Welcome to the PAGS Coaches Corner, your one stop resource center to help you become a successful PAGS Coach! Thank you for volunteering to be a coach.
Below is the roadmap you can follow to help you ease your way into becoming a successful PAGS coach:
Below are the key documents referenced in the roadmap above that we have created to help develop you as a PAGS Coach.
Introduction to PAGS Coaching
- Welcome to Coaching ― this document walks you through on how to get ACE Certified and discusses topics such as player safety, what equipment you should have and what equipment should you recommend to your players, the rain hotline, how to best leverage TeamSnap, how to conduct your Parent Meeting, and gives some practical tips on how to approach coaching. (Updated 2/5/2018)
Fundamentals
- Top 15 Fundamentals of Softball ― this document gives you the top 15 fundamentals of softball that every coach (especially those coaching 6U and 8U) should teach to their players. Think of it as an executive summary / “Reader’s Digest” / “Cliff Notes” of the various fundamentals docs listed below. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Fundamentals of Throwing and Catching ― this document walks you through best practices for throwing and catching. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Fundamentals of Hitting ― this document walks you through best practices for hitting. Discusses bat selection, bunting and disavows some “myths” of hitting. Bonus material on mental preparation and what to do before an at bat while in the on deck circle. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Fundamentals of Base Running― this document walks you through best practices for base running. Goes into advanced topics such as lead off, stealing, dropped third strike and tagging up. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Fundamentals of Infield ― this document walks you through best practices for fielding ground balls as well as position play within the infield. Discusses topics such as covering bunts, proper footwork for relays and emphasizes the concept of ball/base/backup. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Fundamentals of Outfield ― this document walks you through best practices for outfielding. Discusses topics such as crow-hops, do or dies, backing up the infield and the proper way to track a fly ball. (Updated 2/5/2018)
Practices
- Preparing Practices ― this document walks you through some practical tips on how to conduct and organize your practices. You use this document along with the various “Drill” guides below to help you design your practices. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Example Practice Plans ― this document gives a few examples of practice plans you can use as the season progresses. (Updated 2/5/2018))
Drills
- Infield Drills― this document walks you through over 40 beginners, intermediate and advanced infielding drills that you can choose from to help build a practice. It also has links to videos that demonstrate most of the drills in action. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Outfield Drills― this document walks you through approximately 20 outfield drills that you can choose from to help build a practice. It also has links to videos that demonstrate most of the drills in action. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Hitting Drills ― this document walks you through over 15 hitting drills that you can choose from to help build a practice. It also has links to videos that demonstrate most of the drills in action. (Updated 2/5/2018)
- Base Running Drills ― this document walks you through 15 base running drills that you can choose from to help build a practice. It also has links to videos that demonstrate most of the drills in action. (Updated 2/5/2018)
Games
- Preparing for Games — this guide will walk you through how to prepare for a game and covers topics such as pregame warmups, creating lineups, how to properly warm up an infield between innings, and more. (Updated 2/5/2018)
We want these documents to be “living” documents, so please send any and all feedback to the PAGS Coaching Development and Training Coordinator at Training@paloaltogirlssoftball.org. If you want to add your favorite drills, please send them our way too and we will add them to the drill guides.
Again thank you volunteering and we hope you have fun coaching!
