Even though the season is about to start up, it is vital that your players are maintaining strength during the long season. Rain out days and light practices are great times to take advantage of a 30 - 40 minute lift. We are not trying to set any strength records now, just try to maintain. Below is a two day a week workout to use during the season. Vary the reps as you see necessary.

Day 1
Squat jump 3 x 4 - 6
DB chest press 3 x 4 -6
Barbell squat (front or back) 3 x 4 -6 Lat pull down 3 x 6 - 8 Wood chop 2 x 10 each side
DB Side raise 2 x 8
Rotator cuff

Day 2

1 arm DB snatch 2 x 5 each arm
DB step up 3 x 4 - 6 each leg
DB shoulder press 3 x 4 - 6 each
DB row 3 x 6 - 8 each
Med ball sit up throw 2 x 12
1 leg DB RDL - 2 x 8 each
Med ball rotational throw 2 x 10 each side

Mike Kozak M.Ed., CSCS
Soar of Columbus Fitness Systems
614-306-9364
www.soarofcolumbus.com
www.strengthprogrambuilder.com

Technorati Tags: softball, fastpitch, fastpitch softball, training, strength, weight lifting, strength training

After my daughter’s first game this season (10U) she said, “Good thing we’re running those hills.”  We had been doing hill sprints for about 3 weeks when she said that.  Even she could see that doing those hill sprints 3 times a week helped her performance on the softball field.  Many great athletes in many different sports do high intensity, hill sprint type training and I know it works for softball too.  CLICK HERE to find out what Uphill Fitness Training can do for you.

Technorati Tags: speed training, running, softball, fastpitch

By Mike Kozak
 
If you look at the movements involved in sports such as volleyball, football and basketball, you will find that athletes are required to jump, land and react continuously throughout the game.  Sometimes you have to jump, land and then sprint.  Sometimes you have to shuffle, jump and then shuffle again.  I think you get the idea.  Taking this into consideration, I have started to incorporate what I call “Combo Plyos” into my programs for advanced athletes.  This doesn’t mean that I have abandoned speed drills or traditional plyometrics.  I just like to mix a couple sets of these in during a power phase to keep training fresh.

1.  Hurdle Combo  ( 3 six inch hurdles and 2 twelve inch hurdles)

12  6  6  6  12

Set the hurdles in a line about 2 feet apart with the 12 inch hurdles on each end and the 6 inch hurdles in the middle.  To start, the athlete will have their shoulders perpendicular to the first 12 inch hurdle.  They will start the drill by explosively jumping laterally over the first 12 inch hurdle.  Immediately upon landing, the athlete will perform a lateral high knee chop over the 3 six inch hurdles.  The athlete will then gather themselves, explosively jump over the last 12 inch hurdle and then immediately back over.  They will then chop back over the six inch hurdles and perform the jumps at the end.  Have your athletes perform 2 – 3 sets of going down and back twice over the hurdles.  The focus should be landing soft on the big jumps, moving from speed to power quickly and vice versa and maintaining body control.

2.  5 point jump  (5 cones)

                                                X

                                  X           X            X

                                                X

Set up one cone in the middle and one cone 3 yards to the left and right of the middle cone and one cone 3 yards to the front and back of the middle cone.   Starting at the middle cone, the athlete will jump up explosively, land and shuffle to the right cone.  At the right cone, they will jump; land and shuffle back the center, jump, and backpedal to the cone behind them.  At the back cone, they will jump, land and sprint back to the middle.  Continue the drill until the athlete has performed a jump at each cone and has returned to the middle.  Do one set moving clockwise and one set counter clockwise.
 

3.  Depth jump combo (plyo box, adjustable hurdle)

Set up a 12 – 18 inch box with an adjustable hurdle about 1 yard in front of it on a sprint track.  The athlete will drop off of the box, quickly land and jump over the hurdle, land on two feet and explode into a 5 yard sprint.  The key to this drill is being quick off the ground on the jump and then transitioning into the sprint quickly.  Cue your athletes to lean and push upon landing.  Perform 2 sets of 4 – 6 reps.
  

4.  Rim jump combo (basketball hoop)   Stand on the left side of a hoop, just in front of the backboard.  Jump up and reach for the board, land and push off of the left foot to explode to the right side of the hoop.  As soon as the athlete is on the right side, they should jump for the backboard, land and push off the right foot to explode back to the left.  Continue this until they have performed 5 – 6 jumps on each side of the hoop.
 
Mike Kozak is the co – owner of the Soar of Columbus Fitness Systems in Central OH.  For more information on his products and services, check out www.soarofcolumbus.com or www.strengthprogrambuilder.com.   

Hey - we’d like to help you out as much as possible!  Leave us a comment here with your number one softball training question.  What do you want to know about training to increase your softball performance?

I’m also working on a project with Marc Dagenais of SoftballPerformance.com in which we plan to answer many of your fastpitch softball training questions.  We want to make sure the specific question YOU have is answered.  But before we can ensure that, we need to know exactly what your question is. 

Simply click on the comment link below and tell us what you want to know.

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Technorati Tags: softball, fastpitch

Basic Weight Training & Conditioning for Children: A Must before Functional and Structure Power Training
by Vincent M.Burke,MPT,BS,CSCS,*DPT
Over the past ten years there has been a shift from the three-sport athlete to the one sport athlete.  Training for one sport has now become a constant year round process.  Because of this, problems arise because the body never really rests and therefore athletes are acquiring over-use syndromes resulting in injuries or even shortened careers, most of which, can be been prevented.

The vigorous training techniques at  schools, local gyms and/ or claimed sport specific training facilities have caught the attention of coaches, athletic directors, trainers, physical therapist, parents and athletes to train functionally, sport specifically and/or structure power training i.e. lifting logs, throwing kegs, rolling tires. Other training techniques being used are bounding from one direction to another, jumping off platforms with weights, running with sport cords and parachutes.  All of these training techniques are effective and fun; however, are they safe and developmentally appropriate for the junior athlete (prior to high school)? Safe training is more than just using the proper technique and /or appropriate supervision. Safety is also considering if the athlete is really prepared mentally and physically to perform these high mass lifts and/or the ballistic and speed training resistive theracises.

[Click Here to Read More…]

The ability to change direction quickly and accelerate out of a variety of movements could be the difference between making the game winning play or letting in the game winning run.  Agility and acceleration are skills that need to be practiced, just like batting and fielding ground balls.  The following are some simple drills that can be done at practice or even in the backyard.  All you need is a set of 4 cones.