I was walking through my local drugstore the other ...

The Hitters Strike Back

As soon as I received my latest copy of Softball Magazine ...

See the ball

One of the most fundamental axioms in all of softball ...

Power Hitting Comes Around (Part One)
There are a great many terms that have been used to describe events in fastpitch softball. “Offensive explosion” ...

Power Hitting Comes Around (Part Two)
When NBC broadcast the 2000 Olympic games, many fastpitch fans were outraged when they cut out several innings ...

How to Select a Pitching Coach
Few things can strike both chest-swelling pride and overwhelming fear into the heart of a the parent of a competitive ...

The Long and Short of the Short Game (Part One)
At the end of every column I always include an e-mail address where readers can write to ask a question, make a ...

The Long and Short of the Short Game (Part Two)
Telling fastpitch softball players about the short game is sort of like telling people who live in Chicago about ...

Lucky You
Last night while on my way to teach pitching lessons I stopped at the local Wendy’s for my usual healthy and nutritious ...

Stealing Victory
One of the most time-honored axioms in sports is “good teams find a way to win.” What that means in softball is ...

The Parent Rap
Surf around Internet bulletin boards, hang around places where coaches meet (AKA cheap bars that serve free pretzels), ...

Getting The Edge At Tryouts
For most of the fastpitch players in the country, the end of February means one thing – high school team tryouts. ...

Practice-al Advice for Pitchers
With the 2004 season behind us and dreams of glory in 2005 already starting, one of the most common questions I ...

Become a Well-Adjusted Hitter
During the last weekend of August, our Mundelein Thunder organization held tryouts for the 2005 season. As you ...

Beating the Mental Dandelions
Wow! Hard to believe another year has gone by. This is the last issue of Softball Magazine for 2004. What better ...

The Seven Deadly Sins of Softball
Fastpitch softball is definitely a game designed to break your heart. Games are won and lost on funny bounces, ...

Wait Until Next Year
As a lifelong Chicagoan and Chicago baseball fan (I should probably insert the words “long suffering” before the ...

The Real Rules of Softball
In any game, sport, activity, etc. play is governed by a set of rules. These rules are developed by well-meaning ...

Stop and Smell the Glove Leather
There’s an old, old song from the 50s that talks about those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. (That’s the 1950s ...

Fear Factor
At a critical moment in The Karate Kid, as student Daniel prepares to face the bad guy in the movie for the tournament ...

In Praise of the Forgotten Catcher
When it comes to hard work versus recognition, nowhere is there a bigger gulf in fastpitch softball than the catcher. ...

Hitting: Don’t Just Use Your Hands – Use Your Head
It’s that time of year again – the time when softball players start shaking off the rust and getting ready for ...

Common Hitting Errors And How To Correct Them (Part One)
A couple of months ago, this column talked about how fastpitch softball is a game designed to break your heart. ...

Common Hitting Errors And How To Correct Them (Part Two)
Last month, we discussed some of the basic flaws that prevent players from hitting as well as they want. (If this ...

Instant Pitcher – Just Add Practice
When I was a kid growing up (way back when the dinosaurs lived) we were used to the fact that it took a lot longer ...

The Fastpitch Hitter’s Holiday Wish List
It happens every year around this time. You start getting the pressure from Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt ...

What To Do When The Going Gets Tough
As you’re reading this, it should be sometime in early June – or perhaps mid-June for you slow readers. The odds ...

Making Hitting Practice Fun
One of the best pieces of advice on hitting I’ve ever seen didn’t come from a coach or a book or a video. It’s ...

It’s Your Career
One of the things sports are supposed to teach us is how to handle adversity. And there’s plenty of it in the game ...

The Real Dirt On Having Fun At Practice
One of my all time favorite quotes about the game of softball came from a movie called Mr. Baseball that stars ...

To Play Up, Or Not To Play Up…
With the summer softball season winding down, thoughts all over America are turning to next year. (For many, they’re ...

The Winning Edge, Or Just Plain Cheating?
Those of you who stay up late watching old movies on TV may have seen a funny looking guy with a big, round nose, ...