Product reviews

Tennis Books

It may sound a bit odd discussing two tennis books here but both of them (particularly the second) have things to say that are of use to any sportsman:

Winning Ugly - Brad Gilbert

This is a book to borrow rather than buy as there are only a couple of chapters of interest to us as softballers BUT Gilbert is brilliant when he discusses two things of real interest;

The inner game of Tennis - W.Timothy Gallwey

This book is famous in the coaching field and is well worth buying. It deals with the process of learning and teaching, what works and what doesn't. It's also worth reading as a player with lots of useful advice about maximising performance, though some might think the author gets a bit carried away towards the end. It isn't the biggest book but it's a bit Tardis like, there's lots more inside than it appears from the outside.

BSF product review

The British Softball Federation has produced a number of softball related products. The three most useful ones for coaching are: All are available from BSF via the BSUK web site. There is a link to their site on the links page.

The Slowpitch Softball Basic Skills Manual

Overview
The manual is divided into two parts. It starts with several short sections giving a background to the game of slowpitch softball, an overview of the rules etc. The second 'main' section consists of an overview of the basic skills needed to play the game: Each section follows a common format with an introduction, an illustrated description of good technique and a list of common errors and how to correct them.
Strengths
The manual gives a good basic overview of the skills needed in each area, and covers all the important skills.
Weaknesses
The presentation could be better. The photos are generally too small and could be clearer. Also the manual comes as a ring binder, a personal hate of mine - good quality paper though.
Verdict
A good buy for the aspiring coach or captain of an inexperienced team, it also ties in well with the video (see below).

The Basic Slowpitch Softball Drills Manual

Overview
This manual consists of an introductory section covering safety and warming up (some of this information is common to the Skills manual), but the drills are the meat of the manual. They are divided up into sections: Whilst there are two 'team' drill sections the other sections do contain team drills as well as others best conducted alone or in small groups.
Strengths
The manual gives a reasonable cross section of drills I have seen in other publications. The pitching section is good with more ideas and drills than I've seen anywhere else, slowpitch pitching tends to be ignored in most skills and drills books.
Weaknesses
There is no mention of hitting off a tee in the batting section. Hitting off a tee is a staple batting drill and I find it very odd it's not mentioned there. Some of the drills are directed more at fast pitch, in particular there's a hit and run drill, you can't properly execute a hit and run play in slowpitch because the rules don't let you. Overall I find the selection of team drills a bit pedestrian. Another ring binder, and not even good quality paper this time!
Verdict
I don't think there's much actually wrong with this manual but I found it a bit un-inspiring. I didn't find anything in here that gave me many fresh ideas, but then I've seen a few internet sites discussing drills etc. and it might be more informative for someone who came to the subject fresh. I also suspect this is the least useful of these products for adult recreational teams because getting players to do some of the drills might be a bit difficult!!

Slowpitch Coaching Techniques and Skills Video

Overview
This is an American Softball Association coaching tape re-edited by the BSF. It goes through the basic skills involved in Having gone through the skills it then goes through each area again describing possible drills. The first half covers much the same areas as the skills manual and in similar terms.
Strengths
The basics of batting and fielding are well covered, the coaches doing the commentary know their stuff and it's generally well worth a watch.
Weaknesses
The obvious thing is that there is nothing at all about pitching. This isn't the BSFs fault as there's nothing on the American version either, but it is a pain. Being a bit picky I'd prefer it if the skills and drills for each area were together rather than having all the skills then all the drills. I've seen the ASA version of this tape and that's the way they do it, why the BSF swapped it round is a bit of a mystery as far as I'm concerned.
Verdict
A good buy for the coach or captain and well worth a look for players as well.

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