Coaching Girls' Softball: From the How-To's of the Game to Practical Real-World Advice--Your Definitive Guide to Successfully Coaching Girls

This book had everything I needed as a first year softball coach. It's easy to follow with many helpful hints. There are many topics especially the emotional side of working with girls that I had not even thought about.

Thank You. I'm a father of two daughters (5 and 7) who has never coached before. Although I've played on a softball team at work, and am somewhat familiar with the game, I never actually played little league when I was a kid. With so few coaches however, one of my neighbors asked me to help her coach. I was a little nervous about giving these girls any bad information. At this level you should just be reviewing the basics, but since I was never actually formally taught what the basics are, I didn't want to miss anything. I also didn't want to teach them something that might have the potential of hurting them by accident. After reading this book however I feel much better. It covered a lot of the things I might have overlooked, and gave me the confidence I'll need to get in front of these kids and parents and not embarrass myself.The book was straightforward and easy to read (I got through it in about two days which was good for me.) I'd highly recommend it.

Kathy Strahan has done an excellant job at presenting all aspects of coaching in a very easy to understand approach. Following her instruction would make any new and even seasoned caoch better.

Kathy Strahan's book is one of the most recent, well-constructed guides for coaching softball to young girls. The book provides a detailed compilation of drills, skills, strategies, and other information designed to assist the coach through the process of developing the players' social, psychological, emotional, and physical abilities. It is categorized in a systematic progression which explores the characteristics of an effective leader, responsibilities of a youth coach, important issues within the sport, and how to plan and teach the basic fundamentals of the game. Some of the topics addressed within these categories include information regarding safety, liability, decision making, communication, teaching methods, motivation, dealing with parents, sportsmanship, and much more! Major points of information are synthesized into creative and insightful coaching tips, which can be easily referenced throughout the text. The author also provides sample practice plans, line-up sheets, game strategies, evaluation worksheets, and goal setting plans. Ultimately, this book will guide you toward becoming the coach that every community, league, school, and parent wants for their children!

I found this book to be invaluable for coaching young girls. I especially appreciated the sections that dealt with the psychological and social development to better meet the needs of female youth players. It was also helpful to find tips for coaching young girls for male coaches. If you coach girls softball, you will want to own this book!