Softball Holiday Gift Guide

Softball Coach Gifts Shopping for the softball coach in your family this holiday season? Let us help! If there's one thing softball coaches love, it's more softball! We have gifting options starting at just $5, and any of these options are sure to put a smile on your favorite coach's face. Digital Downloads Sometimes making it to an in-person learn...
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2219 Hits

Creating Softball Practice Plans

Writing a practice plan for your softball team may seem daunting at first, but the more you do it, the better you will get and the easier it will become. Every task needs a plan - from t-ball to the US National Team - and a coach with a well-thought-out plan in mind (and on paper) will run a more efficient and productive pr...
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58 Hits

An Inside Look at NFCA Coaches Clinics

An Inside Look at NFCA Coaches Clinics Mike Candrea speaks at a 2022 Coaches Clinic.
What is an NFCA Coaches Clinic? Coach, your player's off-season is your time to be in-season - in the classroom, learning new drills, new philosophies, and making connections to enhance your softball coaching skills. The NFCA is inviting YOU, whether you're a new softball coach or seasoned veteran, to come learn from the top coaches in our game at ...
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9796 Hits

The Greatest Time of Year ... Convention!

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The NFCA Convention

There's no denying the NFCA Convention is a special event. Coaches from all divisions, all over the world, meet in one place to talk softball, network and grow. There's no better experience than being in the same location - for four full days - with thousands of your colleagues. If you've never been to Convention, we're going to try and give you a glimpse of the magic, and if you've been before, hopefully this re-ignites your fire to join us again (and again, and again).

The 2024 NFCA Convention is heading to Dallas, TX, December 4-7, 2024.

One of the NFCA's newest team members, Director of Innovation, Lyndsey Talbot, is going to share her perspective having recently made the transition from attendee to NFCA staff. Come along!

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3099 Hits

The NFCA's Top 5 Webinars

Elevate Your Coaching Game Education is one of the main pillars of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Our goal is to provide fastpitch coaches of all levels and experiences with the best education in the country. With NFCA webinars, a benefit included in NFCA membership, coaches can learn from anywhere. NFCA Executive Director ...
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299 Hits

What makes NFCA softball camps unique?

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Softball Camps It's no secret camps are an integral part of the softball playing experience, and the recruiting ecosystem. Camps are an efficient way to play amongst your peers and competitors, learn from different coaches with different philosophies, and for some camps, to be seen in front of college coaches looking to add to their future rosters....
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7280 Hits

Inside the Coaching Tools Package

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Unlock your coaching potential. We know your team's success starts with effective coaching and strategic planning. The NFCA's Coaching Tools, presented by USSSA, is an annual benefits package exclusive to high school, travel ball, youth, and international coach members, designed to elevate your softball coaching skills and transform your team's per...
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701 Hits

Beyond-the-Fence of Softball Rankings

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma has found itself in - and mainly at the top of - the USA Today/NFCA's Division I Top 25 Poll for several years.
College & High School Softball Rankings Softball rankings, or polls, are a pivotal part of the softball landscape. Polls generate excitement around our game and bring interest to the sport, match-ups and highlighted programs along the way. Although polls are important and have a place in sport, they are not the only item used in determining cha...
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2367 Hits

How to Coach Softball

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Becoming a Softball Coach Becoming a softball coach starts with three simple items: 1) a basic knowledge of fastpitch softball 2) a desire to teach and inspire through effective communication and 3) a commitment to leading your team to the best of your ability. Building a positive culture and relationships with individual player...
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14306 Hits

Our Unsung Hero

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Who am I?

Favorite book: 'Oh the Places You'll Go' - Dr. Seuss

Favorite song: 'On the Road Again' -Willie Nelson

Favorite shape: Square

Favorite logo: NFCA logo

Favorite hobby: Travel

Favorite beverage: Gatorade

Things I hear: Lots of loud noises and lots of laughter

Things I see: Lots of people who like softball and beautiful parts of the country

Things I smell: Snacks and gasoline

Recent travel: Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville … but my favorite is Las Vegas

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2720 Hits

The NFCA's Top 5 Softball Drills

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We have all been there, your first softball coaching job, a new position, new team, start of a season, all the above ... what is one of the first things you do? Google softball drills, of course! It doesn't matter how long I've been coaching it always seems to be one of the first things I look for when building my practice plans. I've got year...
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28003 Hits

NFCA sure has grown in last dozen years

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Hi! My name is Jamie Hazel-White. As the longest current NFCA staff member — I was hired in August 2010 — I've seen quite a few changes over my nearly dozen years on the team. I actually started fresh out of college as the Membership and Convention Coordinator and held a few other titles along the way, before ending up in my current position as the...
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3258 Hits

The Team Behind the Team

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Coaches; you and your players receive a great deal of attention, recognition, and credit throughout the year. When a student-athlete blasts a game-winning RBI, they get the credit. When you earn a milestone victory, you get the credit. When your team earns the highest department GPA, they get the credit. Administrators, fans, and the media are all ...
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4096 Hits

Classified and Classy - Inside the NFCA HOF

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Read this for an intimate inside look at the NFCA Hall of Fame process. Pictures you've never seen. Information you never knew. And stories you've never heard. Let's go! What is it? Immortality. Kidding. But kinda… The Hall of Fame Award is the most prestigious award given by the NFCA. The NFCA inducts members into its Hall of Fame each December at...
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4244 Hits

All About All-American

All About All-American
Konnichiwa! This is Paula Blumenschein, Director of Membership here. Awards season is back baby! It's so nice to hear the excitement in our member coach's voices as I assist with membership renewals, school/position updates, and password resets (if in doubt try 'softball')! Throughout the year NFCA members enjoy many benefits including access to ho...
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3629 Hits

Women's History Month great time to reflect on softball's rich history

Women's History Month great time to reflect on softball's rich history

MARCH IS Women's History Month, and as we celebrate women's contributions to history, culture and society at a national level, what better time to honor those closer to home – the players, coaches and administrators whose efforts have elevated women's fastpitch softball to the extraordinary heights we enjoy today.

When I worked for the NFCA, we had the privilege of publishing a history of women's fastpitch softball written by former Arizona State head coach Mary Littlewood. Mary, who founded the softball program at ASU, coached fastpitch at the school, as well as other sports, from 1967 through 1989. After her college coaching days were over, she came to the NFCA with manuscript in hand, in addition to more than 200 photographs and illustrations to complement her written word. It was an amazing compilation, and all we had to do was put it together in book form and publish it, which we did in 1998. As I reminisce now on our sport's history, Mary's book, "Women's Fastpitch Softball – The Path to the Gold", serves as the backbone to many of these observations.

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42148 Hits

The 'Head Coaches' of the NFCA

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Welcome to "Beyond the Fence," our blog offering a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the NFCA. I got the nod to be a pinch hitter, well pinch blogger, this month. And in the words of one of my favorite songs from the musical Hamilton, I am not throwing away my shot! As you know, the NFCA is a membership organization made up ...
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3457 Hits

Going behind-the-scenes at the NFCA Virtual Convention

Going behind-the-scenes at the NFCA Virtual Convention

WHEN YOU take on a project that you've never done before, there's A LOT of uncertainty. Can we pull it off? What do we need to know to make it happen? How do we entice people to join us?

COVID-19 changed our world nine months ago by canceling so many softball seasons and giving coaches some unexpected (and unwanted) time off. Even with a vaccine arriving, it is expected to continue to affect our everyday existence well into 2021.

After the initial shock, we at the NFCA quickly decided it needed to pivot to online learning, not only to keep providing coaches with educational opportunities, but also to provide a place to gather and have a much-needed break from the worries brought on by the pandemic.

We all got very familiar — too familiar, possibly — with Zoom calls in 2020. But what would we have done WITHOUT Zoom calls? For those of us stuck at home for months at a time, Zoom gave us a chance to interact with our friends and colleagues, and really save our sanity in a very uncertain time.

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3938 Hits

Going behind the glitz and glamour of NFCA awards

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Hi All! This is Annie Gordon, the Director of Outreach & Creative Design for the NFCA. This is my first blog post and it's one near and dear to my heart (and my job description) … Awards and Scholarships!  Chances are if you're an NFCA member, you've been involved in some sort of NFCA award – whether that's a Victory Club 100-win mark, the...
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4425 Hits

We’ve come a long way! Stories of struggles and successes

We’ve come a long way! Stories of struggles and successes

Dave Hines here. You may know me as the NFCA's Director of Publications or as the Association's Division III liaison. This is my first swing at writing a blog — and I'm much more familiar writing news stories and features — but it's not about me. It's about the people who created and developed our Association and fastpitch softball. You won't believe how they did it.  

FROM SHARED CONVENTIONS, to Title IX struggles, to getting exposure as an Olympic sport that led to the growth and popularity softball enjoys today, we've come a long way.

NFCA Hall of Famers Judi Garman and Marge Willadsen joined NFCA Emeriti Board rep Sheilah Gulas (also a Hall of Famer) and former NFCA Executive Director Kim Vance for a recent conversation to tell some stories and talk about the evolution of the Association.

They were some of the key people on the front lines fighting for equality for women's athletics as Title IX legislation came into play in the 1970s. They experienced the transition from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) to the NCAA first-hand, and even played a role in getting softball into the Olympics.

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4938 Hits

Keep Your Coaching Pitch Perfect.

For Those Who Know Even
Days Off Are Days On.

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