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In-season training with Combat’s Scott Brown
By
Scott Brown
Greetings Let’s
Play Softball readers, Scott Brown here coming to you from Combat Sports
and Dan Smith/Team Combat. In each issue of Let’s Play Softball, I will
be covering ball in a wide range of topics from both a manufacturers and a
player’s point of view.
This is our first
article and I am truly excited about being able to share my experiences with
LPS readers. Each article will be written from a dual vantage point, as a Major
Softball Player, and as a regional Sales Manager for a leading bat
manufacturer, Combat.
I will also be
introducing some of the biggest names in softball to get other opinions. In
this first article, the focus will be in-season training and getting ready for
the weekend tournament.
Although the weather
has not been cooperating, that does not mean you should be putting off working
on your game. There are some great facilities here in the
All winter and into
the spring I can usually be found at Extra Innings in
In order for
practice to be beneficial it has to be taken seriously. You play like you train
and work on the little things.
The first step of
any training session is to have a plan.
I cringe every time I hear about people going out to practice and all
they do is hit for the fences. Although there is no better feeling than hitting
a bomb, the current home run restrictions at all levels of play, account for a
small percentage of your game. Singles and doubles win games, so train to hit
the gaps, work on your backswing and sorry pitchers but, shooting the middle
(always with a screen), this will make you a more rounded hitter.
You’ve trained all
week and now that weekend tournament is here, just like training you need a
game plan. What are you going to do during your first at bat? What style of a
pitcher are you facing? Watch him in warm-ups and when you are on deck, know
what the defense is giving you. What are the oppositions’ defensive positioning? Softball is a 75 percent mental and 25
percent physical. Focus on the mental aspects of the game and the play will
fall into place.
Good luck and until the next issue,
I am out.