COACHING AND SKILLS LINKS
FOR COACHES, PARENTS, PLAYERS

This page contains a number of coaching and skills resource links.   Most of the content is shared free of charge by coaches from various levels of baseball and softball.   Please use this information to better yourselves and your players.

Team Practice Plans

1. TBall and Minis Softball Practice Plans - Weekly practice plan and drills developed for Tee Ball that can also be used for Minis softball. 
   • Practice Plans for Weeks 1-4 can be found HERE.
   • Practice Plans for Weeks 5-10 can be found HERE.
   • Videos of the practice plan drills can be found HERE.
2. Coach Pitch and Minis Practice Plans - Weekly practice plan and drills developed for Coach Pitch baseball and Minis softball.
   
   
3. USA Baseball Youth Practice Plans - Practice plans and drills with video examples.  Good for fundamentals in softball and baseball.
4. 
   

   Designing Practice Plans - Breakdown of what's needed to build efficient and constructive practices.

   
   

5. USA Baseball Mobile Coach - Free tool from USA baseball with drills and practice plans

Baseball Manuals (can be adapted for Softball)

1. USA Baseball Youth Baseball Manual - Guide developed to support coaches in their mission to provide a positive, development-based experience for their athletes.
   
   
2. USA Baseball High School Baseball Coaching Manual - Guide developed to support coaches in their quest to provide a positive, development-based experience to their student-athletes. 
   

Throwing Instruction

1. High Level Throwing (HLT) Manual - Guide on proper throwing mechanics, arm care, and warmup routines.  The guide was prepared by Austin Wasserman for DLL softball and contains videos and voiceover instructions.
   
   
2. High LevelThrowing (HLT) - Throwing/training Instagram Link with reels, etc.
   
   
3. WassermanStrength - Strength/performance training Instagram Link with reels, etc. 

Baseball Pitching

1. Pitching Mechanics - Online library of pitching/throwing mechanics/motion of hundreds of baseball pitchers maintained by Rob Friedman, aka PitchingNinja.
   
   
2. Pitching Grips - Online library of pitching grips from hundreds of baseball pitchers maintained by Rob Friedman.

Softball Pitching

1. Softball Pitching Technique - Three videos that give instructions on fastpitch softball pitching technique.   The videos are provided by Rich Balswick, an All American mens fastpitch pitcher and renowned pitching instructor.
   
   
2. Softball Pitching Misnomers - Page with videos that explain proper arm positioning through the circle.
   
   
3. RuggedSoftball - Pitching/training Instagram Link with reels, etc.
   
   
4. TincherPitching - Pitching/training Instagram Link with reels, etc.
   
   
5. Tincher Pitching Weekly Blog - Articles that cover mental game, parental questions, process development, etc.
   
   
6. Slow Motion Pitching Videos - provided by Rick Pauly, former pitching coach for USC Upstate, Univ of Georgia, and Team USA. 
   
   
7. Internal Rotation Explanation - A breakdown of the term "internal rotation".
   
   
8. Introduction to Internal Rotation - Guide to understanding how softball pitching actually works with regards to arm rotation.
   
   
9. Drive & Lower Body Mechanics - Guide for drive mechanics which will result in a pitcher achieving a Power Line position.
   
   
10. Front Side Resistance - Guide for understanding front side resistance.
    
    
11. Brush Interference - Guide for understanding the contact of the throwing arm with the hip prior to release.
    
    
12. Understanding Movement Pitch Releases - Guide with video examples of release and grip for various movement pitches.

Catchers Training

1. Jen Schro Catching - Catching drills/training Instagram Link with reels, etc presented by former UCLA catcher Jen Schroeder.
   
   
2. Jen Schro Catching2 - Catching drills/training YouTube Link.
   
   
3. Cox Softball Training - Softball catcher specific training by Kristen Cox.
   
   
4. Catcher Blocking Drills - Blocking drills/training YouTube Link by Tolleson High School Coach.
   
   
5. Basic Drills for Youth Catchers- Catching drills/training YouTube Link.
   
   
6. Catchers Blocking Blog - Guide with blocking/training from Catching Made Simple.

Individual Fielding Skills

1. Morgan Stuart Defense & Agility - Infield training/agility YouTube Link by former University of Washing infielder Morgan Stuart.
   
   
2. Defense Lessons - Youth Defensive Development/Training Instagram Link with reels, etc.
   
   
3. Rapid Fire Drill - Rapid fire drill YouTube Link.
   
   
4. Trotsky Baseball - Fielding drills/training YouTube Link by Nate Trotsky.
   
   
5. Winning Baseball - Fielding drills and warmup throwing routines YouTube Link by Trent Mongero and Tim Hyers.
    
6. JT Maguire - Outfield instruction/videos from Cleveland Indians Outfield Coach (Look in 2019 and before).
   
   
7. Dai Dai Otaka - Fielding instruction/videos from Houston Astros (Look in 2022 and before).
   

Hitting

1. Softball Strength Academy - Hitting/training Instagram Link with reels, etc.
    
2.  Craig Hyatt - Hitting instruction/videos from hitting coach.
   
   
3. Stance Doctor - Hitting/Swing training Instagram Link with reels, etc.
   

Assorted Softball Skills

1. USA Softball Fundamental Skills Videos - Softball skills/fundamentals presented in instructional videos.
   
   
2. Softball University - Softball training Instagram Link with reels, etc.
   
   
   
3. Softball Project - Softball training Instagram Link with reels, etc.
   
   
4. College Softball Drill Collection - Assorted content/drills from college softball.

Coaching and Learning

1. Changing the Game Project - Blog and information on becoming a better and more effective coach.
   
   
2. One Softball - Articles, tips, videos, drills, etc.   Created by a team of Softball Coaches.
   
   
3. Driveline Baseball Podcast - Weekly podcast on youth baseball/athletes.
   
   
4. ABCA Podcast - Weekly podcast on various topics in baseball from offense, defense, to mental game and athlete development.