Softball Canada Coaches Guides
Softball Canada and Softball Newfoundland Labrador are pleased to announce the release of the U16 Coaches Guide: Tools for Coaching Success! The U16 Coaches Guide builds on the success of the U12 and U14 versions. The Coaches Guide series was created by Softball Canada to increase the knowledge of coaches and improve the holistic development of players. The information in each guide is based on Softball Canada’s Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) model ensuring it is both age and stage appropriate. Including the Learn To Play Program manuals for ages 5 to 10, Softball Canada now provides coaches with resources to assist in player development for athletes from age 5 to 16.
Each guide contains a season’s worth of practice plans divided into 4 training phases with each phase having specific objectives and outcomes. These resources will assist softball coaches with the critical skill of developing and conducting sequential, well organized practices. The U12 Coaches Guide contains 18 practice plans. The U14 guide has 24 practice plans. The new U16 guide has 34 practice plans broken down into Phase 1 with 10 indoor practices and, Phase 2 with 8 pre-season outdoor practices and Phases 3 and 4 with 8 outdoor practices each for the competitive season. The practice plans are laid out in a manner that is very easy for any level of coach to follow. Each drill is described in detail, including a list of equipment that is required, a time limit to ensure that the practice is kept on track and a clearly illustrated diagram to allow for easy understanding of the drills. Each guide is contained in a binder which allows the coach to remove the appropriate practice plan from the binder and take it with them to the field.
In addition, to the valuable practice plans, the guides contain sections on practice planning, dynamic warm-up routines, cooldown routines, and key teaching points for each skill. New for the U16 Coaches Guides are sections on physical conditioning, testing protocols for softball skills and fitness, pitching and nutrition. Coaches can use the information in the “Key Teaching Points” section of the guide to ensure that their players are not simply doing the drills, but are actually learning the skills to play the game with success. These fantastic new resources mean that age and LTPD stage appropriate practices and information are now at the fingertips of every softball coach in Canada.
If you are a beginner coach, you can simply follow the practice plans as they are laid out and rest assured your players and team will improve the skills prioritized for their age category and LTPD stage over the course of the season. If you are an experienced coach, you can use these practice plans as a guideline and modify them to meet the individual needs of your players and team.
To order your Coaches Guide, contact:
Dave Feener (Softball NL Executive Director) at executivedirector@softballnl.ca.
