Our Revolution Softball Camps each summer consistently beat
the competition for a number of reasons. Our NCAA coaching staff is pulled from
the country’s top coaches just so every camper that joins us gets the type of
individualized attention that they simply wouldn’t get anywhere else.
We know that it’s hard for softball players to truly feel
like they’re improving when they’re doing a drill in the middle of a huge
group. That’s why we pride ourselves on consistently having a low
camper-to-coach ratio, like at our New Jersey Softball Camps. The programs our
camp directors put together focus on sportsmanship, improvement, excellence,
and fun. Don’t worry, though, we didn’t forget about the on-field skills
everyone wants to get better at, too!
When talking about that, there are five specific pillars
that each of our softball camps are built upon. They include the following:
- Batting: stance improvement, hit-and-runs, pull
hitting, bunting, and hitting for power.
- Pitching: pitching motions, release points, and
communication between pitcher and catcher.
- Fielding: catching pop-ups and ground balls,
performing relays, and turning double plays
- Baserunning: stealing, pickles, and tagging up
- Nutrition and conditioning
One of our goals is to provide the type of instruction that
softball players can take home with them and continue to improve long after
camp has finished for the summer. Great softball teams are developed during the
season, but great softball players are developed in the offseason, and we hope
to help in that process as much as we can.
An overlooked aspect of elite softball players is
baserunning. That’s understandable since there is a lot of attention given to
things like pitching, hitting, and fielding (after all, those were the first
three skills we listed above!). A softball player with above average
baserunning skills can not only put their team in an advantageous position
consistently, but they can also consistently put pressure on the opposition,
which can alter the entire outcome of games. Here are two drills that will help
you improve your running on the base paths.
Small Ball
The point of this drill is to teach players how to advance
runners and put pressure on the defense while simulating game-type situations.
This is more of a full-team practice drill, so it also gives fielders a chance
to learn how to handle this kind of situation before seeing it in a live game.
In order to make this happen, you’ll need to field a full
team out on defense, which includes having a pitcher on the mound. There should
be a couple base coaches, and the players not out on defense are ready to bat. A
coach will then put runners on base and relay a situation, including the number
of outs, who is on base, and what the batter is doing. After signaling what
they want the baserunners to do, those on offense execute the play while those
on defense try to record outs.
Race to Home
This is another drill that simulates a game-type situation
while also working on conditioning and baserunning. Split players into three
teams with one lining up at home plate, the second one lining up behind first
base, and the final team lining up behind third base. A coach will kneel in
soft-toss position 10-12 feet from home plate, and you’re ready to get started.
One of the players at home will hit a soft toss from coach
and immediately start sprinting to first base. As that happens, a player from
both first and third base will sprint after the ball. Once both touch it, the
runner stops, with that team receiving a point for each base they reached
before being forced to stop.
