How good do you want to be?  Or, how good do you want your daughter to be.  Or, how good does your daughter want to be?

Softball is probably the fairest sport when you compare the level of effort to the level of achievement.  You don’t have to be tall, or fast, or particularly strong to be a good softball player.  Of course it would help to be the best athlete, but there are a lot of very good softball players who are not the most gifted athletes in the world.

If we line up a youth softball team in order of who has played the most softball, and then we line them up again ranked by who is the better softball player, the two lineups would be nearly identical.  The girls improve every time they practice or play, and they don’t stop getting better, in fact, they seem to accelerate their improvement after they master the basics.  To be a better softball player, they need to practice and play more softball.  Of course, you need to have some good coaching thrown in once in a while to make sure the girls are doing things appropriately.

If you want your kid to be a ‘natural ballplayer’, you should throw the ball back and forth with her.  If you want her to have ‘good hand eye coordination’, you should pitch her balls every week.  If you want her to have ‘instinct’ for the game, you should play softball games in the yard with neighborhood kids.  Watch the other girls in your league, I promise that all of the ‘naturally good’ players have spent a lot of time in the yard with their parents, siblings or neighborhood kids.  No one is ‘naturally good’ without playing a lot.

MCGSA wants to help players improve and become better softball players.  This includes 5 year olds to High School girls, this includes Tee Ball teams up to our 16U Travel team that plays year round.  Some of the programs we have put in place to help with this goal are:

• Two week Spring Training with professional softball coaches.
• Three hour coaching clinic for all coaches.
• Weekly group clinics for hitting and pitching from January through May.
• Select teams in 8U, 10U, 12U, and 14U.  The Select teams practice and play on Sundays during the spring season, then continue to play tournaments into the summer.
• Inter-Park softball games with Sandy Springs SSYS and OCEE Park in Alpharetta for 12U and 16U leagues.
• Summer softball camp at Murphey Candler.
• Atlanta Flames Travel teams in 10U, 12U, 14U, and 16U.  We partner with other parks to build these teams.
• Fall softball for 8U, 10U and 12U.  Games with Norcross, Decatur, Duluth, and Wesleyan.

Here are some easy tips for you to get in some more practice time:

• Play catch in the yard on a regular basis.  Kids need to play catch with an adult to really improve.
• Get a bucket of whiffle balls or foam balls.  Hit balls in the yard once or twice a week.
• Organize the neighborhood kids for some street ball.
• If your daughter is a pitcher, you need to get your own bucket of balls to practice.
• Check out some web articles.  There is a lot of free advice out there on coaching and playing youth sports.
• There are books and videos available for every aspect of softball.  Pitching, hitting, fielding, throwing, etc…
• Attend as many camps and clinics as you can.  These hours add up, and the coaches are usually pretty good.

Specific advice:

• 4 and 5 year olds:  Play Tee Ball.  Parents should stay for practice and help chase balls.  Don’t worry about anything, there are no rules in Tee Ball.  Just play and have fun.
• 6 year olds:  Play catch with her regularly in the yard.  Toss her some balls for hitting practice whenever you can.  Don’t worry about anything. Most 6 year olds lack the motor skills to be really coordinated, but they are developing these skills.  Use a 26 inch bat.
• 7 year olds:  Arrive at practice ten minutes early and play catch with her while the other players arrive.  Playing catch with another 7 year old is a complete waste of time, she needs to play catch with an adult or older player.  Arrive at games 30 minutes early and play catch with her. Attend a couple hitting clinics, pay attention to the hitting coach because you are now her instructor.  Hit 40 – 50 balls before each game.  Use a 26-28 inch light weight bat.  Attend the summer camp.  Play Fall Ball.
• 8 year olds:  Play catch at home a couple weeks before the season starts.  Join the 8U Select team.  Make sure she regularly plays catch with an adult throughout the season.  Attend more hitting clinics.  Keep hitting a lot from a Tee, this is still the best hitting practice.  If she has a strong interest and aptitude for pitching, consider playing 10U to get her started pitching a year early.  Use a 27-28 inch bat.
• 9 year olds:  Play Fall Ball to get started with kid pitch softball.  Don’t worry, the girls get used to kid pitch quickly, it is better than dad pitching.  Attend the weekly pitching clinics throughout the spring season.  Buy your own bucket of balls for pitching practice, you will be her full time catcher.  Arrive at practice and games early to give her plenty of pitching practice time with you.  If she is not a pitcher, keep working on hitting drills from the Tee, coach pitch, and the machine.  Use a 28-30 inch bat.
• 10 year olds:  Join the 10U Select team.  Attend as many clinics and camps as you can.  Keep playing catch and/or pitching at home.  If she is a serious pitcher, consider individual or small group lessons.  Get some good hitting instruction, pay attention to the mechanics so that you can keep her swinging properly.  Use a 29-31 inch bat.
• 11 year olds:  Good news for hitters, the pitchers are getting better.  There are more strikes to hit, so you want to be ready.  Attend the hitting clinics to make sure she has good hitting mechanics.  Hit as much as you can, front toss from 25 feet is great, but don’t forget to keep hitting from the Tee.  Use the pitching machine occasionally to help her work up to hitting full speed pitches.  Pitchers should start practicing in early January.  Pitchers should have some lessons from a good coach.  Play 12U Select.  Use a 30/18 or 30/20 bat.
• 12 year olds:  Same as 11 year olds, except you will be much bigger and stronger than them.  Good pitchers should take weekly lessons throughout the winter. Introduce yourself to your High School coach.  Consider the college summer camps.  Use a 30 – 32 inch bat, from 18 – 21 ounces depending on her size and strength.
• 13 – 16 year olds:  Play school softball in the fall.  High school coaches like their serious players to play on a competitive team in the spring. There are a wide range of 14U and 16U travel teams available.  Our 16U rec league is a good choice for a lot of JV players.  We have a 14U Select team that will play some tournaments during the spring and in the early summer..
• Everyone:  Only you know how serious you want to be about softball.  We always need more coaches, get out on the field and help coach if you can.
• Less serious players:.  If you just want to play for fun with friends, then just come out on practice and game days.  We offer a lot of extra programs for more serious players, but most girls just want to get some exercise and have some fun with friends.
• Fairly Serious Players:  You should take advantage of the clinics, camps, and Select teams, these are designed to help you improve.  If you want to boost your performance for next spring, take some lessons and practice at home this fall and winter.
• Most Serious Players:  If you want to play at the highest level, you should consider a travel team and/or private hitting, fielding and pitching lessons.

Private lessons are a topic unto itself.  Whether or not you agree with private lessons for sports, the evidence is overwhelming that these lessons work.  The reason it works is that the player gets individual attention from a professional coach.  Every minute is focused on exactly what your player needs at that time, no time is wasted at too high or too low a level, no time is wasted on topics that don’t apply to the athlete in training.  We have tutors for music, voice, acting, and academics.  Sports are just another area where a tutor can help a child improve and/or excel.