Conditioning Tips for Softball Players
Softball includes a lot of running, sprinting and throwing, which requires intense uses of your muscles as well as a high level of aerobic fitness. To improve their fitness, softball players can perform conditioning drills on a regular basis, which will help to boost performance potential and prevent injuries from occurring.
While most softball coaches recognize the importance of softball conditioning, softball practices can be hectic and not allow enough time to incorporate conditioning drills. With that in mind, below are some conditioning drills that will help to ensure that you are in the best shape of your life.
Doing Lap Tosses
The concept behind this drill is to develop catching and throwing skills while conditioning at the same time. The aim of this drill is to use time efficiently to incorporate various aspects of fitness. How this drill works is the two partners stand six feet apart and throw the ball back and forth while running. The idea is to take their minds off of running, instead focusing on improving their throwing and catching skills.
Merry-Go-Round
This exercise offers a great way for players to warm up or work on their conditioning skills while fielding ground balls. Players get into two fielding lines, one line at home base and one to the left of second base. Two hitters either hit or throw the ball to each line from the pitching circle. Players field and run towards the end of the opposite line, taking it in turns to catch the balls.
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Weave Drill
The aim of this drill is to help outfielders to improve their ball catching and fitness at the same time. How this drill works is that four players stand in a line, then the tosser throws a ball at the first person in the line, the player fields the ball and then throws it back to the tosser, and then runs to the middle of the field to catch another ball thrown by the tosser again. The second ball is returned to a second tosser at second base, and the sequence is then started again.
Pitchers Field and Cover First
The purpose of this drill is to practice fielding all different kinds of balls while staying active. For this drill, you need at least three pitchers, a catcher and a hitter. Pitchers form a line by the mound, with one pitcher being the first to catch a throw. The pitcher pitches a ball which the catcher catches; then the hitter hits the ball back to the pitcher so that they are able to get fielding practice too.
The fact is that conditioning in softball is a vital part of preparing for the game and ensuring that players are in a state of peak physical fitness. However, it is not always easy to fit conditioning specific activities into training sessions, which is why the drills above are ideal, as they combine regular training with conditioning.
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