Foundations for Winning Softball: Defense

with Randy Schneider,
former Ankeny Centennial (IA) High School Head Coach (coached to best record in school history);
also coached at Iowa State University (Assistant Coach), University of Wisconsin (Associate Head Coach - 2013 Big Ten Tournament Champions), Valparaiso University (Head Coach; all-time wins leader, 2008 Horizon League Co-Coach of the Year)

with Tom Drohner,
Stevens Point Area Senior High;
NFCA WI Coach of the Year (2004, 2008, 2009 & 2011); Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association - Hall of Fame (2018); 8x WI State Champions (2001- 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 & 2016); won 19 consecutive Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC) Championships, 18 Regional Championships and 14 Sectional Championships; coached 50+ first team All-State players, coached 2 Gatorade Players of the Year; National Fastpitch Coaches Association WI; Owns an overall record of 495-67 (through 2018)

with Todd Merical,
Johnston High School (IA) Head Coach;
3x State Champions, 2x State Championship Runner-ups; Iowa Girls Coaches Association (IGCA) Hall of Fame (2017); 800+ wins; 3x State Coach of the Year (IGCA)

Train your defenses to make athletic, web-gem plays look routine with instruction from Randy Schneider, Todd Merical, and Tom Drohner. These coaches will show you productive everyday defensive drills, as well as a throwing routine to warm-up and increase your players' athleticism. You will also learn how to improve the hand-eye coordination of your players.

Everyday Drills

Get your athletes the reps they need in a short amount of time with everyday drill work. Once you've identified fundamental skills that need to be practiced every day, you can help your players perfect the necessities for sound defense. By doing a few reps of key drills every day over the course of a week, your players will run through a large amount of reps without having to dedicate a large chunk of their time.

Throwing

Learning how to throw correctly at a young age will set a player up for future success. Not only does Coach Drohner offer a six-step throwing progression warm-up, Coach Schneider also shows a kinesthetic throwing program to improve athleticism and help your players learn to throw from different positions and arm slots.

Defensive Hand-Eye Coordination Drills

Hand-eye coordination is a skill that benefits players on offense and on defense. The drills in this section are fun and challenging, and can include skills like juggling. In one particular drill, players must juggle while moving their feet and counting backward. By adding more demands, coaches can increase the level of difficulty and force the athletes to focus.

In all, coaches Randy Schneider, Todd Merical, and Tom Droner share 30 drills to get your defense warmed up and ready to make acrobatic, web gem plays. If you're looking to improve your defenders' foundations and athleticism, this video will show you how to create fielders that can make any play look routine!

69 minutes. 2019.