Most of the times, the coach is either not there or is busy helping one kid or two and the others are off trying to max out and all the while doing it wrong. With max weight on, all it takes is one small mechanical mishap and your shoulder is injured and your preseason training is gone. Can’t have that.

Have a Spotter with you at all times and have a Coach teach you the proper way to perform the exercises. The heavier the weight, the more necessary to have a coach present.

So What Is A kid To Do…

Glad you asked. My friend Barry Loveless from over at Softball Strong has come out with another great DVD training program in a long line of great programs from Barry.  He calls this one Pitchers POP Training. This training, as with just about all his trainings are focused on using bands, balls and bodyweight. That is right up my alley. I’ve always known you could train with body weight just as well. Especially for softball and baseball.

He began this as a group training for younger kids at his Barry Lovelace Athlete Training Academy located in Catasauqua Pa.  and has since recorded, tweaked and put it out on DVD for the rest of us not local to his academy.

We have used his products before, in particular the Softball Pitchers Workout and that one continues to provide strength and speed. This new one should enhance the training even more.

So you’re probably asking Who is Barry Lovelace and why should you trust him?

Take few minutes and read through this post. I think you will find some tips that you may not have known about the college athletic recruiting process.

Recruiting Tips

(By: Nic Nelson, Head Softball Coach, Lake Land College and Founder of Elite Softball)

If you we’re to ask most college coaches what player is the most important to their team the majority would answer the recruit. Put yourself in a college coach’s shoes, knowing that every recruit has the ability to affect their program either positively or negatively. In other words a recruit could help a college coach win a championship or get them fired. Along with softball athletic talent, coaches are looking for team players who are self-motivated, possess personal pride, personal responsibility and a true passion to play the game. Coaches are not just looking at a player’s softball athletic talent but their attitude and character as well. As a college head coach, I study recruiting and constantly ask coaches about their recruiting technique to help improve mine. Knowing some of these techniques can help you as well. The following are comments that came from respected and successful NCAA DI coaches I have visited with about what they look for when recruiting.

“I look at the little things that indicate self-motivation, personal pride and passion for the game”

After all, when they come to school, they have to be able to take care of themselves. They must get to class on time and pay attention to studies, work out on their own, and represent our school with pride. To help try to find these characteristics in a recruit these are little things I look at:

·         Is she the first to practice or games and the last to leave?

·         Does she carry her equipment or does your mom and dad?

·         Does she dress and look like an athlete. Wearing their uniform with neat pants pulled up, jersey tucked in, hat or visor on right and no jewelry?

·         Does she sprint on and off the field?

·         Does she run everything out?

·         Does she leave her feet (dive) when necessary?

·         Does she look and act confident?

·         Does she warm up and practice as hard as she plays?

·         Does she keep moving around and talking through out the game between pitches?

These little things help me determine if a player might be self motivated and possesses personal pride and responsibility.

“A player that can play more than one position is big to us”

If you can play more than one position, you become more valuable to college coaches and have a greater chance of getting in the game. Most players don’t play the position in college that they played in high school. Also, in college the softball season is longer and more intense. So injuries come into play more than in high school, being able to play another position comes in big to a college team. Besides, the more positions you play the more options the coach has and the more valuable you are to them. If a coach asked you what position you play the answer is what ever put me on the field.

“If I don’t see it at the plate I don’t even look at the field.”

You must be able to hit. Softball is no longer a short game – it is a combination of the short game and the power game. If you are watching the NCAA World Series, how much bunting do you see compared to your high school and summer teams? At the higher collegiate programs, the slap and bunt are emphasized less because of the athleticism of the infielders, so you must be able to hit the gaps to keep them honest.

“I like to watch recruits from the other side of the field to check their attitude.”

I want to see how a player I’m recruiting reacts to adversity. What is she like when she strikes out or giving up a home run. That is just as important as their good play. Is she focusing on the game or practice or is she talking to people about other things or to people off the field?

·         Does the player throw the bat or helmet when she gets mad when she strikes out?

·         Does she hang her head down in disappointment?

·         Does she yell and disrespect teammates?

·         Does she show disrespect to coaches, umpires and parents?

·          When a player is having a bad day, does she stay in the game and support the other players or go off and sulk?

·         I start watching the player I’m interested in the moment she gets out of the car.

Always act as if someone is watching, and play like everybody there came to watch you play. It takes three things to win: quality talent, good coaching and team chemistry. And the last is the most important. When you are in college you spend more time in a day with your teammates and coaches than you currently spend with your family. So we look for people we want to hang with. Simply put, if I think you will be disruptive to the team chemistry I’m not going to recruit you. Note: Perception is reality. The attitude you project is the attitude people perceive.

“Our first look at a recruit’s character is to go to their Facebook page.”

Once I find a recruit I’m interested in, we’ll take the time to check out her character. We call coaches, teachers, counselors, and principals. But my first character check will be to get online and check out their Facebook page.  Remember, perception is reality. If you don’t think this is important, I can give you the names of some past coaches and players who are no longer coaching or playing because of Facebook. Most coaches have someone on their staff that checks their players’ Facebook page once or twice a day. Once you comment to a college to play, you now represent that school and everybody involved with that school. If a member of the board of trustees or administer see or hears something they don’t like I can promise you the coach will hear about. And these are the people paying the coaches salary and your scholarship. Welcome to college athletics it isn’t high school or travel ball.

“I start the recruiting process with a player’s email address.”

I get around 40 emails on average a week. If I see an email with a questionable name like Sexypitcher1, partygirl 2, or anything that might indicate a character flaw, I just delete her and that’s as far as it goes.

“We’re not going to waste a scholarship on kids who can’t keep up with grades.”

You’re going to school to be a Student Athlete, not an Athlete Student. Eligibility rules to be able to play are not like high school where as soon as you get your grades up you can play. If at the end of the fall semester in college you are academically ineligible, you are ineligible for the entire spring semester. Something a college coach does not want to have to explain to the Athletic Director is why a scholarship (the school’s money) was wasted. To put it in another way could you keep your job if you lost 10 to 30, 000 dollars of the company’s money? Also NCAA has rules for athletic programs who don’t maintain graduation and GPA standards which could include the risk of losing scholarships.

“I really get bothered if all the contact is with the parents.”

We are recruiting the player, not the parent. We get concerned when a recruit comes on campus with her parents and we ask her a question and the parent answers it. I wonder what’s going to happen when the player gets on campus without her parents. Will she be able to function? I remember the time we brought a player on campus and had planned to make her a full ride offer. But after dinner, the offer went to ½, and if we had dessert it probably would have been nothing because of her dad. Parents, stay out of the way. Your daughter is the one getting recruited, not you. Coaches want to visit and look at her, not you. Also get to know the rules. By NCAA rules, coaches are not allowed to talk to a recruit or her parents off campus during certain times and never at tournaments. Doing so risks the chance of that school being given sanctions or even making your daughter ineligible. Thumb rule: if coaches want to talk to you or your daughter, they will find you.

I have, and you probably have too, spoken to coaches at all college levels about recruiting and most are very reluctant to speak about what it is they are really looking for.  We get lots of information from recruiting websites and such but not a lot directly from a coach.

I know that my kiddo needs help in contacting coaches, saying the right things, and can use all the help she can get. I am willing to bet that your kids could use the help too.

So in the next few issues of Hit The Gap I am going to provide you those  same articles for your reading pleasure. So here is Part 1 of:

How To Email Coaches

By Nic Nelson, Head Softball Coach, Lake Land College

When you email a college coach, you need to understand the large volume of emails that college coaches get from players looking for a college softball home. Next to talent, personal responsibility is the number one trait coaches look for in a potential recruit. Timely and well-written emails can give hints about personal responsibility. Keep in mind a well-written original email can enhance your ability of getting recruited, so take the time and do it right. Here are some suggestions on how to email a college coach:

Use a good email address

So the first challenge is just getting the coach to open your email. For many coaches, the recruiting process starts with a player’s email address. If a coach sees an email with a questionable name like Sexypitcher1, partygirl 2, or anything that might indicate a character flaw, your email may get deleted, thus ending the process. Make sure you have a good email address.

How to address the coach

Always start your email to a college coach with “Coach” and his or her last name (ex. Coach Nelson). This is a sign of respect. Don’t Coach and their first name (ex. Coach Nic) even if you know them. Most players start their emails with just Coach, coaches see this and think it is an email being sent out to several coaches. You need to make it as personal as possible.

Emails must come from the player:

I was a parent I know how hard this is. But realize we are recruiting the daughter not mom and dad. It is college they are eighteen years old and coaches do not like hearing from the parents.

Be Original

I was at a tournament a couple of weekends ago a few coaches were talking about emails they got and how they all started and sounded the same. You have to set your self apart from other players sending emails. Write your own email in your own words.

Part 2 of this great set of instructions will come in the next newsletter. Be watching for it, coach has some more great tips that you surely will enjoy reading.

Now go get started on those emails, after your homework is done of course…

All the best,

Brad

One more thing. Here is a great recruiting video from Lake Land College Softball. Give it a look.

PJV55 in Black with Battleship Gray Lace 13.25 inch

The PJV55  is constructed of our 5/6 Oz. Kip leather. This glove maintains it shape very well over time.

Vinci Pro gloves are the finest handcrafted gloves on the market and are designed with quality in mind. You can have the same quality the professionals wear with a Vinci.

These gloves have a very similar feel to our original model gloves, with higher quality materials. We utilized Sheepskin finger linings which are found on the top of the line gloves, put a solid palm pad in there for beefed up protection where you need it most.

We pre-treated the leather to allow for quicker break in time, and with all of that still have a glove that is one of the lightest on the market today. Some of what we are known for are still present with this glove, our exclusive thumb and pinky loops, our sturdy stays in fingers in the thumb and pinky reinforce the rigidity of the glove, allowing years of use without getting floppy.

Product Features
Web Style	Trapeze Web
Glove Back	Closed
Color	Black/Battleship Gray Lace
Glove Size	13.25
Baseball Position	Outfield
Softball Position	Any

The CBW413 Women’s Firstbase Mitt

Left Handed or Right Handed Thrower

New Women's First Base Mitt from Vinci

“A truly professional quality fastpitch First Base Mitt for Women“ You can have the same quality the professionals wear with a Vinci.

Individually handcrafted by Master Craftsman with years of experience and training, Vinci Pro CP Series utilizes 6.0 oz. US Steer hide. Our high quality steer hide provides a great glove with amazing feel.

“You want Padding! Wow“, these Vinci gloves are loaded with extra padding that goes up over your finger tips. No more sting on those cold mornings at the ball park.

CP Series utilizes ‘Pro Pads’ that are strategically placed and sewn inside the lining for better palm protection by covering a larger area of the hand.

“A super deep pocket that almost glues the ball in”   Our signature Vinci exclusive deep pocket design allows for better control and less spin. They also come with heavy-duty thumb and pinky loops, along with thumb and pinky supports which help retain the glove shape.

“It feels so soft and Comfortable on my Hand“ The high-quality Deer Tanned Cowhide interior leather lining finger stalls are specially treated for a more comfortable feel. Our gloves also come shipped to you with our special glove conditioner. Utilizing our glove conditioner dramatically decreases break in time on our gloves and protects the glove for years of use.

Some Features of This New Mitt

• Closed Net-T Web
• Closed Back
• 13 inch
• For Softball or Baseball

This glove model CBW413 is named in the memory of Wayne and Donna’s daughter Carrie who was born on April 13, 1982. Carrie played Fast Pitch softball for several years and lived life to the fullest. The web style on this first base mitt is as unique as Carrie was.

This one is for the Dad’s out there that still love to play ball. There are a lot of us that just like to play catch with our kids or maybe help coach a team and need to have a quality glove to catch with. There are some good gloves out there and here are some of them.

Akadema is a great company that makes baseball and softball gloves, not only for the professionals but for the rest of us too. They build those pro features and qualities into all the ball gloves they make.

For years many professional and non-professional players alike have been trying get the perfect fit and grip in thier glove. They were trying to stuff 4 fingers into 2 finger slots. They did this to get better control of the glove and a better grip on the ball when trying to field it.

Akadema APX 221 Men's Softball Glove

Innovative Patented Design
One of the founders of the company used to play a little ball and he noticed this. So when he started his glove company he got patents on several of these innovative designs. One that has really caught on is the Reptilian Claw. This is built into an outfielders 3-finger glove.

The Akadema APX 221 12.75 inch is that glove and man is it a sweet one. It is made of top line steerhide leather that is tanned to perfection. It is designed to be nearly game-ready right out of the box. Give it a week or two of good break-in and you are ready to play.

It has many traditional features like the modified trap web that many outfielders like, an open back with regular size finger stalls that will fit most men. Being an outfielders glove it is designed with a deep pocket. This makes it a great softball glove as well as baseball glove.

Akadema AHO 224 Mens's Softball Glove

Another great Men’s Softball Glove is the Akadema AHO 224. This one is a 13 inch pattern with more traditional design features to it.  The larger size plays very well on a fastpitch softball or slowpitch softball field as well as baseball. This guy fits snuggly on your hand right out of the box but over time it molds to your hand like a custom. The AHO 224 has an H-web, an open back and that great Akadema deep pocket.

Both of those gloves as well as the next are part of the ProSoft Series from Akadema. This series of gloves is designed to be nearly game-ready using a perfectly tanned Steerhide leather that is thick yet supple. Give these gloves a couple weeks of catch and breaking in and they are game ready. The thick rawhide leather laces will take tons of abuse and will help these gloves last several seasons. Heck you can probably hand them down to your kids or grandkids.

Akadema AMK 226 Men's Softball Glove

This next glove the Akadema AMK 226 is also a 13″ Men’s Softball glove. This is one that is very traditional design as well. It comes with a B-hive web, an open back and of course that nice deep pocket that Akadema is famous for. There is also a 12 inch version of this glove – the ADH 214. It may be a little small for you softball guys but works great for baseball.  The AMK 226 only needs a little conditioner oil and a few games of catch or some pounding with a wooden glove mallet like the Coaches Glove Mallet and it will be ready to play. You won’t miss many fly balls with this glove on your hand.

Akadema makes several more gloves in the ProSoft line, most are baseball size gloves. A couple more are great for softball such as the 12.5 inch ALN 225 with its close back and B-hive web. It’s deep pocket will shine just like its siblings.  And for you Big Glove fans Akadema has the 14″ X-tra large pattern in its ASR 282. It is basically a 14 inch version of the ALN 225. It has the same B-hive web, closed back and ultra deep pocket.

Akadema AEA 65 Fastpitch Catchers Mitt

I haven’t forgotten about you catchers. Akadema doesn’t make a men’s softball catchers mitt per say, but many guys use one of the two from the Fastpitch Series. They are snug fitting when new, but as you break them in they really mold nicely to your hand.  Those are the AEA65 in 34 inch, with its double t-web closed back and super deep pocket you won’t miss many drop balls with this on your hand.  The other fastpitch catchers mitt is the Akadema APM 66 in a 34.5 inch pattern. Both these catchers mitts are of the Praying Mantis patented design so they grab that ball and hang on to it. The APM 66 is slightly larger and has the Spiral-Lock web and includes a triple finger hammock design to give you plenty of control.

Akadema APM 66 Fastpitch Catchers mitt

There you go guys, several really good fastpitch gloves for the men in the game. These models are priced very reasonable over at Buy Fastpitch Gloves. So reasonable that you can have a couple in your gear bag and still have money left over for burgers and beer after the game.

Next time we’ll take a look at some other great men’s and womens softball and baseball gloves from Akadema and Vinci Pro.

Go checkout these gloves. Use this coupon code    HITGAP10     at checkout to save 10%  on your $100 order.

Good only at www.BuyFastpitchGloves.com. Not good with any other promotions.

Now, Go Play Ball!

At BuyFastpitchGloves.com we don’t like to mess with a lineup that is working. We tweak it here and there, change the batting order, mix up the infield at times, make a pitching change when necessary, but when a new player comes this highly recommended we give them a tryout.

This player had one heck of a tryout. She hit the ball hard, caught everything we could throw at her, pitched like a fireball and played the field with the best of them.

Without further delay – Buy Fastpitch Gloves is proud to introduce the newest line of Women’s Fastpitch Gloves from Vinci Pro.

At Buy Fastpitch Gloves our goal is to provide you with the best fastpitch softball gloves available. You play hard, so you deserve a glove that will stand up to your rigorous schedule.

You know there are many gloves out there, but only a few will meet the criteria of an All Star. We like to think we have a team full of All Star players. So before adding another player to our lineup many hours of research go into the selection.

You think your softball practices are hard – you should go through one of our new player tryouts!

Vinci is one of those companies that started small, they decided to offer the public the same gloves they make for the pros. You know many of the big name glove companies don’t do that. You have to be a pro to get a pro glove from them. Not with Vinci…
“The same leather we use for the pros, we use for these gloves,” said Vinci. “These are pro level gloves. But the mesh back is a little lighter and they break in easier for the players.” 

This new women’s fastpitch glove line is made with Kip leather, they use a double reinforced mesh on the back. This combination makes a glove that is strong, but will break in easy. The mesh back makes it easier to squeeze that ball.

This line of women’s fast pitch gloves features a new double reinforced mesh backing and a velcro wrist strap. The wrist strap adjusts better to different sizes and shapes. In addition, each softball glove has extra padding to ease impact when catching. “The fast pitch line was created due to high demand from customers and future customers,” said Pete Vinci, “Women’s fast pitch is now the fastest growing segment of amateur baseball.”

Get Yours Today.

Now, Let’s Play Ball…

Women’s Fastpitch Gloves by Vinci, Now Available from www. BuyFastpitchGloves.com

Vinci Pro Baseball Gloves and Vinci Eyewear also available from www. BuyFastpitchGloves.com

If you like getting the same Professional quality that the actual Pro’s wear, then come visit us and check out Vinci Women’s Fastpitch Gloves , Vinci Softball Gloves and baseball gloves.

Look at some of the newer posts for more info…

Elite Pitchers Need Elite Gloves

Hey Softball Fans!

Just wanted to give you a heads up that BuyFastpitchGloves.com is adding a new line of products really soon.

Continuing with our goal and promise to provide the best fastpitch softball and baseball gloves available we will be adding one of the industries most sought after brands of softball and baseball gloves.

Can’t tell you yet which brand, but keep checking the site for details.

Get our newsletter to get advanced notice and other specials.

http://www.bhgent.com/bfg

Now, Go Play Ball!

Fastpitch softball

#1 – A Golden Opportunity

Softball made its debut in Olympic competition in 1996 in Atlanta.  As expected, the United States team won the gold medal that year.  The stadium they won it at is coincidentally named Golden Park and many people think the name has something to do with the Olympics being held there.  The stadium was actually built in 1926 and was named after Theodore Golden, the proprietor of Goldens’ Foundry and Machine Company in Columbus, Georgia.

#2 – Records That Will Never Be Broken

While baseball players sometimes accomplish feats that make their names live forever, life is not always so easy for softball players.  Eddie Feigner founded his softball team, The King and His Court, in 1946 and was active touring first the country and later the world all the way up until the late 1990′s.  He is looked back at as one of the best softball pitchers ever to play the game.  It was a true rarity for his team to lose, much less give up a good amount of runs.  His reported records include 9,743 wins, 141,517 strikeouts, 930 no hit games, and 238 perfect games.

#3 – Honored Again And Again And Again And Again

When it comes to softball coaches, few can hold a candle to the accomplishments made by Margie Wright.  She began her coaching career at Illinois State University but would go on to really make a name for herself at Fresno State in California.  She broke the career wins record for an NCAA softball coach in 2000 and was still coaching more than a decade later.  To her credit, she would eventually be voted in to four different halls of fame, the Illinois State Hall of Fame, the American Softball Association Hall of Fame, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.

#4 – Plant City, Florida’s Tie To Softball

Plant City, Florida is located in Hillsborough County and is near the communities of Lakeland and Brandon.  It is a moderately sized city and has gained a reputation for being the strawberry capital of the world.  It even celebrates that famous local crop withe Florida Strawberry Festival every year.  What is Plant City’s tie to softball?  It is home of the International Softball Federation, the governing body for the game of softball around the globe.  In the future, the ISF hopes to build a physical Softball Hall of Fame in Plant City.

#5 – Japan Gets Revenge

The United States had won the initial Olympic gold medal in softball in 1996 and the 2000 women’s team was judged to be even stronger.  In the championship game, it defeated an impressive and young squad from Japan by the score of 2-1 in extra innings.  It would take Japan eight years, but they would finally get their revenge.  In the 2008 Olympics in China, Japan would never trail and would win the gold medal match over the United States by the score of 3-1.

Anyone that has been around softball or baseball for a while has probably been fortunate enough to get a new softball glove. The smell and feel of that new leather is rather intoxicating. It makes you feel like you are out on the field on a warm summer day. Playing catch or just watching your favorite players go at it.

After that moment fades a bit, you realize you need to break in your new fastpitch softball glove. So how do you do it? You will see many, many suggestions on that. And most of them will include using a wooden baseball glove mallet. You will also see a lot of various glove mallets out there. Most will do the job, but I thought maybe I would list out some things you need to know about baseball glove mallets.

1. Glove Mallets are not all the same

Like I said above, there are lots of them out there. You can find them made of wood, plastic, old softballs, metal, old bats, even old bed posts. You can make them yourself and do alright, if you are skilled with a few simple tools. This is not the kind of mallet to use on baseball or softball gloves.

Over the years there have been some folks that have made a career out of making the best wooden glove mallets available. I think any honest person would recommend a wooden mallet if they had to. Find one that has a long comfortable handle that fits your hand. Has a large ball end to form the pocket. And make sure it is turned out of one piece of solid wood. It will last through several break ins.

2. Glove Mallets can quicken the break in process

Breaking in a softball glove can take a long time. Some gloves can take a couple seasons or more to get completely broken in. Using a softball glove mallet can decrease that time quite a bit. I haven’t seen any studies that scientifically determine just how much but let’s concede that it is significant.

It still takes hundreds of whacks with your mallet but it could takes thousands of catches of someone throwing a ball to you. Even catching a fastpitch pitcher or sitting in a batting cage and catching off a machine can still take lots of time. And it is much safer than catching off a machine.

For you glove collectors, a good quality wooden mallet won’t put scrapes or cuts in the new leather glove either.

3. Glove Mallets can really hurt your fingers

Be careful. Some mallets are just too short. When you pound your mitt you can catch your fingers on the heel or laces and it really hurts. You won’t likely break any bones as if you had mallet finger, just make sure you get a mallet that has a long enough handle to hold it comfortably outside the mitt. And hold your head back far enough you don’t smack yourself.

4. Glove Mallets can have many purposes

Some wooden glove mallets are designed so that you can stretch out finger stalls that are too tight. Maybe you have an old dry glove that got wet and shrunk up. There are some mallets with handles made to shove into the fingers holes and loosen them up.

A quality made mallet can be wrapped inside the glove to form around during the break in process.

If you have an extra mallet, you can use it to tenderize a cheap cut of meat before slapping it on the grill. You could use a mallet to knock the mud and dirt off your cleats. And you could even use it to crack a walnut. Intruders may not enjoy the feel of a wooden baseball glove mallet as much as we do.

5. Glove mallets are just a really cool tool to have

Holding a hand crafted, hand finished wooden baseball glove mallet is like wearing your new finely crafted leather softball glove. It just feels awesome. It is cool to have in your kit too. Having the right tools makes any job much easier.

Here is a cool video of someone making a baseball glove mallet.

What else should you know about baseball glove mallets?

image credits:   glove-works.getwebs.org      glovemallet.com