By Bill Redmer

It s been said that having the best raw athletic material is all that is necessary to becoming a winning fastpitch team. Although there is a lot to be said about having good athletes, not all good athletes are good fastpitch players, nor are they consistent winners.

Many of the players on these "winning teams" lack basic fastpitch skills, game knowledge, and motivation. More than one coach has learned a hard lesson relying solely on a strong arm, a big bat, or on the "big play" and star reputation.

That said, more teams could be consistent winners if they simply could "consistent" execute some of the basic tools of the game. There are a lot of teams that haven't practiced such things as squeeze and suicide plays to the point that they can execute them on the spot in game situations. Players aren't skilled at bunting down either baseline or pushing it past the pitcher toward second. Defensively, most outfielders still don't throw to the right base or use the cut-off play properly. Most hitters haven't a clue as to how a pitcher is working them or even realize that their obvious hitting weaknesses are being systematically attacked. Even sadder, too many teams with good athletic "star" players haven't perfected simple basic throwing and catching techniques and fundamentals. The list of failures regarding fastpitch skills and strategy is extensive and goes on and on.

Fastpitch softball is a complex game requiring athletic potential, specifically-trained athletic skills, and game-situational knowledge. It isn't something you can just walk on a field and play well without practice. A player must be able to make a play, and that requires the athletic ability to hit, run, catch, or throw. More importantly, a player needs to know how and why to make that play, and what athletic skill to utilize in doing it.

Players need to understand the impact of their actions. Good players understand the percentage plays and the implication of making them. Too many players don't even know the words, percentage play let alone the strategic implications implied in choosing one play response over another. Good teams—winning teams—do!

Winning teams work at developing basic skills. They make routine plays routinely. They have practiced the plays they expect to make so that when they make them in a game it's done without pressure. They have gained game experience through this practice.

Such things as dealing with a sacrifice bunt, successfully every time you face it, is very important and is the difference in winning and loosing in over 50% of the fastpitch games played. Yes, that's right, simply being able to throw a runner out at either first or second in a sacrifice situation is that critical in playing fastpitch.

Don't believe the old adage that you get better. playing better people. All you do is get frustrated when you get beat. You get better mostly by practicing what you expect to do in a game so that when you're confronted with that given situation in a game you're prepared to execute it routinely. Advocates of this "play better people" approach usually lose a lot, fail to teach their kids anything, and find their team motivation and morale at rock bottom. It's better to control what your players learn rather than let the other team dictate the lesson. That way you control the situation rather than let the situation control your team.

The Winning Team's Offense Tool Box

Bunting

On offense, winning teams have the ability to do the most important thing in softball—get people on base. You can't win a game unless you score. Most fastpitch coaches are so over-occupied with developing a pitcher that they fail to develop a team of competent hitters. Youth teams are notorious for not being able to bunt and they do not practice the several various techniques for doing so. Moreover, few youth players can conceptualize the strategic reasons for utilizing the bunt. They haven't been taught the very important mental aspects of the game. Good teams practice sacrifice bunts, slap bunts, drag bunts, and push bunts. Their coaches aren't afraid to call upon a player to use these tools in a game. Good players understand the difference between bunting to sacrifice and bunting safely for a hit or to score a run. Don't blame a girl who can't execute; blame the coach who has failed to either motivate her to learn or failed to teach the skill and the reason for using it.

Hitting

Teams, players, and coaches spend a lot of money on a pitching machines, and every "how-to-improve-hitting" gimmick device that comes on the market. We've seen balls on ropes and wires, body/swing control restraints, soft-toss systems, and bats of every conceivable design imaginable. People get wealthy writing books on the development of the perfect swing.

I suppose that there may be some benefit in all of this, but by simply teaching a hitter what to expect from a pitcher in given situations can improve her hitting percentage as much as 50 percent. Most of our kids go to the plate without any concept of how a good pitcher-catcher (battery) will study a hitter's characteristics and victimize her accordingly. Yes, the best pitchers can read batters and throw pitches that move through more than one geometric plane. They watch a batter's swing and throw pitches that will simply avoid the bat's sweet spot as it's being swung thought it's arch. They throw pitches that are designed to defeat the best of level swings and the hours spent in the batting cage.

Good teams attack and defeat a good pitcher because they know what pitchers are trying to do. They have been taught to analyze. They don't approach the plate and just play "hitter's lottery." The point is that good pitchers have a plan when they face a hitter, but most batters don't have a plan when they face a pitcher. In this respect, baseball or men's fastpitch may be ahead of women's softball in that male players are always looking to finding an edge. They try to steal signals. They try to find a tip off to a pitcher's delivery. They may set up a pitcher for a given pitch by displaying certain characteristics in the batter's box. Charting and scouting are severely under-utilized in women's and girl's fastpitch.

Base Running

Good teams run bases well. Good teams are taught how to leave a base. They practice and practice timing their move with the release of the ball from the pitcher's hand. Good teams take risks on the basepaths.

To be successful, all the players on a team have to know how to slide. They have to know how to hip slide, hook slide, belly slide. They have to know how to pop up slide. Most importantly, they cannot be afraid to slide. Kids that can't or won't shouldn't be on the team. Timidity on the basepath has lost more games than any other single factor.

Signals and response to signals is the most critical aspect of baserunning. More great opportunities to score or advance have been lost because of missed or misunderstood stood signals. Signals should be simple and two-way. If a player doesn't understand one, she should have a method of signaling back to the coach. How many squeeze or suicide plays have been negated because of a coaches lack of confidence that her signals are under stood by the runner.

Most importantly, good baserunning teams have been taught the reasons and strategy of base rundowns. They understand the situation and have been taught what to do and why. Good baserunners know to watch the coaches while running and to pick up other clues as to what is happening behind them on the play. They're alert and opportunistic. Who is covering the bag on a play? Where are they positioned so your slide can avoid the tag? How deep is the cut-off-player? Where is the pitcher covering or first baseman covering? What is the catcher doing? All these things let a runner know what is going on behind her especially if she understands what these defensive players have been taught to do in given situations.

Good runners and coaches will watch a pitcher and time the speed and location of her pitches. Good coaches will steal on drop balls, off speed pitches, or just slow pitchers. Stealing on a weak-armed catcher is just good business. Stealing on a weak-armed catcher and a slow pitcher is a sure thing.

Good baserunners look to steal the catcher's signals so that they may get a jump on things especially if the ball is to be thrown low. If a low pitch is hit, it's usually an infield grounder. Getting a jump can prevent a double play or help the runner advance successfully on a "sure out" infield situation. High pitches are usually hit into the air, so runners alert to this can take advantage of situations of this type by tagging up and advancing. Knowing what's happening and how to take advantage of that knowledge scores runs.

A great many amateur and high school fastpitch softball coaches (former baseball players mostly) still haven't figured out that fastpitch softball is not baseball or slow pitch. On offense, they are still trying to get by with teams that can't bunt. They still try to continually hit away against good fast pitching, especially when they get a run or two behind. On defense you see the third baseman and first baseman back by the bag more often than not. It must be a macho thing? Their base running is unimaginative and tentative. They don't have confidence in their players' ability to do the right things.

You win fastpitch games a run at a time! To play it any other way only plays into the hands of your opponent. You win by applying pressure and more pressure thus increase ing the possibility and percentage of the other team making a mental mistake or failing to execute the routine play correctly. All of the above offensive tools used effectively will increase your team's chances for success regardless of whether you have the best pure athletes or not. More importantly, these tools will help your players achieve a new level of success simply by their knowing how to play the game, knowing what the percentage play is, and knowing what to expect in given situations. Smart, knowledgeable players beat pure athletes more than a fair share of the time. Smart coaches teach their players how to play the game first, and in the process develop them into athletes by teaching and helping them develop the skills required to play the game.