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If you happen to be a coach, your primary job is to instill confidence in your team and equip them with the necessary skills to get better at the craft. Softball coaches achieve this objective in different ways. They drill their players on various gameplays and also map out strategies to help them outperform. However, a critical aspect of softball coaching is the equipment used during practice. Softball coaches mostly prefer to use training balls instead of regular softballs during training. They do this to improve their player’s strength and confidence on the pitch. When you train with more challenging equipment, using the standard during a competitive game becomes relatively easy. If you are new to softball coaching and want to find out how you can improve the strength and confidence of your players using softball training balls, this article is specifically for you. We have outlined tips on making the best of these training balls and what you can achieve with them. Enjoy!
Tips to Improve Strength and Confidence using softball training balls.
The following tips will allow you to train your players the right way and get the best results using softball training balls.
- Warm-up properly
The difference between softball training balls and regular softball balls is the weight. Depending on the product and the weight you have selected, softball training balls can be significantly heavier than normal ones. This is why you have to warm up with regular softball balls before any training session. If you start using the training balls straight away, you can injure yourself unintentionally. Another reason is that the effect of the training ball is better when you can gradually increase the weight. You feel the difference and therefore improve your strength in the process. All you have to do is make sure you warm up properly. Practice your throws and swings in a comfortable setting, jog around, and do a couple of other things before you begin using your softball training balls.
- Increase your weighted balls with time
Everybody knows that you cannot do something and expect results immediately. You still need to strive, work hard and be consistent in your approach. This same logic also applies to using softball training balls to improve your strength and build confidence on the field. We have already made it clear that you have to warm up before any training session. Furthermore, one training session is not enough to build that required strength and confidence. You have to practice for at least six to eight weeks before you start seeing actual results. The best way to go about this is to increase the weight of your softball training balls every week. If your training session is three times a week, you can throw or hit 50 times with the same training balls. The following week, you can increase the weight of the balls and repeat the same training process. After eight weeks, you would notice that you hit harder or throw faster, and your strength and confidence would have increased considerably.
- Improve your power swing
Increasing the strength and swing speed of a player is the top priority of any coach. If you want to hit harder as a softballer, then using training balls is your best bet. It makes logical sense that when you make more difficult hits with heavier balls, your collisions with regular balls will go much farther. When weighted balls are thrown are at you, you must increase your swing speed and follow through with more force to gain maximum distance. The weighted balls require you to make a more complex impact, which inevitably builds strength and confidence. By the time you are hitting regular balls during competitive games, your distance would be off the charts.
- Improve your throwing skills
Hitters are not the only ones that benefit from using weighted training balls during training. Fielders and most especially pitchers also derive immense value when they train with softball training balls. When you learn to throw with heavier balls, throwing with regular ones feels relatively easy. You can easily throw more complex and faster balls. The weighted balls help to improve your arm strength, grip, confidence, and many other things required for the game. If you are a pitcher, you should follow our second tip and throw heavier balls as you get better at the game. Once you find yourself in a competitive match, you would be fully ready to throw your best shots.
Conclusion
Softball training balls help you improve your strength and build confidence on the field. The above tips we have provided are the best way to use your softball training balls to achieve maximum results. If you are willing to follow these tips and apply them in training, you would inevitably become a better softballer. Cheers!