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“Softball Skills & Drills” by Judi Garman tries to be both a skills book and a drills book, and as a result, does neither exceptionally well. The skills it covers (catching, throwing, infield, outfield, pitching, the catcher, team defense, hitting, bunting & slap hitting, and base running) are generally covered in every skills book and does not provide very many unique insights. The end of each chapter contains drills loosely organized into categories, but with no drill finder (as most every other drills book has), one has to hunt through every drill in every chapter to find one that may suit his/her needs.

Additionally, it tries to provide information for all levels of coaches, but not in a very logical progression.
There is little of value for the advanced coach, but there is too much advanced information to benefit the beginning coach. For example, just in Chapter 1 (Catching), the first subjects are “the glove”, “catching throws”, “basic fielding position”, “moving to the ball”, “catching ground balls” – decent information for the beginning coach. However, stuck right in the middle of the chapter is a section on “making desperation catches”, covering such things as diving catches, sliding catches and running backhanded catches – information for an older player and/or advanced coach. Following that, a section on catching fly balls and pop flies (again back to basic stuff), and finally a section on “overcoming obstacles” like wind, sun, or fences – more advanced information. I wish I could say that Chapter 1 was the exception and that the rest of the book was organized more coherently, but it is not.

One other problem with “Softball Skills & Drills” is that a lot of the information is dated or, in my opinion, wrong. This is particularly the case within the base running chapter. First off, it offers the head-first slide into a base as a viable slide. Not only is a head-first slide the most dangerous way to slide, it is also touted as the fastest way to slide which is not the case, particularly when accounting for the time to get up and advance to the next base in the case of an overthrow. Plus, all the women in the pictures are in shorts and tube socks – no sliders, no long pants – which is unrealistic.

There is one section in The Catcher chapter that I did find somewhat informative, and that is the pitching chart on page 122. There is a lot of decent information there that a young catcher can use to learn to call her own game. Otherwise, I recommend passing on this book.
Rating: 2 / 5

I have assistant coached my daughters’ ASA teams for the past six years, and now I’m an assistant coach of my oldest daughter’s jr. high team. I’ve pretty much learned along the way, picking up ideas and drills from the excellent coaches around me. But I just recently picked this book up and am excited about what I see. It’s basic enough for the have-no-clue-but-want-to-learn coach, but there are so many drills here that even experienced coaches will pick up some new ideas. I especially like how the coach is fundamentally sound–the advice can therefore be trusted. I am going to be keeping this book nearby over these next seasons, and perhaps some of these drills will help the girls I coach to be even that much better. I am highly recommending this book for all of us who hope to gain just an inch of an advantage over those who rely merely on gut instinct.
Rating: 5 / 5