Mike Candrea Instructional Videos
Mike Candrea might be the most successful college head coach in any sport. Candrea has almost too many accomplishments to list. As the head coach at the University of Arizona for the last 22 years, his Wildcats have won eight National Championships and earned 21 trips to the Women's College World Series. A renowned teacher, the U.S. Olympic Committee honored Candrea with the "Olympic Shield" award in 2004, the most prestigious award within the U.S. Olympic Movement, for his work with the softball program.
The purpose of this drill is to improve reaction time and thinking at the plate.
Paint several softballs with different bright colors, and place them in a bucket at the pitcher’s rubber. Make sure the batter does not see what color ball the coach pulls out of the bucket for each pitch. The coach/pitcher then calls out a color before pitching the ball. The batter can only swing if the ball matches the color the pitcher called out (and if the pitch is in the strike zone).
Knock It off the Can
This drill involves knocking something off of a garbage can that’s turned upside down. You can place the can at first base and/or home plate. You can use anything the girls would like to try and knock off – a large stuffed animal, a red cone, or a ball bucket. The players position themselves at their normal infield positions. For younger players you can just line them up close enough so they have a chance to hit the target. Make it a friendly competition where the winner receives a reward. Try to make sure everyone get’s something afterwards, but a little extra for the person with the most knock off’s!
