June 24, 2020 at 11:17 a.m.
Softball back on the diamond
Northwoods Fastpitch teams prep for Houghton tournament
Softball back on the diamond
By by Brett LaBore-
"Once there was a chance to get back on the field it was a pretty good feeling," coach Mike Richie said.
Both the 14U and 17U Fastpitch teams - comprised of players from the greater Rhinelander, Lakeland and Eagle River areas - practiced together at the 70 West fields in Minocqua on Wednesday night.
It was their third practice of the summer.
"A large benefit (of having the teams practice together) is time and space," coach Jacob Schueller said. "It does allow us to get a live action competition to make it more game realistic which is what we're trying to do with five practices."
Led by coaches Schueller and Richie, the girls did a number of drills to keep them loose and fresh.
"Getting them ready would be the easy way to say it," Schueller said. "With five practices before our tournament essentially, we're focusing a lot less on mechanics and building those mechanical movements and swing."
The first thing they did was catch on the run. One player stood as a pitcher and threw it to players who were running to make the catch. This worked on making a catch on the run.
After that there was a little competition to see which team could make the most catches on the run as everyone cycled through.
The next drill involved cut-off throws and communication. With runners on, Schueller hit a ball to the outfield and the players threw the ball to the cut-off and then relayed it to the proper base to try and get the out.
A dry swing lesson followed where the coaches talked about the importance of the swing.
First, Schueller mentioned how important it is to have the head facing forward. Then on the stride, it was emphasized the back knee be at the center of gravity toward the pitcher or trying to be linear.
Hip speed and batting grip were emphasized along with the stride and head toward the pitcher.
"This is the type of thing to do on your own if you truly want to get to the next level," Schueller said. "I'm very technical. I love coaching those little things. I could do that all day, break it down movement by movement."
Coaches also demonstrated the importance of extension. The longer the ball is on the bat, the farther it will go.
All players did some dry swings while the coaches instructed.
The most popular drill of the night was something called a five-minute game. Two teams went against each other with Schueller pitching. The goal was to put the ball in play and try to score as many runs as possible in five minutes while the other team tried to record as many outs as possible.
"That's become my favorite drill," Schueller said. "I picked it up from down at a UW-Wisconsin camp that I took a couple players to last summer."
After five minutes, the teams traded places. The team who scored the most runs won the game. This drill was as productive as it was fun.
"It provides a ton of live reps and competition in a short amount of time, still in a way that's productive," Schueller said.
Following the game, a little bit of soft toss and pitching broke out. Pitchers worked together and the rest of the team hit some balls.
Situational plays were worked on as well. One situation saw runners on first and third as players worked on what to do with the ball if the runner on first steals second base.
"Put them in that situation and refresh those memories and again that's the kind of thing you like doing," Schueller said.
Toward the end of practice, players got to play the five-minute game one more time, except this time it was six minutes.
The program plans to take part in an additional tournament July 17-19 in Wisconsin Dells.
Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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