AUSL Growth / Strike Zone Concerns / Defensive Development with Morgan Stuart
from Everything Fastpitch - The Podcast Hosted by Tory Acheson & Don McKinlay
Coach Tory and Coach Don open Episode 426 by previewing the show, promoting Patreon, and naming Kansas City, Missouri as City of the Week. They discuss the AUSL’s strong ratings and attendance with the new home-site format, while raising concerns about converted baseball fields and teams missing star players still playing in Japan. A listener question reports an umpire saying the entire ball must be over the plate for a strike, prompting discussion of how that shrinks the effective zone, increases walks and home runs, and the possibility of electronic strike calling. In the featured interview, Morgan Stuart (former Washington player and 2009 national champion, author, and defensive instructor) describes her path from Southern California travel ball to college, why she chose athlete development over college coaching, and her view that recruitment still requires being “the best,” often via top travel teams. She explains softball’s unique speed and limited reaction time, argues most teams under-train defense, and emphasizes daily catching/throwing, quality reps, glove “pocket awareness,” pre-pitch timing and 18-second between-pitch routines, plus celebrating defensive process, not just errors. She shares resources including The Roadmap I Never Had, the Black Book of Drills, Instagram accounts, lessons in Anaheim, clinics, camps, and a $20/month Defense Club. The episode closes with a Father’s Day coaching tip thanking dads and parent-coaches and reminders to support sponsors and submit questions.] Check out Morgan - morgan-stuart.com/ Support the show
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Coach Tory and Coach Don open Episode 426 by previewing the show, promoting Patreon, and naming Kansas City, Missouri as City of the Week. They discuss the AUSL’s strong ratings and attendance with the new home-site format, while raising concerns about converted baseball fields and teams missing star players still playing in Japan. A listener question reports an umpire saying the entire ball must be over the plate for a strike, prompting discussion of how that shrinks the effective zone, incr...
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