Science or art? Ask Chris Giugliano and he’ll tell you that base running is a lot of both. The manager of the Sparta (N.J.) 12-and-under fastpitch softball squad that captured the 2005 Babe Ruth World Series title, and founder of the Northwestern New Jersey-based powerhouse Jersey Storm program (16-U and 18-U), Giugliano was like many coaches who had dabbled in baseball and thought he knew something about softball baserunning.
Different game. Different dimensions. But, most of all, he discovered, a different mindset necessary for success.
“I think back on how little I knew at the time,” he says, “especially from a base running standpoint. The 60-foot bases and 45-foot mound are at the crux of it … at 40 feet, a 60 mph fastball is akin to a 90 mph fastball. It’s a very quick period of time and girls get down the baseline quickly. That’s why the short game is so important.”
The problem Giugliano discovered and many beginner softball coaches encounter is that younger softball players do not think on the same level as beginning baseball players. The reason isn’t that boys are smarter, but rather have more playground experience at 9 or 10 years old. READ MORE
