Hannah Greer is one of the fast-rising 2023 prospects in the Northeast and she has also joined on as one of Extra Inning Softball’s bloggers for the upcoming season.
The Rhode Island Thunder 16U National team star comes from a long line of softball standouts. Read more about her family history HERE.
And you’ll be able to hear more about Greer’s softball adventures all season… here is her first entry!
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INDOOR PRACTICE IDEAS FROM NORTHEAST KIDS
Since we’re still in a pandemic and it’s winter, it’s hard to practice/train outside in the cold or in facilities, my team and I (Rhode Island Thunder 16u National) created a list of ideas/things to do indoors to prepare for the upcoming season.
I always find myself scouring the internet trying to find drills, so I asked my teammates for ideas and created this nice list of things to do indoors!
DRILLS
One of my favorite indoor drills to do is to toss a tennis ball against the wall. You can do this in your bedroom or anywhere where there’s a wall and just practice catching the ball cleanly. You can also get in your fielding position and work on different bounces, transfers, and forms. It sounds basic, but it really helps when you don’t have a place to field outside. I also love to use a flat glove to help with quick transitions.
Coastal Carolina-commit Ava Hampton recommends the “stretch and hover” hitting drill and North Carolina State-commit Amanda Hasler enjoys using “Velo Pro” harnesses to help with hip activation in her swing.
Elaina Ricci loves using a “flat bat” when swinging. She recommends having a partner bounce a tennis ball on one hop to you to help with timing and staying behind the ball.
WORKOUT
UNC Charlotte-commit Ari Rodi enjoys doing trap bar jumps to increase explosiveness.
Villanova-commit Maddie Burrows likes jaeger bands to care for her arms in the offseason while Duke-commit Sophie Garner Mackinnon recommends bouncing reaction balls to increase speed and quickness.
UConn-commit Haley Coupal enjoys using a yoga ball to do reverse lunges.
Libby Walsh loves using a ladder to increase her foot speed and agility.
Providence-commit Ryanne Haynes likes doing reverse rocker throws and regular rocker throws with weighted balls.
If you don’t have any weights at home, resistance bands are a great alternative. Ava Venturelli likes using TKO resistance bands to do glute walks to increase the resistance on bodyweight exercises. Bosu balls are a team favorite and we love doing all sorts of motions (including squats and hand-eye coordination) while balancing on the flat side of the ball.
MENTALITY
Mackenzie Waghorn works with Joe Goodreau on the mental part of the game. He helps her to focus on her goals, mindset and more. Ava Venturelli and Gabby Lantier encourage reading books that focus on the mental part of the game. Their favorites are “The Champions Mind” by Jim Afremow and “Why the Best Are The Best” by Kevin Eastman.
SPACE CLEANING
If you’re struggling to find space in your home, try cleaning space in a basement, garage, outside or an empty room.
With everything going on in the world right now, it’s hard to find a partner/friend that’s willing to help out, so I would highly recommend a rebounder, that way you only need you and the rebounder to get some work in.
I would also highly recommend investing in some sort of net that you can hit/throw into it. I personally have a Bownet and it has lasted about 5 years! I also recently got a turf patch so that when I toss the ball into the rebounder I can field on the turf.
