with Leslie Huntington,
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Head Coach;
National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2021;
2008 NCAA Division III National Champions;
4x WIAC Coach of the Year;
2008 NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year;
former Simpson College Head Coach;
1997 and 1999 D-III National Champions at Simpson;
over 400 career wins
With advances in technology showing us more about hitting mechanics than ever before, major advances have been made in what and how many coaches teach. One hitting philosophy, dubbed the High-Level Pattern, or HLP, has emerged as a new and popular way of coaching the softball swing. In this video, Leslie Huntington and her assistant, Jeff West, explain the HLP technique, why they adapted their teaching to use it, and offer tools and drills they have found success with while instructing their hitters.
The High-Level Pattern Technique
Learn the mechanics that will help your hitters blast the ball with more power! Coaches West and Huntington take a deep dive into the mechanics that drive High-Level Patterns in hitters. They break down the specific mechanics of the lower body and upper body that come together to create a High-Level Pattern. You will learn the benefits of swinging with a High-Level Pattern, including better timing from an instantaneous swing, and more power!
HLP Tools and Drills
See the tools of the trade that Coach Huntington and Coach West have found helpful in training HLP hitters. On a tight budget? No problem. The coaches will show you how to use affordable, homemade materials as a substitute for some of the more expensive tools they use to train the High Level Pattern.
Next, you'll see how to train the HLP swing with nine innovative drills to help your players feel the difference between a HLP swing and less effective, less efficient swings. How can a PVC pipe or a hula hoop help make sense of the HLP swing? Coach Huntington shows you how to incorporate these tools and others into their drills to train their hitters in the efficient High Level Pattern.
This video from Coach Huntington explains the HLP swing mechanics, why it is her preferred method, and the tools and drills her program uses to train High-Level Patterns. Start teaching your hitters how to drive the ball with more power and hit more consistently today!
43 minutes. 2021.
SD-05789B:
with Leslie Huntington,
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Head Coach;
National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2021;
2008 NCAA Division III National Champions;
4x WIAC Coach of the Year;
2008 NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year;
former Simpson College Head Coach;
1997 and 1999 D-III National Champions at Simpson;
over 400 career wins
Once players and teams progress to a higher level of play, fundamentals can become neglected, which can cause the team to backslide. Championship teams know that attention to the details, or the fundamentals of any skill, are what separates the 'good' from the 'elite'. Coach Leslie Huntington shows how to take your defensive skills to the elite level by paying attention to the details in this informative video.
Throwing and Partner Drills
Throwing is one of the most basic skills in the game of softball, but can also be one of the most overlooked. You will learn a four drill throwing progression that will help you:
- Prevent injuries
- Keep arms fresh
- Improve mechanics
- Throw harder
- Reduce throwing errors
Next, Coach Huntington shows how to partner up your players so they can work on first step reactions and fielding different type of hops. In the Medium Hop Drill, players have the option of fielding the ball as either a short hop or a long hop, but must adjust their footwork to pick the hop.
Pitching Machine Drills
The pitching machine isn't just for hitting! Huntington shows how to re-purpose a staple in offensive practice for defensive drills. The machine shoots the ball at a fairly consistent speed and location, allowing fielders to practice almost identical plays. This allows fielders to get the repetitions they need to improve defensive skills, like catching throws for relays and catching the ball with your weight already loaded on your back leg to transition into the throw quicker.
Triangle Drills
Communication is key to defensive success, along with player safety. Coach Huntington introduces you to triangle drills, and explain several variations, all of which feature multiple players communicating with each other to catch a fly ball. Fielders will improve their conditioning while working on communication, as well as reading the angles of a fly ball and executing a catch.
Coach Huntington introduces you to over 20 drills to help your defenders perfect their fundamentals. This video will show you how a focus on the defensive fundamentals can help a good team make the next step in their development.
73 minutes. 2021.
SD-05789C:
with Leslie Huntington,
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Head Coach;
National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2021;
2008 NCAA Division III National Champions;
4x WIAC Coach of the Year;
2008 NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year;
former Simpson College Head Coach;
1997 and 1999 D-III National Champions at Simpson;
over 400 career wins
Running an effective team practice can be a challenge for even the most experienced coach. No coach wants to look around the field during their practice and see players standing around, not engaged with what's going on. Coach Huntington will show you some of her core team drills, highlighting both baserunning and defense, that will help get your whole team involved in practice.
Baserunning
Learn how to get better reads on batted balls to help your baserunners understand when to take an extra base and help your team score more runs! In a game-like drill called Far and Off Again, baserunners see how far they can get stretch off first base on a fly ball to the outfield. The goal is to make it a close play on their return to first base if the ball is caught. The closer the play at first, the better their read on the fly ball and the closer to the next base they will be if the ball is dropped.
Defensive Communication
Communication while on defense is the foundation of a solid team. It is vital to getting outs on defense because fielders have to know where to throw the ball and how to line up a cutoff (if needed) to prevent opposing runners from advancing. Huntington explains and shows how `silent practice' can actually lead to better communication afterward.
Rundowns
Rundowns are a fun and exciting part of the game. As a defender, when a rundown occurs, you have the opposing team and runner right where you want them: hung out to dry! Convert more rundowns into outs with Coach Huntington's rundown drill that will keep your whole team challenged and moving during practice.
Coach Huntington's drills can be put into your practices right away to help advance your team's baserunning and defense skills. This video is sure to sharpen your whole team!
37 minutes. 2021.