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 DVD, 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 DVD 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.

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.

176 minutes (2 DVDs). 2011.

Kelly Inouye-Perez, fresh off of UCLA's 2010 National Championship season, takes you inside the UCLA softball program as the Bruins prepare for the 2011 season. These practices will give you insight into how Inouye-Perez teaches and builds her players' fundamental skills using drills and drill progressions.

DISC 1
Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lisa Fernandez and Inouye-Perez walk you through a warm up progression used at UCLA to prepare pitchers for competition - physically and mentally. This progression will build fundamentals, increase speed and maximize power. The coaches finish with a pitching competition session. These competitions are designed to put the pitchers in game like situations to see which pitch they would use as well as being able to make the pitch

On the field, practice begins with a warm-up that consists of dynamic stretching and a thera-band workout. From there the team moves into:

DEFENSE DRILLS: Watch as the UCLA staff takes their team through Pre-Practice Fundamentals (PPF) drills that focus on defense. The PPF drills include a ground ball series and reaction drills that get players comfortable with moving their feet and getting their body in the correct position to field the ball.

BASERUNNING: Inouye-Perez incorporates defense, live hitters and base runners to create a game-like atmosphere. See how she coaches players to be aggressive and to read outfielders.

OUTFIELD: ASA Hall of Famer and former All-American Gina Vecchione takes her players through an outfield workout that includes throwing to bases, catching fly balls on the run, line drive work, and running through the catch on tag up situations. Vecchione also runs a number of breakdown drills including over the shoulder catches, drop steps, shoe string catches, and wall balls.

DISC 2:
Before practice begins, Coach Inouye-Perez gathers the team for a pre-practice meeting and allows you a look inside a typical team meeting. On the field, the practice focuses on:

INFIELD: Fernandez works with the infielders concentrating on arm slot and footwork using a four corner drill and a ground ball series.

CATCHERS: Inouye-Perez puts the catchers through a series of drills working on catching foul balls, passed balls, blocking drills and fielding the ball to make a tag at the plate. She is a big believer that a catcher's success is in their leg strength and she puts them through a bunt drill to work on their leg strength.

TEAM DEFENSE: The team works on infielders/outfielders fly ball communication as well as a live relay & cutoff drill and finishing with working on bunt defense and bunt offense.

HITTING DRILLS: The hitting segment of practice begins with Coach Fernandez discussing with you the hitting mechanics they are teaching at UCLA. Inouye-Perez then takes you through some hitting drills involving upper body and lower body movement. These drills begin with working off a tee and include front arm, back arm, two hands, and walk-though and progresses to a long tee drill, front toss with weighted balls, front toss with regular balls, and a flat hip drill.

Inouye-Perez then shares an on-field combination hitting drill which works the live hitters working on opposite field hitting while another hitter is working on a front toss series. They finish with two drills used in the batting cage and involve working on the mechanics of rhythm and timing of the swing.

This is your chance to look inside one of the most heralded softball programs in the nation! This DVD set provi

Diana Pepin and her staff let the camera roll during this live, indoor practice. This entire practice takes place inside their campus gymnasium and includes the team drills you need to keep your players occupied and focused on the fundamentals when working indoors.

Dynamic Stretching
The Warriors' dynamic stretching program readies the muscles for the explosive movements of a softball practice. The warm-up ends with form running and acceleration drills.

Baserunning
See how to train your base runners to read the ball (or the pitcher) on tag-ups, running on contact and on a straight steal - all with a conditioning element attached to it.

Swing Mechanics
These team hitting drills train the basic fundamentals of the swing. Areas of concentration include stance, the heel plant, hips, staying long through the swing and head position.

Ground Ball Work
Pepin breaks her team into three groups to simultaneously work on their defensive fundamentals. The infielders work on short hops, tosses, and tags while the outfielders work on playing through a fly ball and drop steps. The catchers are working on framing pitches, blocking the ball and coming out of a stance to scoop the ball and throw to a bag.

Throwing Series
The throwing series has the entire team working on long, lofted throws to work on stretching their arms and developing good rotation on the ball. The program also works on receiving the ball. The players must catch the ball simulating a force play, tag play or cut-off position to work on their footwork. Additional drills work on quick glove-to-throw exchanges, throwing on the run and rundown throws.

Infield & Outfield Drills
These high rep infield drills focus on fielding ground balls, throwing to bases, turning double plays, and executing bunt defense. The outfield drills consist of catching on the run, working on drop steps, fielding ground balls and fly balls, and a good conditioning drill called the flying falcon.

Team Defense
Coach Pepin then takes the team defense through a series of game situations using live runners with a coach hitting or bunting.

Practice concludes with the Warriors' running through their pre-game warm-up.

This DVD is a must for any coach looking for ways to improve practice, get in a high number of reps, keep as many players as possible involved and active, and make the most of their indoor practice space!

92 minutes. 2011.

Coach Walton is an expert on getting the most out of his team. In this excellent softball DVD, he presents the extensive practice schedule that contributed to the Gator's record setting 70-win season. With the help of Steve Orris, Florida's Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, the practice kicks off with a 20-minute set of stretches and agility drills, followed by Walton's throw-and-catch isolation drills. These drills work on throwing technique by concentrating on specific parts of the player's body. From there, Coach Walton gives you an in-depth look at his team's defense. Walton runs the Gators through multiple defensive situations including different types of bunt defenses, slap defense, baserunning situations and more. Walton then presents various offensive situations, incorporating the entire team through different stations for hitting, pitching, baserunning and fielding. Finally, Walton discusses the importance of baserunning, which he demonstrates through a series of drills emphasizing various offensive situations such as stealing, running on a bunt and pass balls. This DVD is an excellent tool for coaches at any level.

151 minutes. 2009.

Coach Gasso guides you through an indoor practice that will help you utilize your space and time to the fullest! This video gives an in-depth practice plan and includes time allotment for each part of practice. Gasso includes many ideas for keeping your team working hard, practicing speed, agility, the fundamentals, defense, hitting, game situations, and more! Specifics such as: conditioning circuit stations, defense fundamental stations, communication drills, and team discussion goals make this a must-have for any softball coach's library.
1999. 45 minutes. ISBN 1-56404-217-0.