throw the ball at the third base coach (not a bad idea in this case) and the kid will still swing. Why not? As long as she swings the team doesn’t have to run. So instead of teaching her to open up her strike zone a little, or foul off pitches she doesn’t like in order to get one she does, the coach has taught her to swing at any pitch. And then she’ll wonder why she’s swinging at ball four with a 3-2 count. The same with errors. No kid goes onto the field thinking “I think I’ll drop an easy fly ball today” or “I think I’ll boot a ground ball.” Those things just happen. Yeah it sucks — I don’t like it any more than anyone else — but making the girls run sprints after the game for it doesn’t really address the problem. Make them work on fly balls or ground balls for an hour instead.

To me it’s especially bad at the 10U/12U level because that’s the age where they’re supposed to be developing their skills and their love for the game. Punishing them like they just screwed up in boot camp isn’t going to do either. Instead, it’s going to send yet another group of kids toward volleyball, soccer, basketball or some other sport. In reality, though, this “running as punishment” is a bad idea at any age. One of my former students once told me that after her college team had struggled hitting for a couple of games her coach made them run foul pole to foul pole, over and over. That made no sense to me whatsoever. If they’re struggling hitting, wouldn’t you think the better solution would be to have them work on hitting? After all, they’re not going to catch the pitch and run it into the field! If you want to punish them say we’re going to hit until our hands bleed. That’s still uncalled for but at least it makes sense.

There are reasons to have players run — conditioning, to practice them when they’re fatigued, to help them build their endurance for long tournament weekends, and the list goes on. Running as punishment for mistakes — especially for players who skills are just developing — is not one of them. Instead of punishing your players, try actually developing their skills — mental as well as physical. You just may find it works out a whole lot better for everyone in the long run.
Anyway, that’s the way I see it.

Want to use more effective coaching methods?

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• Running The Team
• Communication, Development, Motivation
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• and more…
…so you can help your team reach it’s full potential this season!

Softball Training – Shoulder Injuries in Softball

I received the following email from one of our subscribers:

“Marc, Quick question please: Have you noticed an excess number of shoulder injuries and shoulder surgeries? I was in OKC to watch the WCWS (4th year attending) and talked with another coach from Mississippi that told me he sees the same thing. An awful lot of players with shoulder injuries. If so, what do you attribute to this? 50+ weeks a year work and overuse?? Improper stretching along with improper throwing mechanics? One thing is for sure, this needs to be addressed at a national level and coaches need to be educated to ensure our young female athletes are not damaging their shoulders and requiring surgery as an expected part of playing softball! I did like the note ref Jaeger’s Long Toss, Arm Circles and J Bands warm-ups before throwing. I’ll have to get quite a few coaches to tell me they are already using this type warm-up before throwing, as I’m sure my coaches will be reluctant to change unless it’s well known in the community.

“Jim” Here is my answer: Yes, there is an increase in the number of shoulder injuries in our sport.

It is due to many factors:

1) Uni-dimensional athlete

The modern day softball player isn’t an athlete anymore; she is just a good softball player. By that I mean that nowadays, kids specializes in one sport (softball) too early and don’t participate in other sports. This results in poor overall athletic development, muscular imbalances and overuse of certain muscles (throwing) because of repetitive use.

2) Improper throwing mechanics

We don’t spend enough time reinforcing proper throwing mechanics and many kids end up overcompensating with other muscles which create problems over time.

3) Improper conditioning

Lack of stability, flexibility, and strength in certain muscles will cause problems and lead to overuse injuries. The shoulder is an especially complex and fragile joint.

4) Improper warm-up

A simple small tear one time because of a poor or rushed warm-up is enough to lead to a major should overuse injury that will last months and even longer. The warm-up is absolutely crucial.

5) Overuse

If you do too much softball without ever giving your body a break, eventually it will break down.

So, what do you need to do to prevent shoulder injuries?

1) Ensure proper overall athletic development
2) Give your break a rest
3) Always warm-up thoroughly, especially the shoulder
4) Fix and optimize throwing mechanics
5) Use shoulder injury prevention exercises
6) Pay attention to any sign or symptoms of shoulder
injuries and seek medical attention early
7) Never ever play through shoulder pain

Looking after your shoulder is one of the most important things you can do to ensure a long career in this sport.

Get to Know Your Teammates and Athletes

I am finally back from Kitchener, Ontario where I was helping the Canadian athletes prepare for the Olympic Games. All the teams that were at the Tri-Nations Cup (Japan, Australia, and Canada) are now in Vancouver for the Canada Cup. So, I flew back yesterday (and about 500 emails waiting to be read). As I arrived, the first thing I did was to head to my mom’s to get my two cats (two 18-month-old females). You see, since i was gone 10 days, I thought it would be a better thing to have them stay with my mom for that period of time. The other option was to leave them at my place with my mom visiting every few days to check on them. I opted for the first option of leaving them at her place. That was the wrong decision. My two cats spent the entire 10 days hidden in the basement and were unfindable. My mom looked for them repeatedly but couldn’t find them (her basement is the best place for cats to play hide and seek). The other reason why they probably wanted to stay hidden was that my mom has a dog even though the dog didn’t really care about them and wasn’t into chasing them at all. She knew they were there because they ate the food and used the litter. I arrived yesterday and I couldn’t find them either. So, after 3 hours looking for them, I left without them to go back to my place because I was really tired (read me tomorrow to know more about sleep). I was really sad since I missed them. We agreed that whenever one of them would come out, she would lock her in the bathroom for me to come back and get her.

That’s what happened later. She found Tornado, one my two cats in the basement’s bathroom. So, last night, I went back to my mom’s and recovered her. She meowed the whole time back while in her cage. Since she got back to my place, she hasn’t stopped following me around and looking for affection. Every 5 minutes, she comes over. She was affection-deprived big time. However, we are still missing the other one… Bottom line is… I have learned my lesson and will not do that again in the future. I had the best intentions but it turned out, that wasn’t the best solution for them. They would rather be left alone at home in an environment they know with someone visiting once in a while to check on them and make sure they have food and water left.

How does this relate to softball? You see, each athlete is different and as teammates and coaches, we must learn to know each of them. Nobody reacts the same way to the same thing. Frictions and conflicts often arise from misunderstandings of each other in emotionally-driven circumstances. Figuring out someone is no easy task but it is an important part of being a teammate and a coach. Knowing how someone reacts in a given situation or context will help the team function better and help that given athlete perform better. That’s why team-building exercises held outside of softball contexts (games, practices, etc.) where you get to learn more about your teammates/athletes are very powerful. The best coaches are the ones that adapts to each and every one of their athlete and the best team captains are the ones who know how to handle each and every one of their teammates. Get to know everybody on your team and how they react in any given situation.

Sneaky Softball Pitching: Sneaky Pitching Tactics to Destroy a Hitter’s Timing

Several Softball pitching books have been published but rare are the ones that teach you not only having the correct basics but teaching you how to use your pitches wisely. The Sneaky Pitching Softball book doesn’t only help you increase your pitching speed it teaches you how to use your pitches to your advantage.

See what one reader has to say:

January 10th, 2011

Dear Coach Hal,

I started working on pitching with my Daughter Ashley when she was 9 years old. After reading your book when Ashley was 11 she went from throwing the ball 44 mph to 53 in just 6 months. Ashley is now a 15-year-old sophomore in high school and has been recently clocked at 67 mph.
She is a consistent 60 – 65 MPH. Not only did the mechanical drills in your book assist Ashley in her development of strength and speed, the mental toughness advice made her the dominating pitcher she is today. With your book I have been able to successfully instruct Ashley to pitch at a top level. “She had me and I had your book for instruction”. She was started off with your ‘Foundation Method’, we have continued using that method all along and still use it today.
Ashley is one of the Top Recruited High School pitchers in the Nation. 
Schools that have expressed interest in Ashley and / or actively recruited her: Oregon State, Boise State, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Stanford, Florida State, University of Alabama at Birmingham and many, many others. All the schools interested in her have DI softball programs. Ashley recently has accepted an offer from the University of Washington.
The ‘Foundation Method’ is what we stuck to. I truly believe this is why she throws so hard today. There are not many 60+ pitchers out there these days. Too many pitchers are continually changing their foundations or have weak / bad foundations. I strongly believe this is why we have so many pitchers topping out at 55 mph. 
Thank you for all the help.
Sincerely,

Ron T. – Proud Pitcher’s Dad
Assistant Coach – Washington Explosion 18U
Connell, WA.

Softball Pitching – Sneaky Softball Pitching: Sneaky Pitching Tactics to Destroy a Hitter’s Timing

Be a Parent First, Coach Second

Traditionally, the holidays are a time for family. So what better time to take a step back and re-evaluate your priorities than during this time when things usually slow down a bit? Especially when it comes to being a parent/coach. Most people who coach start out for the right reasons. Usually a team their daughter is on needs a coach, the coach has some knowledge and wants to give back to the game, and the parents wants to spend more quality time with his/her daughter. Somewhere along the way, though, competitive natures come out and even for those with the best intentions it becomes a little less about spending time with your daughter and more about racking up the W’s. That’s when the trouble starts. Suddenly your daughter isn’t your daughter anymore. She’s the kid who threw a pitch down the middle on an 0-2 count with the winning run on second. Or she’s the kid who dropped the easy fly ball, booted the grounder, or popped up with runners in scoring position.

At that point, just when she needs a hug and a Lifesaver candy, she instead gets the dagger eyes from the coach/parent who expected her to do better in that tough situation. “She’s a better player than that,” you think. “She knew the game was on the line and she choked. Arrrgggghhh!” Yes, that’s true. She is, and she did. She knows it. She definitely knows it. And what she needs is a parent to tell her everything will be ok, the sun will come up tomorrow and the world will keep on spinning. But if you’re too busy being the Coach, you may forget to tell her that. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: kids are not short adults. (It’s not an original statement to me, by the way, but I think it’s an apt description.) They react to adversity differently than we do. And they react to approval, or lack of it, differently than we do too. It’s important to keep that in mind, especially since they may hear both their coach and their parent saying something to them in the same breath.

It’s not just about games, either. While you may have dreams of your daughter playing in the WCWS, her dreams for her career may be different. You have to remember it’s her career and react appropriately. I remember one warm, sunny Easter Sunday suggesting to my oldest daughter that we go out and pitch after breakfast. Her reaction: “It’s Easter!” To her it was a holiday, and that meant it was a no softball zone. I knew she could use the practice, and that it would help her get better, which meant her team (which I coached) would win more. But she was having none of it. It’s not that she didn’t want to win, but it wasn’t as all-consuming to her as it was to me. At that point I had to step back and be a parent who supports his daughter in HER quest instead of basing her life on MY priorities.

In the post-holiday glow, do a little self-evaluation. If you are coaching your own daughter (or your son for that matter, because it’s the same on that side), ask yourself whether you’re treating your child as your child or as a player. Give it some real thought. Then ask your daughter. The answer may surprise you. Your daughter will be your player for only a few short years, but she will be your daughter for your whole life. Keep that in mind and you will find the whole relationship goes a lot more smoothly.

Softball Tips – Watch and Learn

Softball fanatics love evaluating what those at high levels of play are doing. We may even watch the mechanics of some of the top players in Major League Baseball. As fanatics, we love to study those mechanics and try to learn from them in order to help our players, or our own children (male and female) become the best they can be. There is a danger in all of this, however. Namely an inability to keep what you see in context. While the mechanics of some of these great hitters make a good model and a good goal, it’s important to be realistic in your expectations. Because like it or not, there is a huge difference between a 28 year old MLB player and a 12 year old girl.

Let’s start with the obvious: a grown man is much stronger than a young girl. Not just in the upper body, but in every aspect. Take the strongest 12 year old girl you’ve ever seen and put her in a cage match with a 28 year old male professional athlete, and the girl is going to lose. Badly. So expecting a 12 year old girl to have the exact same swing mechanics, including the explosiveness, of a 28 year old MLB player is not very realistic.

Another obvious difference is age. The 28 year old MLB player has most likely been swinging a bat for longer than the 12 year old girl has been alive. In fact, he was probably reasonably accomplished by the time she was born. And he was four years older than she is now. With all that extra time to devote he SHOULD be better. Then there’s the access to training. Hopefully the 12 year old girl has a knowledgeable hitting coach who is helping her on her journey to becoming a feared hitter. The MLB player also has a hitting coach, and probably one with a pretty good track record of developing high-level players on a consistent basis.

In addition, the MLB player has access to millions of dollars’ worth of equipment, facilities, video programs, and recordings of his at-bats against every pitcher in the league, a really nice weight training facility with its own strength and conditioning coach, and so on. If she’s lucky, the 12 year old girl’s coach or parent records her swing now and then and reviews it on his/her laptop. Maybe she has a few game swings available on video, and a membership to the local health club. If she’s really serious she may be working with a trainer or following one of Marc’s workouts, but it’s not quite the same.

Finally, there’s a really good chance that our 28 year old MLB player has superior DNA to that 12 year old girl — which is the reason he is playing major league baseball in the first place. Some people are simply more athletic than others, just like some people are taller than others. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee success, but it’s certainly a nice head start. Coupled with everything else it’s a huge advantage for the MLB player over the local 12 year old softball player.

Don’t get me wrong — it’s good to look at the model swings, pitchers, etc. to see what the best in the world do. That is how we learn, and it’s a great way to point our own players/children down the right path. But you can also get too caught up in it, expecting more than a young player is capable of producing. Keep in mind that kids are still developing all throughout their teen years. Their bodies, change, their minds change, everything about them changes. So it’s important to keep what you see and what you want them to do in perspective.

It’s also important to remember that even the best mechanics don’t guarantee success. As I’ve said before, there are no style points in softball. You don’t lose a base on a home run for having an ugly swing, and having a great technical swing doesn’t automatically mean you’ll hit the ball. Still, the closer you can get to ideal (without getting in your own way mentally) the more likely you are to experience success.

So yes, look at those models on the Discuss Fast pitch Forum, watch the World Series, DVR the WCWS or the Softball World Cup when it’s on and learn all that you can. But keep in mind there are other factors going on and you’ll keep from driving yourself — and your players/kids — crazy.
Anyway, that’s the way I see it.
I’m eager to hear your comments…

Softball Coaching – The Game Has a Way of Humbling Us

This past weekend was the first tournament for the 14U team I coach. We’d spent a lot of time drilling, preparing, running game-like simulations, studying our playbook and otherwise getting ready. I was absolutely convinced we were ready to come out gangbusters.

Then came the first game of pool play. I swear it seemed like my well-drilled team had been replaced by look-alike aliens who had never seen a fastpitch softball game in their lives. We couldn’t hit (despite working on it all winter), we threw to the wrong base or at the wrong time, we missed easy fielding chances, it was just a disaster. Definitely not what I was expecting.

And that’s what’s so humbling about our game. I’ve had a pretty good run with players I instructed individually the last few months. I heard glowing reports about their performance, saw their names in the newspaper, was proud of them for their post-season awards. Then the day I go out to coach my own team I wind up feeling like the worst coach in the world.

The only consolation is knowing I’m not alone in that. I’ve spoken with Cindy Bristow about this phenomenon and she said she’s felt the same thing. Cindy is a far more accomplished coach than I am (or ever will be) so to hear her say she once got to the point of feeling like she was a bad coach gives me some small measure of comfort.

It can happen to all of us. We prepare our teams to the best of our ability, applying whatever store of knowledge we have to the situation. But still, it’s the players who have to play the game. And when you’re talking about adolescents who have a million things going on in their lives you just never know what will happen. It’s a crapshoot.

A phrase that’s important for adult coaches to keep in mind is that children are not little adults. They don’t think like we do, they don’t have the same expectations or fears we do. They have all their own, and they differ with each player. Expecting your players to react to stimulae such as their first tournament of the season the same way you do can get you into trouble. It certainly did for me.

I would classify that first game as horrible compared to the standards we set for ourselves. We only lost 4-3, but all four runs were given by us, not taken by our opponents. Worse yet, the hitting coach (me) who had helped so many other teams got pretty lonely in the third base coaches box since hardly anyone stopped by to visit.

Seeing as how I have seven girls who just completed their high school seasons and several of those with at least some varsity experience, I found it particularly surprising we were struggling in a 14U tournament. But such is life.

Was it frustrating? Sure. But that’s what happens.

The good news is we got better as we went along through the weekend. We went from not getting runners on base to leaving runners on base to eventually scoring more than a couple of runs. It’s obvious we still have things to work on, but as the girls became more comfortable with each other things got better.

Sports psychologist Jeff Janssen likes to talk about the four stages of team building — forming, storming, norming and performing. I thought we were ready to move into performing but I’d say now we’re still in the norming stage. Given how short a summer season is I hope we get through it and into performing soon. Because the game is a lot more fun when you’re performing.

So keep that in mind as you coach throughout the years. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out the game can come along and drop-kick you to the gut. It isn’t fun, but it does help to keep you humble.

Softball Tips – Practice Makes Permanent

Many of you have probably heard the expression “Practice doesn’t make perfect — it makes permanent.” Yet how often have you really thought about that in the context of your own work?

I know I see that in action all the time. Walking through a facility or along a field I will see teams diligently running drills or working on techniques that essentially have them practicing to lose. Even though they may have best of intentions.

I see it with hitting a lot. I like hitting stations as much as the next coach, but they can do as much harm as good if they’re not set up or supervised properly.

Now, if you have older players whom you’ve worked with for awhile you can probably have them work the stations without someone being with them every minute. But for younger players it often doesn’t work as well.

I will see young players putting no effort into hitting off a tee because they think it’s for babies. So they just sort of knock the ball off instead of working on elements of their swings.

Soft toss is another one that can be problematic. Players will toss arcing balls to one another, which creates all sorts of problems in the swing that will have to corrected later.

But it’s not just hitting. You can see it in throwing, when players just push or lob the ball to one another while chattering away. You see it in the way they catch or field, just going through the motions instead of working on technique. They figure as long as they get the ball, or get it to wherever it needs to go next, they’ve done their jobs. But then, when they really need the better skills, those skills aren’t there — because they haven’t developed them.

Pitchers can really develop issues through misguided practice sessions. A typical question pitching coaches get asked is “How many pitches should my daughter throw each sessions, and how many times a week should she throw?”

There is no definitive answer to this question because it really depends. Would you rather have your daughter throw 50 good pitches or 100 sloppy ones? Would you rather have her working halfway every day or diligently twice a week?

I know which I’d prefer. Ideally she’d practice hard several times a week, but not every kid is wired that way. Better to have her practicing to improve her skills a little than practicing to get worse a lot. Because whatever she practices she will achieve.

There is no doubt in my mind that practice makes permanent. So keep that in mind as you watch your daughter or your team during a practice session, and ask yourself “Are they practicing to win, or to lose?” Because it does make a difference.

Anyway, that’s the way I see it.
Agree or disagree?
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Softball Tips – How Important is Fun?

The other day I heard a story that just made my skin crawl. The incident in question occurred during tryouts for a local team.

The newly installed coach gathered the high school age girls together and announced, “If any of you are here for fun, you’re in the wrong place.”

Forgive me, but at what point did playing softball cease to be about having fun? When did winning a softball game, tournament or even national championship become so all-fired important that fun is no longer a part of the equation?

Every study that’s ever been done about youth sports shows that the #1 reason kids sign up for a sport is to have fun. Those same studies also show that the number #1 reason they quit playing is because the game is no longer fun for them.

There’s nothing wrong with taking the game seriously and working hard to do your best. There’s nothing wrong with drilling hard and practicing (or playing) all-out. Those are good things. But working hard and having don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

One of my favorite baseball movies is Mr. Baseball, starring Tom Selleck. In it, Selleck is a MLB player who is struggling, and ultimately gets traded to a team in Japan, where he runs into the typical tough but wise manager.

In many ways Selleck’s character is an overgrown kid, but he has a great perspective on one important aspect. When the Japanese team is all uptight because of the manager, he points out that “Baseball is a game, and games are supposed to be fun.”

He also points out that no one starts into baseball because they want to work. They want to play. That’s why it’s called “playing” baseball.

The same applies to softball, of course. While coaches (and parents) may be focused solely on wins, the players are often more about the total experience.

Yes, in the words of Nuke Lalush, winning is more fun than losing. But if you’re winning all the time and being miserable about it, sooner or later those players are going to find somewhere else to be than that team — and maybe something else to do than play softball.

Winning is great. Getting scholarships to help pay for school is great. Striving to be part of something bigger than yourself is great. But are any of them worth being unhappy all season (or career) long?

My advice to players and parents is this: if anyone tells you that if you’re joining a team for fun you’re in the wrong place, take their advice and leave. Life is too short to take something that should be enjoyable and make it awful.

If you won’t take my advice, then listen to the words of the King of rock and roll himself — Elvis Presley — who once said, “If it ain’t fun, the King don’t do it.” That’s why Elvis was and always will be the King.

Softball Tip: How to Choose a Good Instructor

When looking for a good softball hitting, pitching, or fielding instructor, there’s one message I want to share with you today:

Beware of False Qualifications

The other day I was hanging around a training facility where I don’t normally teach. I was waiting for a co-worker from my day (real) job, who was bringing his son and daughter there for me to help them with their hitting.

Since I arrived a little early and the place was sparsely populated, I dropped my stuff off by a bench and wandered over to a bulletin board area. Among the items they had were photos of their baseball and softball instructors with a little description of the background of each.

As I looked at the softball instructor descriptions I saw an interesting phrase. It said the instructor I was looking at was “Hitting, pitching and fielding certified.”

Hmmmph, I thought. That’s interesting. I wasn’t aware that there was a national standards board with a test you could take to become “certified” in various skills.

I know soccer has a coach’s licensing system that goes worldwide. I know martial arts instructors have to pass a rigorous series of tests based on long-established and standardized teachings to become certified. But softball?

Of course, there is no such thing. What I’m guessing it meant is that someone at the facility gives them the ok, and then they’re certified there. But it points up one of those things that unwary parents have to be careful of.

Saying an instructor is certified sounds very official and impressive. Yet it’s completely meaningless unless you know the standards on which the certification was based. It’s like saying someone played professional baseball, or is a former college player.

Lots of people played professional baseball at lots of levels. If you were paid to play, even if it was at a dollar amount below poverty level, you were a professional. If you played for the worst college in America with the worst coach ever, you still played in college.

What it doesn’t determine is whether the instructor knows doodly-squat. There are plenty of folks out there who were good players that have no idea how they did what they did. They just went out there and did it. So when it comes time to teach someone else, they do the same thing as everyone else. They either buy a book or a DVD and teach that, or they repeat whatever they happen to remember their old coaches saying.

Ultimately, what makes an instructor a good one isn’t whether they’re “certified” or have some other impressive-sounding credential. It’s whether he/she can teach your child how to improve her skills and succeed in the game.

How do you tell that? Ask to observe a lesson or two and see how the coach acts with students. Compare what he/she says to what you see top-level players doing. There are still plenty of folks out there teaching “old-school” (read: obsolete) techniques for various skills. And not all of them are old — nor are the old ones necessarily teaching what they did 20 years ago.

Another thing you’ll hear is to look at how their students have done. That one I’d take with a grain of salt. Rather than looking at their top players, try to find out how the kids with average ability have done under their tutelage. After all, a kid with tremendous athleticism and/or talent will probably succeed with or without that particular coach. It’s the ones who succeed while having only average ability who provide the best barometer for the difference that instructor and his/her teaching makes.

Be sure to ask questions. If you see someone is certified, ask by whom. You may find it’s not as impressive an accomplishment as you may think. The only thing that instructor may really be certified on is working the cash register.

Remember, with fastpitch softball anyone can hang out a shingle and declare themselves an instructor. I’ve seen plenty who haven’t a clue but manage to buffalo enough people to make a decent buck off of it. It really is a buyer beware situation.

Before you invest your hard-earned dollars in a path that will lead to nowhere, be sure to do your homework. Look at the results, not the hype, and you’ll find you get what you want — an opportunity for your daughter to succeed.