Favorite Coaching Gadget 2008Coaches – We want to hear from you!
What gadget or invention would you be completely lost without?
Is it …
- Magnetic line-up board?
- Cushioned bucket covers?
- Rolling equipment bags?
- Team websites?
- Fungos?
- Scorekeeping Software?
- Throw down bases?
- Portable bat racks?
What is it that makes your coaching life so much easier than if you had to coach without it?
Tell us what your favorite coaching gagdet is AND why you like it.
If you have more than one thing to talk about, put it in a separate comment below to give yourself another entry into the prize drawing for this category.
Any “non-rubbish” response or contribution posted here (Click on the “Leave a Comment” link below) will give you an entry into the drawing for the “Favorite Coaching Gadget” prize pack which includes:
- A T-Shirt from Bill Hillhouse’s House of Pitching ($15 value)
- House of Pitching DVD from Bill Hillhouse ($30 value)
- A 6-month membership to Winning Softball Online ($50 value)
- A 2-year subscription to Fastpitch Forever (valued at $10.95)
- An AllAboutFastpitch.com T-Shirt (valued at $20)
- A 1-year Subscription to Softball Today Magazine ($20 value)
-
Total Prize Pack Value of $145.95
August 25th, 2008 at 4:58 am
I’m a fan of the light flight balls. They work great hitting before games with more than one team taking cuts. I don’t have to worry about balls carrying too far and hittting an opponent before the game starts and the girls see a realistic pitch or soft toss.
August 25th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Soft toss machine- You can work on a lot of different pitch locations and the coach can concentrate on watching the hitter to give instruction and not worry about the toss. Tons of reps.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I probably seem lazy but sometimes we have to walk around the gates to our field because it is closed. It’s a bit of a walk from your car and a rolling equipment bag would be really nice. With 2 full bags of equipment plus buckets of balls, it would come in handy.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I really like the hit stick. There are many times that I am the only coach, and with 11 girls, it is very hard to get them all some swings in before the game. But the girls can hold the hit stick for each other, and I am better able to watch the batters and make corrections. Also, while some are hitting with the stick, others can be working on fielding without worrying about balls flying everywhere.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I like using 9″ poly balls(wiffle balls)during tournaments for batting.You can throw live pitches in a small area.My only problem is finding poly-balls that will last.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
My favorite is a 30 inch long 1 inch circumfrence wood dowel that I bought from Lowes and added a handle and friction tape for a grip. My daughter named it the Lighning Rod and we use it constantly for batting drills such as side soft toss with foam golf balls.
Second favorite is the Hitting Stick.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I have a bunch of gadgets I love, but the one that has zoomed to the top is a plastic mirror that is 5′ tall and 2′ wide. A coach can tell a girl 1000 times “you are pulling your shoulder out” or “you are dropping your hands” and they just can’t feel it and nothing changes. The swing happens too fast. But when they are able to SEE themselves swing in the mirror, wonderful things happen and swings improve rapidly.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I’m not much of a gadget guy, but I feel lost without my clicker. I also have a bad that I carry things like weighted balls, tennis balls, elastic bands, rubber balls,cones,etc. for various drills.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
We just purchased a Jugs Small Ball Machine. It awsome for working tracking the ball and bunting.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
My best gadget is a camcorder. You can tell someone they are pulling their head, dropping their hands, shifting too much weight, etc. a thousand times, but they still continue to do it. I like to film our batting practices so that the players get to see the whole picture of what they are doing right and wrong. What I do is have them partner up on this. I will film both of them, but I let each girl grade and tell their partner what they are doing right and wrong. I will also comment on the video to point out things that they missed. This really works well because the girls really push each other to do it right. This will also help them develop the muscle memory for hitting at a quicker pace. The camera never lies!
August 25th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I can speak for all of my coaches that they would be lost without their buckets. The buckets on our team are essential. Its where everything happens, from E-10 which is an error by the coach if he miss fields a foul ball, to crunch time in a ball game when they whip out the sunflower seeds. All of us players get a bat fulll of sunflower seeds at the beginning of the season, by the end they are gone. Our buckets hold our “good balls” and the bucket is to be sat on so they don’t get mixed up with the bucket of “bad balls”. The bucket is essential for both out softballs and to the bums of our coaches.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Our head coach can’t do any pre-game warmup without his Fungo bat. He is lost without it, in-fact if someone forgets to bring Fungi (its what we call it) we don’t get infield practice that day. Any other bat just wouldn’t hit the ball the way Fungi did, it would be bad luck.
August 25th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
We use the Fungo bat for infield practice. I really like for my pitchers to use a spinner for pitching practice.
August 25th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
My gadget is the double-tee. We constantly train in hitting the inside and outside pitches with this device (swing-rite) and it has helped my hitters be able to cover more pitches with this training aid used in our regular hitting sessions.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
I bought a video off the internet and it had instructions on how to make a Dowel Bat. Since making this bat my daughter just cannot put it down. It is light weight so she can get hundreds of cuts in on wiffle balls without getting tired.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
my personal favorite is the zip-n-hit. I teaches the girls to hit the top of the ball and drive through it.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Lets see, I love all of my equipment bags! I would be lost without them. I also love the incrediballs, they are the right weight but won’t hurt the player as easily. The last thing is my 5 gallon bucket, what else is the coach supposed to sit on!!!
August 25th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
My favorite piece of equipment as a coach is my bucket. We have a regular 5 gallon bucket with a easton cover on it the cover has its shoulder strap, pockets on the outside i keep a water bottle, note book, pencils, and zipper for keys and stuff i do not want in my pockets. In the bucket i keep my sun screen, sun glasses, towel, hats, gloves, rain/warm gear, extra shoes, socks for me I also keep extra socks, belt and under armor along with advil and benadryl. The girls get bat bags we need something to carry our stuff in.
August 25th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
My favorite gadget to use with the girls is the zip n hit. A great tool to keep the girls on top of the ball. some of my girls hate it cause they have trouble hitting from it. but it teachs them to hit the top part of the ball. Plus any parent or player can run it as long as they keep it tight. great tool to use anywhere including inside.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
My favorite gadgets are my Easton Bucket cover and Mangnetic coaching board. The board makes it easy to see everyone on the field and make adjustments to the hitting order at the same time. It als keeps all the girls on the same page and they never ask, where do I go or where am I at in the lineup.
The bucket cover just keeps everything organized and the padded lid cover also helps during pitcher warm up.
August 25th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
We recently purchased a Swing Away and the girls really like it because they get instant feed back on their swing. No need for chasing balls and the coach can concentrate on the hitting technique rather than tossing balls.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I am not much of a gadget person but it would be nice to have thought of one that everyone just had to have that would make me a millionaire. There is one I use a lot as a pitching instructor. It is a noodle. Placed at a certain point between the pitching arm and the hip helps improve arm whip mechanics without bruising the forearm or hip.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:12 am
I think the best gadget is the golf whiffle ball. It helps improve hand-eye coordination and using colors and having them call out colors makes the girls focus on the ball and the bat hitting it.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:51 am
How many of us coaches that have attend clinics and softball events where we see a new gadget and say hey that’s the idea we had last year but never followed up on? Well it has happened to me numerous times,but, I have a favorite indoor training device made from a vinyl covered clothes line and a softball whiffle ball. We tie the clothes line off on one of our bleachers slide a regulation softball whiffle ball onto the line right thru the center of the ball. We use a portable volleyball pole mounted on metal frame with wheels to place line approximately 20to 30 feet from the bleachers. We place a homeplate at the end nearest the volleyball pole,leaving enough room for a batter to swing. Several variations and different ball angles are available just by adjusting the line horizontaly(inside/outside pitches/low/high /middle of plate)and vertically on the pole end. With only 1/2 of the ball sitting above the line the batter is forced to strike the top half of the ball every time which in real hitting senarios produces desired ball striking angle for line drives and hard gound balls. Set up as a station during a hitting cycle the hitter gets 8 to 10 quality swings. We use this in static mode(ball set up on line over plate(inside-middle-outside hitting contact points)hitter strikes ball partner slides balll back with wooden dowel. Method two(you’ll recognize this as the same as pro baseball playersline pitching device(cost 49.00)Hitter takes stance at plate area and coach or partner slides ball with dowel toward batter,fast,slow(change)great for timing and fast hands to the ball. Cost about 15 dollars,100 ft of clothes line produces 4 setups to use in clinic’s or batting practice circuts.Sorry for the long post,thought I share an idea I got from some.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:53 am
I really like the hit stick. You can use it to practice in smaller spaces while still getting that feel of hitting a ball
August 26th, 2008 at 1:54 am
There are so many. First, the magnetic line up board – it is something you shouldn’t be without. Create different lineup scenarios – all without having to write it down. At the start of each season, I buy new magnetic sheets and print out new labels on my p-touch.
Second great gadget is the home plate with the tape measure built into it. When you are traveling to different fields, no need to guesstimate the distance – just drop down the plate and measure away.
Finally, for catching my pitchers, instead of a bucket I use a rubbermaid step stool. It stands about a foot and 1/2 off the ground and I think gets you in a more accurate catching position – especially for the younger pitchers.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Here in South Africa we’ve not reached the heights that the US has in terms of coaching and using gadgets. So you will not find/see many of the gadgets the US coaches talk about.(In my case any way. You simply don’t find it in SA unless you import it which would be very costly simply because of the exchange rate. But I’d love to have it and learn how to use it.)
But I would have to say that the magnetic line-up board(which I’ve seen only 1 coach use ) would be a God sent.It would certainly help eliminate the questions of :”Whose up?”,”Who do I bat after?” etc .
Vanessa
August 26th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
My favorite gadget currently is our website. We use the blog and newsletter to post articles and information that allow the girls to learn more about the game and “How To” for self improvement. As many coaches know, there is never enough time at practice to get everything in we want to accomplish. Our staff tasks the girls to read the articles on their own time and then we ask questions about the articles at different points during practice. It is an innovative way to educate the girls and they like not knowing what coach or what question they will be asked during practice.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
I have had a lot of success teaching pitchers by using a dummy batter. You can buy them as such or use a Mickey Mouse punching dummy from a toy store. If you are really on a tight budget, stack up 3 five gallon buckets. Whatever you use is good as many pitchers can hit their corners all day until a batter steps into the box. If they have a “batter” there all the time, it takes that element away and they are used to it.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I would have to say that a team website is a valuable tool for a team to utilize. Our team is current in transition from one team to joining forces with a multi-team organization and we are currently without a website. I feel lost at times without it during this transition. It makes great one-stop shop for coaches, players and parents to find all the information they need on upcoming practices, games, events and other resources. Communication is a key to teams success and a great start is informative website. Every team should have one, but you have to have somebody willing to maintain it, too.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Spinner is great for teaching release of the pitch. But, a video camera is essential. Players don’t visualize like an adult does. How can they visualize what they don’t know or understand. SHOWING someone what they are doing wrong and then showing them how to do it correctly is essential to teaching fundamentals and proper mechanics!
August 26th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
The only problem I ran into was a small budget. There were so many cool gadgets out there! Absolutely one thing that made my life easier was the “Starting Line Up” by RagBall. Whenever I changed my offensive line up I could look at things, play with things, slip those in and out to the correct area of the lineup in seconds…and the girls loved it! Having the clip to clip it on the various chain link fences in the dugouts was absolutely a have to have.
Now I could go on and on about all the other things I wanted…like one of those carts to take all your stuff around…specially tournament play going from game to game…phew…!
August 26th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Speed gun. It helps time fast balls and change ups. It also lets the picther know when they are using the proper form, in general.
We also have been using the Weighted Balls (9, 10, 11, 12 oz)this summer in preparation for Fall & Winter Leagues, as well as travel.
I love it. It has helped.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I prefer a broom handle that I have taped and golf sized wiffle balls. We are able to get the girls to focus at tournaments with just a little bit of room as the balls don’t travel very far.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
My best purchase this year was a wagon for gear bought from Lowe’s for $75. Saves a lot of effort for an old coach. I like to use golf wiffle balls and drop them into the hitting zone.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I love the foam golf balls for soft toss. The girls seem to like to use them as well. Get the girls to have a contest to see who can catch the most in the air while catching up for their teammates. Make it fun while learning. I also love my wagon, cant beat it.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
One of the best gadgets I use is water balloons.It teaches the girls to have softhands by throwing them to the girls.It also teaches them to have fun after practice by having a water balloon fight with the coaches and parents.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:12 am
I like the hit-a-way for muscle memory. It works well for correcting swing problems as well.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:26 am
The Jugs lite flite machine defenitly. You can change the pitches and speeds of it. Its good for younger players, becasue they are cushion balls so the kids arent afraid of getting hit.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Honestly, my favorite coaching device is a dry eraseboard with a batting line up on one side, and a field outline on the other. Fill it out before the game, clip it to the fence after you read it off, and it then becomes the girl’s responsibilty to know where they’re playing and who they’re after.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:03 am
I like to use the water balloons as well, the girls have fun and is a great way to end practice.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I think I would be lost without the buckets. We use them for outfield drills, markers for team drills and many other things too numerous to mention. During games we sit on them to call in signs to the catcher and infielders and they still hold balls and other things necessary for the team!
August 27th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Golf Wiffle Ball Holder! I bought this at Wal-Mart and love it. I toss them to my team and walk around and pick them up without bending over. I had back surgery a few years back and not having to lean over 20 times in warm-ups this is a great.
Frank – other than water ballons, try fruit. Once a season I get an old bat and let the kids hit old fruit such as apples, oranges and eggs. They love it!!!
August 27th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
One word…… Video!!! You can tell a girl a kazillion times she is throwing chest first, droping her hands at the plate, etc etc. Once you video them and they see it, they are more apt to fix it.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I like using the wiffle balls and wiffle golf balls for batting and bunting practice. We use them before the game and you can get alot of work in a small place.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
One that my players enjoyed was a slip n slide. (The old kids water toy) Since we didn’t have access to a hose at the field I used jugs of water to wet it down. Works great for sliding practice
August 28th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
MY FAVORITE TOOL IN MY INDOOR FASTPITCH FACILITY IS THE “SPIN RIGHT SPINNER”, INVENTED BY CHERI KEMPF. IT HELPS TRAIN CORRECT SPINS FOR ALL MOVEMENT PITCHES AND GIVE OUR STUDENTS IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK FOR NEEDED CORRECTIONS. WE’VE HAD 104 SCHOLARSHIPS IN 10 YEARS SO WE FEEL IT HAS IMPROVED MANY YOUNG LIVES AS WELL.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
My next purchase will be the Mizuno Organizer Coaches Bucket.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
We love our jugs lite flite machine – it had helped our girls learn different pitches and to be patient!
August 29th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Love the zip and hit it keeps two girls busy in warm-ups and you can walk around and help
August 29th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I have my assortment of “gadgets” that I use regularly with my team, but one of the most useful by far has been a dowel bat, reinforced with insulation and electrical tape. The grip has another smaller dowel set into it to ensure proper knuckle alignment and grip. It allows for endless swings, we use it for casting work, tee practice with wiffle (golf) balls. A real work horse…that produces results.
August 30th, 2008 at 6:59 am
I’m a new coach and all I have is a bucket of balls, love of the game and time! Although I love Roger Coppage’s comment about his camcorder! I’m going to use that one. Thanks Roger!!
August 30th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I have a Flip Mino videocamera I use to record players. It’s cheap, easy, simple and comvenient. I use it to film hitting for immediate feedback and it easily uploads to the computer so I can send it to the kids for their viewing to study themselves.
August 30th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Hitting Stick – home made
1 in PCV pipe cut the length of your average players bat.
Use 3 rolls of different Colored Electrical Tape
CONSTRUCTION
At one end place a strip of tape 4 – 6 “long lengthwise (Grip Line)
At each end of the tape wrap a different color around the pipe
Basically it looks like this,
GREEN GREEN
GREEN RED RED RED RED RED GREEN
GREEN GREEN
Turn the pipe 180 degrees so the Red Grip Line is down.
Then 6 inches from the other end place a strip of tape 4 – 6“ long lengthwise (Contact Line)
At each end of the tape wrap a different color around the pipe
Basically it looks like this,
BLUE BLUE
BLUE RED RED RED RED RED BLUE
BLUE BLUE
Now you have a hitting stick, and you can make a bunch of these for under $20.00.
Proper Fundamentals of Hitting
GRIP – knocking knuckles lined up (use washable color marker to make a line)
STANCE – feet twice shoulder width OR slightly wider than shoulder width
STRIDE – NO STEP or very small one (or it does not matter from a tee?)
POSTURE – knees slightly bent, hands at back shoulder
WEIGHT SHIFT – You have to go back to go forward.
SWING – short downward blow (top of ball), see it hit the bat, squish the bug
FINISH – bat behind the back
Proper hitting position (PHP)
1. Relax
2. Ready (knocking knuckles on grip line)
3. Weight Shift OR 80/20
4. Contact (eyes at contact line)
5.Finish
Pivot Drill – bat behind the back and squish the bug.
Opposite Side
CONTACT
Proper Fundamentals of Hitting
GRIP – knocking knuckles lined up (use washable color marker to make a line)
STANCE – feet twice shoulder width OR slightly wider than shoulder width
STRIDE – NO STEP or very small one (or it does not matter from a tee?)
POSTURE – knees slightly bent, hands at back shoulder
WEIGHT SHIFT – You have to go back to go forward.
SWING – short downward blow (top of ball), see it hit the bat, squish the bug
FINISH – bat behind the back
Tee position – in front on home plate & no higher than belt high.
Proper hitting position (PHP)
1. Relax
2. Ready
3. Weight Shift OR 80/20
4. Contact
5. Finish
Pivot Drill – bat behind the back and squish the bug.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I like using using big pieces of cardboard on the outfield grass to learn to slide on. The kids usually get the hang of it and love it. I’ve also seen a big piece of radiator hose used as a hitting stick. It seemed to work great. Throwing little beans, like soy or whatever for batting practice. Much smaller and more concentration than golf balls, and no pick up. They love to try and hit it. Also get a partially deflated basketball/soccoer ball in a bungee apparatus for soccer training and put one in on the base of a batting tee. Put a toilet plunger down in the batting tee and set the ball in the bungee holder on the tee. Works great for getting smaller kids to improve their power in their swing.
September 1st, 2008 at 2:38 pm
our team utilizes the rolling carts. They ate vital to getting all the gear
where of needs to be. During the longer wait times between games
it also provides a great place for every one to keep their gear as well.
September 1st, 2008 at 11:54 pm
We use a ton of gadgets and I like the Hitaway. You can get a lot of swings in a short time and unlike hitting off of the tee the ball is moving.
October 6th, 2008 at 12:40 am
I have question. I have only heard from one sponsor since the festival has been over, so how do I receive the rest of the prize package?