CELESTE ON SOFTBALL
by Celeste Knierim
What You Need Before Any Drill Will Work
Being at a Junior College, I had only freshman and sophomores and, most of the time, I didn’t have any assistance at the practices.
I am sure many of you can relate to that in your own situations. So, what that means is that I had to be totally organized at each practice
and also had to keep everyone doing something constructive for the entire practice. Most practices were 2 ½ to 3 hours, and I normally had
16 to 22 players.
First of all, have a plan for your practice season—not just that day, but the entire season. Decide where you want your team to be skill-wise,
by what month. Fall was the teaching season for us. We did not have time to do much physical conditioning, simply because we needed the time to
teach them what to do during the games, since most were new to the college game. So, the conditioning came during our drills. We played as many
four-year schools as we could, to challenge our players and show us where we may have been weak. I gave the players a list of things that I wanted
them to learn by the end of the fall. That doesn’t mean that the skill would be perfected but that they would know the basics of the skill
and know the reason why we wanted them to have that skill. We also got them prepared mentally by working on positive imagery and mental
toughness and by teaching them what the college game was about and the teams we were going to play.
After the fall games were over, we worked on conditioning and perfecting the skills. Starting second semester practices, we only had two months
to prepare for the start of the real season. Time was short in the gym since men’s and women’s basketball were still going on, so we
were limited to two hours in the gym and one hour out of the gym. This is where you have to really be organized to get the maximum out of the time
that you have each day. I strongly urge you to use some sort of list of what you are doing day by day. I liked having an index card with what I
wanted to accomplish that day—with teams of players already determined when needed and all of the drills listed. You probably will vary somewhat,
but at least you have the basic idea of what to do that day. Again, you will develop a timetable, in your head, where you will know how you want the
team to be by January and, then, where in February and so on. Know, before practice starts, how you want the gym to be set up, where everyone is to go,
and at what time. Be organized, and be definite in telling them where you want them to go and what you want them to do.
If you go into a practice and you look like you don’t know what to do or how to do something, they will pick it up and their confidence in you
will not be as strong as it needs to be. Even if you are “winging it” on a day or two, don’t let them know that you are doing that.
Never say to them something like “OK, do you want to go over here and bunt?” or “…break up into groups?”
(never let them choose their own groups) or “How about if we…?” or “Where should we set up…?” You would be
surprised at the number of coaches who are not in charge of their own programs or have lost control of the team because they are not definite and
decisive in speaking and running their teams. You are the coach—you need to control every aspect of the team, starting with the practices.
As soon as they walk into practice, you have them doing something and then just flow from one drill or activity to the next, with occasional breaks
for water. Let them know to come back immediately after getting a drink and have something for them to start as soon as they come back.
If you have the team by yourself, you obviously cannot have everyone doing the same thing all of the time. While working with the infield,
have the outfield doing skill work—either by using stations or working on something as a group, such as bunting. The outfielders and
pitchers can be split into the bunters and the fielders and rotate between the two until you are ready for them. Then, while you are working
with the outfield, the infielders and catchers can be bunting. You can do any drill applicable to each position and vary day by day. This is
where you have to have eyes on everything or what they call “eyes in the back of your head”. You have to watch what the group is
doing, that is with you, but also the group on the other side of the gym, working alone. If either group is performing a skill incorrectly,
you have to go over and change it until it is the correct way. You cannot allow them to practice a skill incorrectly.
The winter practices can get boring, and gym fever is something all of us in the Midwest and North know quite well. It is your job to vary the
practices while still accomplishing what you need to get done, remembering your timetable. Practices should always include situational work with
the entire team participating. While working with the infield on defense and situations, have the outfielders running the bases. The outfielders
are told to “push” the infielders by being very aggressive on the bases. This not only helps the infielders become mentally tough,
but it helps the outfielders become confident and very aggressive on the bases. Then have the infielders run the bases, while working with the
outfielders on defense. The pitchers and catchers can fit into the mix wherever they can. Start out by just having the runners go from home,
on your hit. You can control the ball, since you are hitting, to make it a hit or not, by where you hit the ball. That way, the runner can go for
second or third, depending on the hit. Have the runners go when you toss the ball up, before you hit it, to simulate a hit and run, squeeze, or
any type of situation that you want to work on that day. As the season gets closer and closer, work more and more on situations. Try and go over
every possible situation you might see during the season. If they do it enough in practices, they will not be shocked when they see it in a game.
To combat gym fever, scrimmage inside with a softie ball. I really like the Diamond softie since it reacts like a real ball most of the time
and the pitchers seem to think it feels like a real ball. Inside the gym, one field would be short, so we designated balls above a certain line to
be a double, triple or home run, depending on where it was hit. Hitting the ceiling was an out, so the players had to really concentrate on hitting
a line drive. Sometimes I would coach and call a bunt or steal, and sometimes I would watch the defense and let the offense call their own plays.
In doing that, the players really would take ownership in the team and learn to work together to win. Don’t forget, when you first start
scrimmaging, to teach as they play. You want them to learn to be aggressive on the bases and to bunt, slap, etc., to move the ball�but don’t
allow them to get silly about it. Teach them the right way to be aggressive and that the bunt has to be on the run (for a base hit) and go down the
foul lines—not straight to the pitcher. If it is possible with the rules of your association, scrimmage other teams. We would have an agreement
with other schools close to us that, on the first warm day, we would scrimmage with them.
No drills will work unless you have control of the way that the team practices. You must be organized, you must be confident, you must decisive, and you
must be definite about what you want to do and how to do it with the players. You will play like you practice, so I consider the practices the most
important part of the season.
For more from Coach Knierim click on Coaches Corner on the JUGS® website. |
