HERE'S THE PITCH!: A HANDBOOK FOR COACHING FASTPITCH SOFTBALL

Coach with purpose. Build confident players. Bring more knowledge to every inning.

HERE’S THE PITCH!: A HANDBOOK FOR COACHING FASTPITCH SOFTBALL is a practical guide to youth softball rules, essential skills, game strategy, and the human side of coaching girls and young women.

Whether you’re a first-time volunteer, a parent stepping into the dugout, or an experienced coach looking for fresh practice ideas, this concise handbook connects what you teach on the field with how young athletes learn, develop confidence, and respond to challenges.

Inside, you’ll explore:

• Fastpitch softball rules explained: Understand force plays, tagging up, interference, obstruction, stealing, and the uncaught third strike—also known as “Drop-3” or the “Dropped Third.”
• Softball fundamentals: Teach throwing, catching, fielding, hitting, bunting, and baserunning through purposeful skill progressions.
• Offensive and defensive strategies: Make informed decisions about bunts, steals, pitch selection, defensive coverage, cutoffs, and relays.
• Age-specific coaching guidance: Adapt your approach for ages 6–8, 9–10, 11–12, 13–14, and 15–18, with sample practices suited to different stages of development.
• Coaching psychology and the mental game: Give useful feedback, support motivation, strengthen team belonging, and help players recover after mistakes.
• Practice planning and player development: Organize productive sessions, clarify team roles, manage game-day situations, and track progress beyond the scoreboard.
• Pitcher and catcher development: Consider communication, workload, recovery, and player welfare throughout the season.

Drawing on research about coaching and athlete development, the handbook combines practical instruction with a thoughtful approach to supporting young players. A source guide offers further reading, and a closing chapter traces the history of softball.

Compact at 5 × 8 inches, this 40-page softball coaching book fits easily into a coach’s bag for reading between practices and games. It also makes a thoughtful softball coach gift, an end-of-season thank-you for a volunteer, or a useful resource for softball moms and dads who want to better understand the game.

From the first practice to the final inning, help your players develop their skills, understand their decisions, and find reasons to keep playing.