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Monday, February 18 Stretching with Michele Smith
Children are naturally flexible, with young muscles still growing and developing, so your coaches may not think stretching is very important. But take it from two-time USA Softball Olympic Gold-Medallist Michele Smith, a proper pre- and post-workout routine can help care for the muscles that allow the players to take the field. Dynamic Warm-Up "I encourage coaches to begin any practice or game with a dynamic warm-up," Michele stated. For younger players, 10 minutes total of blood-pumping, body-moving activity can help raise the body's core temperature and loosen up muscles for the practice or game. Older players may need 15 minutes of warm-up. These are not static stretching exercises, but active dynamic warm-ups. Start by having players run from foul pole to foul pole, then do some agility exercises:
"The goal is to work on all the body parts: trunk, arms, legs and neck," Michele said. "Muscles stretch more easily if the body is warmed up properly before you stretch." If muscles are still tight after the dynamic warm-up, then do some specific stretching for the area. Pitchers especially, but all players need to really work on their shoulder muscles, to make sure they are loose before throwing. And coaches should be reminded to have their players do stretching and warm-up exercises any time they have been idle for a period. Michele pointed out that planning can help reduce the amount of stretching needed. Some coaches have players warm up their arms, do a few defensive drills, stand around waiting to hit and then start back throwing. Instead, start players hitting, then go to throwing drills, making sure they stretch out their arms before throwing. It saves time stretching and saves injuries to arms. But warm-up and stretch the trunk before hitting, too, or players risk injuries like groin pulls. Then Cool Down After a practice or game, don't just send your kids home. Michele noted that muscles need to be worked a little to get new oxygen in, to remove the waste by-products of exercising. "Have players run a lap around the field, then sit in a circle and stretch muscles to get fresh blood in them, and help strengthen them." She suggests arm windmills, neck circles and hurdler's stretches for the quads and glutes (thighs and bottom). Twisting exercises that stretch the side muscles and back are also good. Here's one: Sit on the ground, placing the foot of a bent leg on the opposite side of an outstretched leg's knee, and twist your torso across the upright knee. Then switch legs and twist the other way." "A good cool-down will help cool the muscles and slow the heart rate," Michele said. "It's important not to over-stretch in the cool-down phase," she noted, since the muscles are being relaxed. If any sore spots are found during stretching, apply ice. Michele said warm-ups are a good time for players to visualize what they will be doing: hitting pitching, throwing out base runners, etc. Cool-downs are a time to reflect on the practice on what what went well, and what may need improvement. But above all, these tips can keep players playing, and not sidelined with muscle injuries. "If you're injured, you can't play the sport you love," Michele pointed out. "We need to warm-up and cool-down to prevent injuries. Young kids are so flexible, they don't realize they can pull muscles. So for younger players, this is as much about instilling good routines for the players for later life." Monday, February 18 Michele Smith - Olympic Training Ideas
Michele Smith, two-time Gold Medal winner with the USA Softball team, follows some of the best training regimens and shares that knowledge. “It is just as important to take care of your body off the field as on it,” Michele said. “If you’re in good condition, you have better reactions to hit the ball faster and farther.” Being in shape is just good sense for playing your best. But did you know recent studies also show that athletes that are in good physical condition experience fewer injuries than those who aren’t? Keys to conditioning:
But Michele notes you should not get too serious too early with conditioning for the younger players. Most kids 5-8 years old are getting all the exercise they need to build their muscles to play by playing, and don’t need conditioning workouts. Graduate the amount and intensity of workouts for the age of the participants. Again, just developing good, moderate training habits with the players will help them as they grow. Fitness conditioning For fitness training, Michele stresses fundamental exercises that everyone can do like jogging, biking, aerobics and anything that gets the cardio-vascular system pumping blood. Sustaining elevated heart and lung functions helps the body prepare for hard exercise, like games, and increases the body’s ability to function at this increased activity level for longer periods. Fitness training also is beneficial for weight management, for more sedentary players. Weight conditioning Weight training should be undertaken only for those 12 years of age or older, as younger bodies are still growing and developing. Placing too much stress on growth plates and other fragile areas through weight training can cause developmental injuries. For the older athlete, weight training offers increased lean body mass for higher metabolism and healthier, stronger muscles. All major muscle groups should be worked: chest, arms, shoulders, back and legs. Examples:
Pliometrics This is explosive training to increase the player’s bounding abilities, and overall speed and energy. While many weight programs train the muscles for slow, strong movement, pliometrics trains the muscles to have faster, explosive force, especially important in the pitching motion. Examples:
Agilities training These are important to strengthening connective muscles, those around ankles and knees especially. Agility drills help develop “fast twitch” muscles, which allow changes in direction, quick hands, and also “builds body awareness in spatial relationship,” Michele explained, meaning the player understands better where they are on the field and where to move to reach the ball or tag a base. Examples are foot drills like running a dual line of tires, doing the karaoke step (cross-over step running sideways), as well as hand drills for catching and tossing the ball quickly. Core strength training “The core (abdominals and back) is important for body strength in playing ball since players push off the ground in throwing, fielding, running and especially hitting and pitching,” said Michele. “The player is transferring their strength and movement from the upper body to the lower body and vice versa in all these movements.” Good basic exercises for the core are: sit-ups, crunches and leg elevations, and “super-mans” or hyper-extensions for the back (reverse sit-ups). “If you’re in good condition, you’re going to be better able to play late in the game,” Michele stressed. “Or when you hit that deep triple, you won’t gas going around second and get thrown out.” The seasons of conditioning:
Finally, Michele notes you need to help your players make good decisions on proper nutrition, since their bodies need good sources of meats, grains, fruits and vegetables to be strong and sustain their activity level. Michele Smith Olympic Gold Medalist pitcher for the USA Softball Team, has a B.S. in Health Wellness, Movement Sciences and Pre-Med at Oklahoma State University.
Monday, February 18 Partner with a Local College for Little League Softball Day It's not hard - pick a local college, call the softball coach and set up a Little League Softball Day. The college gets the advantage of increased fans and publicity and your softball players get the advantage of watching skilled players (seeing what the skills are supposed to look like) and then learning the skills from the team after the game. Little League Baseball and Softball has made it easy for you to set up this partnership. They have already written letters, notices, and news releases (click on the link in the title above). All you have to do is make the call and personalize the correspondence! See photos, below, from District 4's Little League Softball Day with Gordon College. Friday, September 15 Little League Softball Day at Gordon College
The Senoia players watched as the Lady Highlanders won 2 games against their opponent, Chattahoochee Valley Community College. The girls watched the hitting, pitching and fielding techniques of their college mentors, learning what it is like to play at the college level. After the game, the Lady Highlanders collected their young understudies and took them onto the field for warm ups, fielding, throwing, pitching and hitting mechanics. After the "work" session, the group posed for a group photo and then gathered around the Lady Highlanders for autographs. View more photos from the day by clicking on LLB GA Albums, Gordon College Softball Day. Get to know the Lady Highlanders by visiting their web site at: http://www.gdn.edu/athletics/softball/roster.asp |
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