Rochester Fastpitch

PLAYERS

They are what it's all about. Without girls wanting to play the sport of fastpitch softball, there would be no need for coaches, officials, trainers, leagues, teams or games.

What can we do to improve this sport in our area?

What can be done to get more girls involved with fastpitch softball and have more fun playing the game?

JOSIE'S READY, CHECK OUT THAT ARM! .... O.K. ... GIVE ME A GOOD ONE!

First off, if more girls had better training and did better in games, they would enjoy playing. Why would a girl who strikes out almost everytime she's at the plate want to continue playing? Why would a girl who is afraid of the ball and lets balls go through her legs or one who can't throw to a target want to come back and play next year? What about a girl who plays on a team that never wins year after year, while her friends are playing on winning teams? How about the girl who's a decent pitcher but the coach's daughter pitches every game?

Pitcher practicing against a pitching wall - Practice makes perfect!

There are a lot of softball clinics and camps in this area, but how do you find out about them? Your daughter may get a notice in school about a softball clinic at her school or a nearby school, but the paper comes home with ten other sheets and notes and probably never gets read. Or, do many parents think a sports clinic is only for those who are good at the sport? Hopefully, we can list the clinics in our area and the levels of training a player could expect to find at each clinic. Another thing to look at is that many clinics or camps in this area are in the summer. This means a girl has to wait 9 months to use new skills in a game situation. How much will they remember in 9 months?

Karen, our web designer, attends Kent State University in Ohio. She played Division 1 softball her first two years in college. Every winter, her coach would hold softball clinics on numerous weekends as a fundraiser for the team. They would be one- or two-day clinics and usually required pre-registration, and the clinics would fill up. Usually100 or more girls attended. In this area, we have several colleges with outstanding softball teams. We have Brockport, St. John Fisher, R.I.T., Geneseo, U of R. and M.C.C. Plus several others in this region have softball teams. (Think LeMoyne or Syracuse University, Ithaca, Erie Community.) A winter camp or clinic helps the girls to be in a lot better shape for the spring softball season. And several of these schools already offer winter clinics. We hope to list upcoming clinics on this website.

Jenny Lesczinski on the mound - and a quick coaches meeting at McAvoy
during the Lady Red Wings vs Lady Sky Chiefs game Aug 17, 2002

The coach hasn't taught them a thing this year. How many times have you heard this said? Or how many times have you said it? I've heard it said in both school and town ball. But let me explain something, having worked on the practice field with both Varsity and JV teams, both girls and boys: the minute you step on that field it's like you're in a time warp. It seems like only 20 minutes has gone by but it's an hour. The coach plans 2 or 3 drills or plays to practice and is sometimes lucky if he or she can get the entire team through one. First off, a practice may be 2 hours. By the time you get the team and equipment to the field and set up, 1/2 hour is gone, now the team warms up and stretches so no one gets injured. Now you get everyone in position and practice defending against the bunt, or a hit-and-run play. By the time you get 14 or 15 players through this, giving each player a couple tries, time's up. Now you have to put everything away, load up the water and gear and head back to the school. Heaven forbid you get back five or ten minutes late and parents start yelling to their kid, "Hey, I thought practice was supposed to be over at 4:30, it's 4:40 now." There's very little time for any one-on-one training. When the coach is hitting fly balls or grounders to one kid to improve his/her level, what's the rest of the team doing? You can't stop everything for 1 or 2 persons. Actually that's why there are tryouts for school; the coach will take the kids that have the best skills. There is no time to train. Even in town ball you get a couple weeks of training and practice, then you start playing games. Some teams meet 30 - 45 minutes before the game to practice; this is when you can get 1-on-1 training. But some parents drop the kid off five minutes before the game starts, yell, "Have fun, Julie," and take off. When two teams are on the field with an ump, you can't stop the game and show Julie how to stop grounders.

Where can you learn? Camps, clinics and parents (or other family members). Family members can hit her grounders on the lawn, in the driveway or down at the park. Hit her fly balls, pitch to her, use rubber or wiffle balls. Anything you can do will make her a better player. Throw the balls or roll the balls, if you can't hit. If she tries to stop 50 - 100 balls a night, I guarantee you will see an improvement in the next game. As was mentioned elsewhere, get a plastic bat and some wiffle balls. I know one coach that tells his players to hang an old tire from a tree and take swings at it, it helps build all the muscles you use to hit home runs. It's got to be healthier for kids than sitting in front of the T.V.

MONROE BLAZERS 14U vs DIAMOND ANGELS
summer league game at Brockport H.S. field

PITCHERS. The best thing to keep pitchers in shape is a pitching wall and an Incrediball (or a bucket full of them). That becomes a one-person training facility. You not only improve your pitching, but by using the Incrediball it bounces back at you and improves your fielding abilities. Of course nothing beats a live catcher moving the glove around to the various spots and asking a pitcher to hit it, but there's not many people out there that can or are willing to catch a 45 - 55 MPH fastball 200 times a night, especially if it's rising, curving or dropping quickly.

MONROE BLAZERS/ DIAMOND ANGELS

NOTE: Never, ever, ever let your daughter pitch to older boys or male adults. Make that clear to her. Once she starts getting better and is regularly striking girls out, you'll be at a party or after a game and some guy will say, "I bet she can't strike me out; come on, just a couple pitches." Don't do it, no matter how good she is. More often than not she can strike him out; guys are used to a 60-foot distance and by the time she finishes her stride, she's launching the ball from about 35 feet. Men used to baseball of slowpitch can't catch up at first. But after a couple swings and misses, with people now laughing and making fun of his swing, he starts swinging quicker and harder; he's not going to let a girl get the best of him! Using an aluminum bat and trying to kill the ball, it could come back at her at over 150 MPH. He has no control as to where it will go, and heaven forbid, it hits any part of her body or head. If the guy is a real jerk and insists, tell him to go pay Chuck Smith to pitch to him. (see Men's Fastpitch)

The more you practice, the better you get. The better you get, the higher level you get to play. The higher the level, the more you should love the game and the more likely it is that some college will pay you a scholarship to play.

People will always say: "You'll never make a living playing softball." They said the same thing 10 years ago to girls playing basketball and soccer. Now you have the WNBA and the WUSA leagues. Could there be a successful WFSA (Womans Fastpitch Softball Association) in the near future?

A 10U team warming up at a Buffalo tournament

Portable pitching wall inside garage
or outside on the lawn or driveway