Life in the Fastpitch Lane
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Ken Krause, owner and lead instructor of Softball Success, has been coaching girls fastpitch softball for nearly 20 years. This blog is about thoughts, ideas and musings on fast-pitch softball.
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
5d ago
Ask anyone who knows a thing or two about fastpitch softball pitching about the changeup and they’ll tell you it’s one of the greatest weapons a pitcher can have in her arsenal. The ability to take 10-15 mph off the speed of a pitch while making it look like it will be delivered at the ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
1w ago
We often hear about how fastpitch softball players need to be good teammates and people of good character. Coaches will talk about what they look for during tryouts and recruiting beyond skills, and how they need to be able to hold their players to high standards. But what about the coaches themselves? Shouldn’t being a ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
2w ago
It seems like softball coaches, players, and especially parents are always in search of the “silver bullet” – that one technique or piece of knowledge or magic adjustment that will take an average (or below-average) player and turn her into a superstar. That desire is actually what keeps a lot of what I would call ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
3w ago
We’ve all seen the stereotype in dozens of sports movies over the years: the coach who constantly screams at and demeans his/her players early in the movie only to go on to win the a championship during the climactic ending. It makes for great Hollywood drama. But unfortunately too many people today watch those movies ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
1M ago
So, the good news is your daughter made the high school fastpitch softball team. Congratulations! That’s a relief, especially in those increasingly rare instances where high school softball programs are still actually cutting players. Now the “bad” news: if you’ve never been through the experience you could be in for a rude awakening. Because unless ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
1M ago
One of the age-old questions when developing fastpitch pitchers is whether coaches should prioritize speed or accuracy. Of course the real answer is they should focus on mechanics and everything else comes from that. In other words, focus on the process and the outcomes will take care of themselves. Still, you do need some way ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
1M ago
A few weeks ago one of my students and her dad came to me with a question about the pitching rules. She had been called for an illegal pitch because she stepped on the pitching rubber with her hands together. I confirmed that that was a rule and we worked on making sure she broke ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
1M ago
Friends, today we are gathered to address one of the most dreaded issues in all of fastpitch softball practice. Of course, I am talking about “One More” Syndrome. It’s an issue that affects nearly every player at all levels at one time or another. You may not know it by name, but you know its ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
2M ago
When I was coaching teams, one of my yearly rituals was to read the ASA (now USA Softball) rulebook from beginning to end before the season started. Including the applications scenarios in the back. I would also scan the rules for other sanctions my team was playing in just to make sure I knew about ..read more
Life in the Fastpitch Lane
2M ago
Every now and then when I’m working with a pitching student I will have one who is having trouble hitting some of her spots on command. For example, she will tell me that she can hit inside ok but can’t throw outside. I will talk to her about how to do it. I used to ..read more