Discover how OGX Softball builds a foundation for long-term athletic development by addressing mobility, strength, power, and coordination. Learn key training principles that help softball players perform at their best.
Section 1: The Pyramid of Performance
This pyramid lays out what needs to happen for an athlete to be set up as ideally as possible to allow them to express athletic success. At the bottom of the pyramid of performance are basic needs for normal human function (eating enough, sleeping enough, steady mental state).
Once the basic needs are met you can move to the next step quite easily. The next step is a movement quality assessment. We at OGX utilize a movement quality assessment for all athletes that train here. This assessment can help to identify individual limiters to performance for every athlete. The body weight assessment consists of basic movement capacity and quality tests that measure movement in all planes (sagittal, frontal and transverse) and basic levels of rotation in the hips and shoulders, that when quantified, paints the picture of that athlete’s current movement capability. Power is also tested as the next layer via broad jump and supine med ball trunk throws.
Section 2: The Big 3
The implementation of correcting and enhancing movement ability for our athletes is where both objective and subjective elements of training come into play. Objectively, every piece of our movement quality assessment is tied to performance for both pitching and hitting. Softball is a very one sided sport and as such certain aspects need to be constantly checked. “The Big 3” that lead to performance decreases in-season as fatigue sets in, sport reps are accumulated (compensations built) and the athlete fails to adhere to quality strength training are as follows:
1.Loss of t-spine rotation
2. Loss of shoulder flexion
3. Loss of stability and strength on one leg
Section 3: Connecting the Dots Between Strength, Power, and Sport Skill
So when a softball player comes up short for access to t-spine rotation on the assessment, I choose how I want to attack this on the strength and conditioning side. As the programs are currently implemented, I have “baked in” movements and strategies that address “The Big 3.”
T-spine rotation is confronted in the warm up with a different mobility drill on each of the three training days. Once we have opened up the range of motion with the warm up, this quality is trained on the strength floor to then build adaptations within this newfound range of motion. A simple implement I use is a half kneeling one arm cable row with a rotational emphasis. The athlete pulls the cable toward them bringing their shoulders square to the machine. As they return the cable to its starting position, they turn their shoulders and reach toward the machine allowing the weight to pull them deeper into this position of rotation. This strength training also serves to potentiate power expressed in rotation for performing med ball throw/slam variations. Med balls help connect the dots between lifting big heavy weights and the high speeds of swinging a 23 ounce bat or throwing a 7 ounce ball.
In the offseason, our in-house training starts with strength training and then they practice their softball skills. So their lift is followed by either hitting and/or pitching. This means their mobility has been enhanced in the warm up, they have built strength within it in the weight room, they’ve expressed power by throwing med balls and then they will perform their sport skill within the cage or on the rubber.
There is a similar line drawn like this throughout their training programs that address other aspects of “The Big 3” for softball and other movement deficiencies that present themselves for each individual athlete we train.
The closer we get to a movement quality assessment result with a lot more passes than fails, performance is next on the journey.
Section 4: Training the Four Essential Qualities
Being able to apply force into the bat or ball depends on how force summates up the chain. The combination of mobility, strength, power, and coordination can dictate positive or negative outcomes in these skills. If an athlete has a generally weak upper body, they wont be able to micro adjust at the plate when trying to control where and how the bat/ball goes.
Training for these 4 qualities are very important and feed into each other constantly.
Mobility
is trained through drills that challenge and expand end ranges of motion.
Strength
is built by training in these extended ranges of motion, forcing your body to adapt to the demands placed on them.
Power
is built and expressed by repeated efforts of high intent, challenging the nervous system to adapt to the combination of high force expressed at high speeds.
Coordination
is trained by challenging the softball player’s understanding of their body in space (proprioception) through movement problem solving like doing unilateral (one sided) variations and plyometrics and varying speeds and planes of movement.
Training in the weight room stays more general, as the movement quality scoring being green lit revolves around general qualities. The capacity to practice and execute live reps within their sport is either held back or amplified by their physical capacity to express skill at a high force/rate of speed that is generally developed in the weight room. The cage and rubber is where the fine tuning takes place.
Section 5: Wrap-Up
At OGX, we believe that sustainable growth in athletic performance doesn’t come from quick fixes or trendy workouts—it comes from a consistent focus on the fundamentals. Training mobility, strength, power, and coordination over time allows athletes to develop a foundation that will support them for years to come. By establishing strong movement quality during late middle school and high school, softball players can build the physical and mental resilience needed to excel at the collegiate and even professional levels. The key is patience, consistency, and attention to detail—qualities that every successful athlete embraces.
Ready to take your performance to the next level? At OGX, our long-term development programs are tailored to fit each athlete’s journey. Contact us or visit us at www.ogxsoftball.com for more information.