LogoMarlite Construction #57

Marlite Construction #57

  1. Ridgewood-Glendale-Middle Village-Maspeth LL
  2. Divisions
  3. Rookie Divison
  4. teams
  5. Marlite Construction #57
  6. Announcements

News and Announcements

RSS Feed 

Post Author Picture

The Number 1 Web Site For Softball Coaches, & Players

Posted by Patrick Piteo at Feb 25, 2003 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )

Monthly Feature - "A Common Hitting Flaw and How To Correct It!" We all want our hitters to have a quick, short and compact "A2C Swing" that gets the bat to the ball as quick as possible. What is the single most common mistake that causes a girl's swing to "GO BAD"? I think "Pulling The Front Side Out Too Early" is the most common flaw I see this time of year. This flaw causes fly-balls, pop-ups, frequent foul balls and a drastic lack of bat speed. The batter prematurely pulls the front shoulder out. This causes a "domino effect" of other flaws. The front shoulder will tilt upward, the hands then drop, and the barrel drags to create a "Undesirable Long Swing". Coaches need to quickly spot this flaw and "coach" the hitter to correct it immediately. Coaches should emphasize.... 1) The hitter's front side and hands must first move in the direction of the ball. 2) Your shoulder moves or rotates during the swing, not before, not after. 3) Make sure you maintain proper balance before, during and after the swing. 4) You must rotate at the proper time to generate power and to execute the proper swing for each pitch location. Every pitch location requires some degree of shoulder rotation. But young and older hitters must learn that pitches on the inside 2/3rds of the plate require a greater degree of rotation. The inside strike requires maximum shoulder rotation in order to "Pull" this pitch. Hitting a strike on the outside 3rd of the plate involves much less or minimum shoulder and hip rotation. Spot and eliminate this flaw as early as possible. "Pulling Off" the ball is what we call this common flaw. I think that the first step toward curing it is teaching every hitter on your team including the "power" hitter and the "contact" hitters to "GO WITH THE PITCH". Hit the ball where it is! Do not try to "WOMAN HANDLE" everything. You can't "Pull What You Have To Punch" and You Can't "Punch What You Have To Pull". VISUALization" - Use it to build TEAM ESTEEM and SELF ESTEEM! "Visualization" is the process of seeing things in your mind. It is an important part of building confidence and poise. I always tell my pitchers to "visualize" the perfect pitch and then "throw it". I tell my hitters when you are on deck, "visualize" hitting a double, in the gap, off the wall and then do it. Sometimes I have my players sit alone and they are to visualize every possible play they can possibly make during a game. They are to "see themselves doing everything perfect"! I want them to see us scoring, playing solid defense, and even celebrating the win! I sometimes do "VISUALization" as a group activity going from player to player with each player giving a "play-by-play calling" as our players make outstanding play after play on offense and defense. How can you do something, if you can't imagine it? See my point? I do not spend to much time doing this, but it makes a great change of pace or "rainy day" activity.
Post Author Picture

TELL-ME-SOMETHING-GOOD Bring Your Team Closer!

Posted by Patrick Piteo at Feb 25, 2003 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )

Often talented teams with high expectations underachieve and do not perform up to their ability. What causes this? More often than not, what is missing is "GOOD TEAM CHEMISTRY". What can we do as coaches to help build better "TEAM CHEMISTRY"? I want to share with you, one activity that I have used with great results. I use it when I sense "disunity or a lack of team chemistry" developing. You can use a "TELL-ME-SOMETHING-GOOD" player COMMENT SHEET to build "GOOD TEAM CHEMISTRY". Here's how you do it. Give each player a slip of paper with each teammate's name on it. Beside each name are two blank lines. Each player is to write at least two positive things about each of her teammates. These statements must be something that she has always wanted to compliment her on or something that she wants her to always remember that she said! One statement must be "ABOUT THE TEAMMATE'S FASTPITCH SKILLS, ATTITUDE OR HOW SHE PLAYS THE GAME"! The other statement is about the person and her attributes outside softball. This statement says something good about her as a person, not as a player. What is written must be positive! Each player will be given a sheet with everyone's else's comments about them on it. Every player will read what each her teammates said about her! Each comment is labeled with the person's name that said it! The hardest part about this is that you have to take every girl's comment slips, tape all of the comments together, to make each girls sheet. It may take some time but I can tell you that the effort is well worth the results. This is a great way to bring everyone closer. Sometimes it helps a player as much to see what her teammates "did not" write about her as much as to see what they "did" write! I hope I have done an adequate job of explaining how I do this. This is to be a "POSITIVE BUILDING ACTVILITY"! Do not allow girls to say anything negative. Each player MUST FIND TWO POSITIVE THINGS to SAY ABOUT EACH OF HER TEAMMATES! The comment sheets that you compile and give to each player will become one of their "KEEPSAKES FOR LIFE". I have players that cherish these sheets as some of their greatest memories of high school. This activity seems to really "BRING A TEAM TOGETHER" with a new sense of oneness, pride, closeness, and confidence. If you think it might help your team, try it! I think you will like what happens! One last suggestion is to do this as a group activity together without discussion. If you make it an overnight "take home" homework project make sure that the girls do not discuss their answers or comments with others. The comments must be sincere, original and "spoken from the heart"!
Post Author Picture

"The Short Swing"

Posted by Patrick Piteo at Feb 20, 2003 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
Here are more hitting tips from our friends at Clutch Hitting to help your game. THE SHORT SWING......IS SOOO IMPORTANT... Click the link above for a full breakdown with pictures! When practicing and working on your baseball swing, emphasis must be placed on the hands and the path that the hands must take. Learning a "short" swing and not a "long" swing can aid any hitter from little league to the professional ranks. The concept of getting to the baseball as quickly as possible, going from a set position to contact point, going from point A (set position) to point of contact (point c) can be accomplished in a theory developed even before baseball ever existed: A straight line. imageimageimage
Post Author Picture

"BUILDING TEAM UNITY" - Getting Things Off To A Great Start!

Posted by Patrick Piteo at Feb 18, 2003 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
We know that the most successful teams and programs seem to have a "closeness" or "oneness" that is evident. There is also a sense of purpose and pride that shows when these teams take the field. How do we as coaches develop this unity, pride and sense of "oneness"? I think that there are many important factors that that help build team unity. Here I would like to discuss what I consider most important. First, all things start at the "TOP". The head coach must have a "aura" of true dedication to the players, the program and to the game. You must show a genuine interest in the welfare of your players, coaches and parents. You must be always conscious of his roles of a role model, teacher and leader. You must have an innate love for, knowledge of and respect for baseball. Players must sense that you are sincere in what you believe, teach and practice. ABOVE ALL they must "LOVE PLAYING FOR YOU and THE INSTITUTION"! It is true that they must respect you, but they must respect you and want to "WIN FOR YOU". This feeling comes from a sense of true and sincere loyalty from them to you and from you to them. Never mislead or lie to your players. Always tell it to them straight. They will not let you down! Second, the players must like to spend time with you and their teammates. You, your coaches, all staff members and players must develop a "family feeling". You must care about each other and enjoy being together. It is important to do other things together other than just practicing and playing baseball. Most teams have their "get together" after the season. I think it is very important to have such a gathering before or during the early stages of the season. Schedule some type of "outing" for the team. Go on a camping trip or retreat together, have a cookout at your house for your players, or take them out to eat. Doing a volunteer project together as a team for charity or a needy foundation is a good way to "build a family feeling". The players must consider the time spent together as being "valuable", enjoyable and memorable. They want to be a part of something that is building lifelong memories that they will always cherish. Players play baseball for many reasons. They enjoy it for many reasons! Winning is an important part of baseball and life! My definition of winning is not like a lot of people. I am truly a winner! I HATE LOSING! However, I have a saying that keeps things in perspective for me. My saying is "God's Greatest Gift To Every Player is The God Given Ability and Potential That Player Has. Our Gift, To God, in RETURN, as Players and Coaches, is the Level of ACHIEVEMENT that we ATTAIN through our HARD WORK and DEDICATION! Winning is simply ACHIEVING UP TO OUR GOD GIVEN ABILITY! Winning the game is important. However, it is just as important to play at our great achievable level. "Wasted Talent" is a player's and coaches greatest sin! Our responsibilities and duties as coaches are enormous. There is no greater or nobler job on this planet than being a coach, or "Teacher of the Sport". Good Luck For A Super Season! imageimage
Post Author Picture

Practice Tip - Do Practice "WRITE" !

Posted by Patrick Piteo at Feb 18, 2003 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
Four of the best coaching tips at any level is to always do the following: 1.MAKE OUT A PRACTICE SCHEDULE Organize your practice into sessions or time periods. Start on time and finish on time. Stick to these times. Have your times down to exact minutes or half minutes and detailed to utilize ever minute of your practice. Have the attitude that "PRACTICE TIME IS EXTREMELY VALUABLE" ! It is not to wasted! Plan your practices and have your coaching meetings before practice. Never huddle or use practice time to have discussions. Have a meeting after or before practice for that purpose. Pass out practice schedules to your assistant coaches. Post your Practice Schedule on the fence or wall of the dugout. Let players know what is going on and that you have a "Practice Plan". You may want one of your assitance to be the "Timer". 2. MAKE OUT A PRACTICE SCHEDULE EACH DAY Make sure to document or write down each drill covered each day. Keep these practice schedules in a book as your "practice log". You can go back to see if you have adequately covered all fundamentals or if you need to put more time into a particular aspect of your game or practice. ALSO, keep a log of how many pitches pitchers throw in practice and when they threw. You will also want to make notes on each day's schedule regarding strong points, weak points or any behavior exhibited by a player that you want a record of. You may also want to set "TEAM DAILY PRACTICE GOALS" such as...."Every player will take 300 practice swings today!", "Our middle infielders will turn 50 double plays today!" "Every outfielder will field 50 balls today!". These are just examples. 3. TAKE NOTES DURING EVERY PRACTICE and GAME It is important to keep track of certain results or affects of player and team performance. I recommend keeping a small notepad in your pocket. If you see something that you wish to discuss, praise or correct later, WRITE IT DOWN WHEN IT HAPPENS or AS SOON AS YOU CAN! If you do not take the time to take notes, you may forget and never cover the "event" in your "Post-PRACTICE" or "POST-GAME" conference with the team and your coaches. BE POSITIVE or USE Constructive Verbal Tactics...Don't just "Harp on the Negative"..."Write Down as Much To Praise as You Do to Correct"..TRY TO KEEP A BALANCE between "How Much YOU CORRECT" and "HOW MUCH YOU PRAISE". Remember what you say has "LONGTERM EFFECTS" on the players and the team! Don't say something and later regret it. Writing things down will often give you a chance to consider just how you should approach the situation. 4. LOOK FOR DETAILS! Do not overlook the little things or the basics! Players expect to be disciplined, coached and corrected. If you observe something that is done wrong or incorrectly and do not point it out, players will often develop the attitude of "WELL, COACH DOES NOT CARE, WHY SHOULD I?" ALWAYS EXPECT PERFECTION from yourself, team and every person in your program! You must realize that you will not always get it and that is part of coaching! But always have the attitude that "WE WANT TO DO THINGS CORRECTLY!". WE WANT TO ACT, LOOK, PLAY AND BEHAVE LIKE A TEAM SHOULD! I want to remind you of one important point in closing. 95 PERCENT of the time, "YOU WILL ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU EXPECT TO GET FROM YOUR PLAYERS". Have high expectations! Set your goals high! Expect to work and expect to win! Winning can best be defined as "REACHING YOUR HIGHEST POTENTIAL AS A TEAM!" imageimage