University of North Carolina Head Coach;
Distinguished member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Hall of Fame (2012); 5x ACC Coach of the Year; over 1,100 career victories
Over the past 25+ seasons, Donna Papa has been the veritable architect of a Carolina softball program which ranks among the country's best. In this All Access Video, Coach Papa shares her coaching philosophy, drills, and teaching strategies as her program prepares for the 2010-11 season. Get a candid look at the Tarheels in a live practice setting.
Throughout the video you will see the drills and strategies Papa and her staff incorporate into each practice. Pick up cue words and coaching insight as the Tarheel coaches teach their drills and coach their players.
Prior to taking the field, Coach Papa lays out her coaching philosophy and provides a sample practice schedule breakdown for organizing practices and workouts during the week and at different times of the year.
PRACTICE 1
- Bullpen Session - Assistant Coach Boo Gillette shares the strategies and drills used with the pitchers and catchers. You will see how she takes the pitchers through the warm-up and progresses into drill work to improve mechanics and speed. The catchers are also involved, working through drills to develop blocking skills and defense.
- Team Practice - Coach Papa takes the team through base running situations that she calls "reading the ball." The runners practice reading the flight of the ball to determine their best course of action. The session progresses to base running with live defense working on game-like situations.
They finish by working on the short game: The sacrifice bunt, push bunt, bunt for a hit, squeeze, and slap. The short game is used to advance the base runners and put the ball in play. They are working on their defense in these situations.
PRACTICE 2
- Hitting Drills - Coach Papa takes her players through a series of tee drills as well as working on the different types of bunts.
- Bullpen Session - The pitchers and catchers work on hitting their spots and the inside/outside part of the plate.
- Practice Warm-Ups - Coach Papa shows a dynamic warm-up and speed ladder workout to efficiently prepare the muscles for practice. This workout also replicates the work that will be done during practice.
- Throwing Progression - See the Tarheel's daily throwing progression for infielders and outfielders. This progression improves body rotations, weight shift and transfers. Pick up an outfield drills for working on the drop step and throwing through the catch.
- Base Running - The team works on rounding all of the bases and on situations from the 3 bases. You will see their philosophy for tagging up, bunts, steals, pass balls, and sliding into bases.
- Defensive Fielding - Coach Gillette and the rest of the staff take the infielders and pitchers through a fielding workout and finish with team defensive work. This practice includes a competitive game for the defense.
This video set includes a variety of drills and coaching techniques that can be used for programs at all levels.
176 minutes (2 Videos). 2011.
All Access videos are designed to allow viewers from all over the world to see how successful coaches run their practices in a "live" practice setting. All Access videos allow viewers to see the practices un-edited and in real-time. You will see how top coaches run their drills, interact with their team and staff, how they motivate their team, the cue words they use, the atmosphere of the practice and how practices are structured from day to day. Many coaches visit successful colleges and high schools to watch practice. But if you live out of state or out of the country, visiting another coach's practice can be costly. That's why we created the All Access Practice Series of videos -- to bring the practices to you!
