Nailing High School Softball Tryouts: A Coach’s Perspective

As the weekend approaches and the excitement builds for high school softball tryouts, it’s crucial to remember that success on the field goes beyond just mastering the game’s skills. Conclusion: I truly hope it wasn’t lost on anyone that ALL of these things listed above have NOTHING, absolutely NADA to do with your softball skills!

Parents learning how to help their daughters is important too

UNPOPULAR OPINION: Parents learning how to help their daughters is important too. UNPOPULAR OPINION: Parents learning how to help their daughters is important too.  I believe parents learning how to help their daughters is just as important as the players learning it for themselves.Your private coaches aren’t at every single practice or game – but guess who is? YOUR PARENTS.Parents can be such an amazing resource for your players – IF you let them!I have ALWAYS been a firm believer in making sure parents stay to watch their daughter’s lessons and clinics whenever possible – because hopefully, they will learn something too! And learn enough to be able to be helpful when their daughters are struggling!Knowing WHAT to say and HOW to help in these situations can definitely turn your player’s day around.When I was younger and was struggling with something the first person I would look to for help was my Dad. Yep, total daddy’s girl here , but what softball player isn’t?If you’ve been around and read my posts before you know my dad was/is amazing – and knew NOTHING about softball. But, he would take me to every single practice and ALWAYS sit and watch.He would NEVER leave to go run errands etc. (superman right?) . I remember always asking him if he would get bored just watching all the time. His answer was always ‘Of course not, I love watching you play.’If we were at home practicing and I wasn’t getting a drill right and IF I asked him for help he would be like a tape recorder from my coaches. ‘Remember what Coach Mitch said about your hands’ etc. And that would always seem to help.If I didn’t ask for help (typical stubborn girl over here ) he usually would just let me figure it out on my own. More on that topic another day…SO HOW IS AWS GETTING BETTER?!This is why AWS has been sending their players home with these ‘Things to Remember’ cards!If you have ever attended our sessions before – you know we give the players A TON of feedback, and it sometimes can be hard to remember EVERYTHING that they worked on.It can be tough going to your team practice trying to recall what you learned over a week ago.These cards are a great reference point for both our players AND their parents and coaches!PLAYERS – Pull this card out at your practices to remember the finer points of what you learned and are supposed to be working on before your next practice. Pick 2-3 bullet points and get to work!COACHES – I am sure you are thrilled that your players are working even outside of your team practices, but want to know exactly what they are doing? Ask to see their cards!PARENTS – On the car ride home from our sessions have your daughter explain to you all of the bullet points she wrote down in her own words like she’s teaching YOU. In my experience, if the girls can explain and teach it back to you, it means they KNOW IT.Now, the ‘hey what did you learn today’ question will ALWAYS have an answer.  At AWS I am constantly trying to make US better so our girls can walk away with the best experience after every single session. I take so much pride in what our girl squad does day in and day out. I count myself SO lucky to get to do what I do every day. Thank you for helping me help your daughters, AND for being so amazing! Oh, and thanks Dad and my coaches for always telling me to swing for the fences. Clinics are a great way to expose your players to new techniques and top notch instruction. All while having some fun of course.  See All Available Sessions More Unfiltered Honesty for You… All Post Softball Fielding Tips Softball Group Lessons Softball Hitting Tips Softball Tips for Parents Softball Training Tips Uncategorized Nailing High School Softball Tryouts: A Coach’s Perspective As the weekend approaches and the excitement builds for high school softball tryouts, it's crucial to remember that success on… Read More Less than a Month Before Tryouts: Essential Softball Preparation Tips For those of you who have been busy playing other sports (yay for multisport athletes!) and are now just getting… Read More AWS Feature on the Baseball Express Podcast Hey AWS Family! I am so excited to share with you my feature in The Bottom of the 9th podcast… Read More Parents learning how to help their daughters is important too UNPOPULAR OPINION: Parents learning how to help their daughters is important too. UNPOPULAR OPINION: Parents learning how to help their… Read More We’re unhappy with my daughter’s team, now what? Sometimes looking for a new team, or mentioning it to others can seem a little taboo. But this is an… Read More I’m not sure if my daughter LOVES softball, now what? Does it feel like you are constantly on your daughter’s case about getting to practice on time, taking those extra… Read More What to do when in a slump, advice for PLAYERS and PARENTS. Slumping is a VERY normal part of the game. No matter if you are a player, coach, or parent reading… Read More Why there shouldn’t just be one style of swing This may cause a stir, but I am going to say this anyway, I promised you unfiltered honesty remember? I… Read More Why it’s important to play and learn different positions Coaches – I know you may have a good shortstop, but what will make that super awesome shortstop better –… Read More Group sessions can be more beneficial than you realize… I hated clinics and group sessions when I was younger. I was the ‘shy’ kid who didn’t like being stuck… Read More Click Here to Shop Click Here to Shop Click Here to Shop Click Here to Shop Click Here to Shop Click Here to Shop Click Here to Shop Click Here to

Why it’s important to play and learn different positions

Coaches – I know you may have a good shortstop, but what will make that super awesome shortstop better – is by having her play third base, and maybe even second base too. You are only making your squad better if you have a team full of girls who can play anywhere on the field.