3 Reasons to Attend a Softball Skills Clinic
Softball clinics are offered year-round all across the country at every age level. Before you sign up for any clinic, do your research. Unless you are looking for a way to get your kids out of the house and doing something active during the day, be certain you are signing them up for a clinic they will benefit from. Skill clinics are extremely beneficial to softball players at all levels. There isn’t one softball player at any level who has mastered every skill. Some at the highest levels are close, but those players still strike out, give up hits, and make errors from time to time.
There are many logical reasons why softball players should attend a skills clinic. We have narrowed them down to the list below.
Skills are pieces to the puzzle: When we mention the word skills, we are referring to the basics or the core. When softball players learn and develop the core skills, these will carry over to the final product. When it comes to hitting, breaking the swing down and piecing it back together is going to benefit the hitter more than just taking full swings and having someone critique each one. Softball is a game of skills and you need multiple core skills to master each position on the field. Core skills all work together and will bring the athlete to new heights once mastered.
Skills can be lost as fast as they are learned: Softball is a game of repetition. Think about it, the players practice the same things over and over again. How many balls do you think a retired player hit off a tee in their career? How many pitches did a pitcher throw? The learning and developing of skills are extremely important because skills can be lost as fast as they are learned if they aren’t continuously worked on. Take pitching for example. Most pitchers are taught how to break down their pitch into a “warm up”. This is the perfect opportunity for pitchers to work on basic mechanics and fundamentals. These skills can be lost if a pitcher only practices throwing her full pitch. It’s nearly impossible for pitchers to focus on skills when they are going full speed. We encourage all players to take the time to learn the basic skills of their position, master those, and continue implementing and practicing them.
Learning the right way prevents injury: If softball players aren’t taught the correct skills, form, or mechanics, their body will develop bad habits which could lead to injury in the future. This could also happen if core skills are not revisited and practiced over time. The body is always changing and adjusting as athletes grow. Ignoring core skills and practicing and playing full speed could hurt the player in the long run. As we mentioned, bad habits form which could lead to injury. A great example is an overhand throw. Something a softball player does every single day they show up for practice or a game, but how many players actually take the time to engage in a broken down throwing progression? The college athletes do it every time they touch a ball and it is encouraged that the skills are introduced to the lower age groups to they can practice arm care, to strengthen the arm and limit the chance of injury.
Learning, developing, and mastering core softball skills are extremely important to not only the players but to the overall game of softball. The best opportunity for players to learn these skills are attending clinics which specialize in instructing and teaching these skills. It doesn’t matter how short or long a softball player’s career is, but at the end of the day, the players who master the core skills are going to be the ones who succeed and stay in the game the longest.
Check out the Core Clinic June, 19 and 20th in Woodbury, MN! More to come this summer.
