Garland Shirley: All Things Hitting - Line Drives, Tee Drills, Plate Drills & Developing Raw Power

with Garland Shirley,
Clarke University Softball Coach;
2021 recipient (1st ever) of NFCA's Natasha Watley Scholarship for Social Change;
In his first 2 seasons, set Clarke's school record for win-total turnaround by improving his team's record by 26 wins;
Marshalltown Community College Head Coach from 2015 to 2018;
Coached 13 All-Region players in three seasons and produced the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Offensive Player of the Year in 2017;
Ankeny Centennial High School (IA) - Head Coach from 2014 to 2018;
Van Meter Community High School (IS) Head Coach from 2009 to 2014 (Iowa's first-ever African-American High School Head Softball Coach);
compiled a 117-61 overall record, was named the 2012 District Coach of the Year and led the school to its first state tournament appearance in 2012

Garland Shirley has a well-earned reputation as a teaching coach. In this instructional video on hitting, the head softball coach at Clarke University goes through a complete training regimen for softball players to refine their approach to hitting.

Coach Shirley and his assistant coach bring you a variety of tee drills and strength drills to help your players develop into more powerful hitters. From hand eye coordination drills to power development drills with strength and conditioning – this detailed video contains essential information you'll need to transform your players into better hitters.

Proper Hitting Form, Tee Drills

The hitting instruction begins with a series of tee drills intended to stress proper hitting form and hand placement. You'll get Coach Shirley's entire progression of hitting tee work ranging from contact drills to follow through drills to helping power swings to drive the ball.

You'll also get a series of tee drills that include hitting aides and some common exercise equipment such as bands to help reinforce proper hitting form and hitting techniques. The drills Coach Shirley demonstrates a hitting practice program that builds from the ground up and develops line drive hitters that will produce more base hits with the power needed to generate more homeruns. 

Building Physical Strength Improves Hitting

Toward the end of the video Coach Shirley brings you a highly valuable series of 5 different strength-and-conditioning drills that improves softball hitting and uses medicine balls and thick resistance-bands. 

These strength drills will help any hitter improve their power resulting in harder hit balls. As an added bonus, Coach Shirley points out that physically stronger, more well-conditioned athletes will stay healthier in-season and be more powerful.

This is a must-see video for softball coaches who are on a mission to improve their team's overall hitting – both for average and with more power. Coach Shirley teaches you how to get the most from your hitters, using a ground-up approach to hitting more line drives and homeruns. 

The tee lessons demonstrated in this video help any level of hitter – from the beginner to the advanced player – all will become more consistent and more powerful. 

49 minutes. 2022.