Product Description

“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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107275 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780071485876
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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.

Customer Reviews

Great resource for youth league and travel team coaches
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!

Excellent Softball Drills Resource for Youth Softball Coaches
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3G428EK8IP38S To all softball players, coaches and parents:

In this video review, I explained that I'm qualified to review this product and why I strongly believe that this book is a great resource for softball drills especially for youth softball coaches.

Reviewer's credentials:

- Experienced Softball Coach (over 20 years of softball coaching experience including the international and college levels)

- Experienced presenter / course conductor in the field of softball and coaching

- Master's Degree in Coaching Sciences

- Doctoral Studies in Coaching Expertise

Outstanding and Highly Recommended!
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.