Welcome to our Field of Dreams! For more than 30 years, a very colorful and surprisingly competitive softball league has provided fun, entertainment and a sense of community for the residents of Big Sur, which is located just south of the Monterey Peninsula along California’s Central Coast. The rules of the league have been influenced by its unusual ballpark, which actually features trees in the field of play. The ballpark lies on sunny flat alongside the Big Sur River within the boundaries of Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park. Here, on Monday and Tuesday evenings from the beginning of May through the end of August, a host of locals and an occassional curious visitor gather to watch teams like the Outlaws, the Dogs and the Burritos renew ancient rivalries … for more info, visit www.bigsursoftball.org

Learn how to hold a softball correctly with this softball video. Expert: Erin Goettlicher Video transcript: “I’m Erin Goettlicher, and I’m a professional softball coach. After I played through high school, I went out and played for college level, and then spent a cup of tea at the professional level. I’m self-employed, and own Pro Softball Training. Pro Softball Training offers instruction in all kinds of softball. You name it, we can do it. Today, I will be talking to you about softball. When holding a softball, it’s important to get the correct grip. How we hold the ball is going to determine how well, how accurate, and how far we can throw it. The most common grip in holding a softball is considered the four-seam grip. We call it a four-seam grip because when the ball is rotating in one full rotation, four seams will travel parallel to the ground. That’s going to allow the ball to stay on a better path, as well as get good spin, which helps us create a little more velocity. When I grab the softball, I want to make sure I grip it in my fingertips. More the pads of our fingers. I want to hold the ball slightly, a little bit looser, on those pads of those fingers, I want to avoid getting deep into the back of my palm. That’s not going to allow us to have any flexibility in our hands. We want to have the pads of our fingers, so that we have room to move and our wrists can be loose. To find the right seams, I can look at the softball and if I hold it up, I’m going to see a …

Learn how ASA softballs are different from Major League baseballs with this softball video. Expert: Erin Goettlicher Video transcript: “I’m Erin Goettlicher, and I’m a professional softball coach. After I played through high school, I went out and played for college level, and then spent a cup of tea at the professional level. I’m self-employed, and own Pro Softball Training. Pro Softball Training offers instruction in all kinds of softball. You name it, we can do it. Today, I will be talking to you about softball. When working to increase pitching speed, in fast pitch, there are a lot of factors that we have to take into consideration. Some of the main factors, though are the amount of snap that I can put on the ball which means how much spin I can create when I snap and release the ball. One of the other main factors is how quickly and how fast I can create arm speed in my windmill. The quicker I can get this arm to spin around, the better the snap, the more the velocity I can get on the ball. The other important factor is how well I can use my lower body. I have to learn how to drive with my legs and my hips to create power and positive movement towards the home plate. In order to increase spin, and snap, I want to have a good grip on the ball, which is always, typically a four seam grip. A four seam grip means that when one ball rotation completes, four seams are going to be parallel to the ground. In order to increase arm speed, which is how fast I can whip my arm …

Learn how to organize a softball game with this softball video. Expert: Erin Goettlicher Video transcript: I’m Erin Goettlicher, and I’m a professional softball coach. After I played through high school, I went out and played for college level, and then spent a cup of tea at the professional level. I’m self-employed, and own Pro Softball Training. Pro Softball Training offers instruction in all kinds of softball. You name it, we can do it. Today, I will be talking to you about softball. In order to organize a softball game, there’s a few things you’re going to need. Most importantly you’re going to need a softball field. Typically a field’s going to have a fence or a back-stop area. On that softball field you’re going to need the four bases-home plate, first, second, and third base. You’re also going to want a pitcher’s mound or a pitcher’s plate. You’re going to need a few pieces of equipment to play with as well. Everyone’s going to need to have a glove; you’re going to need a bat, and most importantly, you’ve got to have a ball. It’s also important to have helmets for protection when you’re batting. Softball teams are consisting of 9-12 players depending on which type of softball game you’re playing. But for sure, you’re going to want to have 9 players-one pitcher, one catcher, four infielders, and three outfielders. Once you have both teams fielded, you’re ready to go. Thanks for watching How to Organize a Softball Game! If you enjoyed this video, subscribe to the …

Learn about Erin Goettlicher, one of Howcast’s softball experts. Video transcript: I’m Erin Goettlicher, and I’m a professional Softball coach. I started out playing softball when I was very young, in fact I actually started playing baseball. I was part of one of the first 12 and under softball teams at my hometown Mankato, Minnesota. After I played through high school I went out and played at the college level and even spent a little bit of time , as we say I had a cup of tea at the professional level. I’ve also had the opportunity to coach at the division one college level for 6 years. After that I went on and coached the national Pro Fast pitch league it’s a professional women’s softball league. I coached for three years there and was fortunate to coach two teams that won national championships. I now work for myself. I’m self employed and own pro softball training. Pro softball training offers instruction in all kinds of softballs areas. All skills, all ages. From youth to professional. We do individual training, team training, coach’s clinics, you name it, we can do it. We are also adding on to our website which is going to allow us to have an online instruction system. We also have a drill video library collection so that we can show you great softball drills and tips to make you a better payer. Today, I’ll be talking to you about softball. Thanks for watching About the Expert: Erin Goettlicher! If you enjoyed this video, subscribe to the Howcast YouTube channel …