Software review: GameChanger

When it comes to the sport’s world, there are so many statistics you can keep track of it is almost mind boggling. Fortunately, there are pieces of software that help keeping track of these statistics more efficient. One of these pieces of software is known as GameChanger. GameChanger helps you keep track of stats and conditions of the game like no other.

You can step in the shoes of a manager when it comes to keeping track of softball games by keeping track of the score, how many hits someone has, or even how many times someone has pitched a strikeout. You can even use the GameChanger app to keep track of spray charts and pitch counts. Applications like these are useful for when you need to determine who should be in what role and how efficient they are at what given time. Knowing stats like the pitchers pitches per at bat and a pitch strike percentage can be detrimental to your game and really give you the advantage no one else has. If you need to do more than track stats, you can even customize the way you keep score. For instance, you can use the app to change rules around on-the-fly and even categorize the stats you track and how old certain players are in the game.

Another useful feature of Gamechanger is that you can use it to manage your team more effectively. You can even use the app to keep everyone in the loop via a text message so everyone knows what play is being done and who is playing what position. This is essentially a community all your own within the app so no one is confused with what is going on. Setting a roster and getting everyone on the same page is an essential function of the game; GameChanger makes this effortless and fluid with their all-in-one app feature. Having just one schedule can definitely save on time without having to individually keep people in the loop, and that is a feature that every coach should want.

Playing softball itself is just one aspect of the game but being able to make your team better is another. GameChanger is seriously what it says its name is and is something everyone should invest in. It is free for coaches and scorekeepers so there is absolutely no excuse not to give it a shot.Screen Shot 2015-02-02 at 8.22.15 PM

 

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Equiptment review: Solo Hitter

solo hitter
solo hitter

When you play on a softball team, having a place to practice should be at the forefront of your goals. There are many different places and cages you can go to in order to increase the efficiency of your batting average, but what if you just want to stay home and practice?

There are batting practice systems that you can use directly from your backyard that are just as effective. There is a company by the name of Solohitter that is used by coaches and players all over the Little League, and even in the Major Leagues, that can help increase their game in terms of batting. A Solohitter is a netted area where a ball is attached from a wire to the gate, so when you hit the ball it bounces against the net and comes back to you. With this, you can practice on your aim, power, and precision and have it at its greatest peak in no time.

This will help you improve your hand-eye coordination, you do not have to chase balls around and it requires no pitcher, you can adjust the ball height to any height for the player, it helps to reinforce proper hitting position, is perfect for backyard batting practice, and it can be used at any time at any place. When you are at bat there are a lot of things to consider in a short amount of time. You need to be sure you have practiced enough so this is all muscle memory to you, and the Solohitter can certainly help with that. It is interesting to note that there are even people in the Major Leagues that still use a Solohitter to this day, and there is no substitution for it. For the serious athlete that wants to improve their batting average and batting precision, you need a Solohitter. Some of the greatest players to ever hit a ball have used a Solohitter and they come highly recommended.

This will help you not just improve your batting power but also your bat speed and will help in a smooth, consistent swing. Being precise is just as important as hitting the ball hard and both require practice and dedication. So, the next time you find yourself needing to improve your game make sure to take the time to invest in a Solohitter and watch your skills increase before your eyes.

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Best Practices for Blogging/Tweeting in softball

Do you run a successful business or a brand for fast pitch softball, or any other type of softball? If you answered yes, then this article is definitely meant for you to read.

Owning your own brand can be a very profitable venture, but in order to truly get the most out of having your own brand, our potential customers must be able to find you. In order to make your presence known online, and begin creating an online reputation, it is important that you begin utilizing a variety of different social media platforms, such as Tweeting and Blogging. If you are already doing this, then you are on the right path to creating a much larger business, and a much better future for your company. This article will discuss some of the best practices that large companies such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy and many other giant corporations use when using these social media websites in order to draw customers in.

Most big businesses want customers to get a good feeling about buying a product from the store, so they advertise using happy words. Instead of simply putting out information about a product, using words that actually lift people up and make the product seem like it will make the life of the consumer happier if he or she buys it will allow you to gain more customers than you ever had before.

For example, there are a few different ways that you can post the same promotional sale:

For the sake of this example, imagine that the business we are speaking of is named “Huntsville, AL Homes (HAH).”

Express Happiness Through Posts

Huntsville, AL Homes (HAH) is now offering homes on the market between $125,000 and $200,000. If you are looking to move into a nice home that will be able to keep you safe this Winter, this is most definitely the place to come.Your family can feel safe knowing that the home you buy will be stable for the many years to come.

Hey everyone!

Here at Huntsville, AL Homes (HAH,) we are ready to release a bunch of beautiful homes for you to browse through! We welcome you to come enjoy the open house that we are holding on (insert date) and we will be more than happy to work with you on anything that you may need! Our current price range is between the $125,000 and the $200,000, but we are willing to work with you on these deals. We look forward to meeting you soon and helping you find the home that you have always dreamed of!

As you can clearly see, the first example is an advertisement that would be seen on many different mass media channels. This type of advertisement doesn’t draw the attention of the customer. Instead, it simply lets the customer know that the real estate company exists. Because there is a lack of information and there is nothing to interest the reader, no one will really look at this type of blog post or tweet for long enough to actually grasp any of the information that is passed across. It is okay to use a advertisement of this type of you are simply placing information on a billboard, but for Tweeting or any other type of social media, this type of wordplay will absolutely go against any type of goals that you are trying to reach.

The second post incorporates happiness into the words, and actually excites the reader. If you are able to excite your reader, then your reader will actually want to purchase your items, which is the end goal.

Utilize the Holidays

1. Huntsville, AL Homes (HAH) is currently placing many different homes on the market. We have quite a few homes that you can buy. You won’t regret your purchase, so come on down to Huntsville Homes and we will make sure you end up in the home you want.

2. Huntsville, AL Homes (HAH) is here to wish you Happy Holidays! Recently, we have opened up quite a few different houses for you and your family to stay warm in and enjoy this holiday season! If you’re just looking to spend some time with the family, we also have rentals available, featuring a variety of different sizes. We look forward to helping you find the chimney you want Santa Claus to travel down this year!

Holidays are not always available, but if there are any Holidays coming up, creating discounts or promotional sales based around the Holidays will draw the attention of many people who are looking to purchase your items for their children, or for themselves over the Holiday. This time of year is perfect for anyone who is looking to sell, and even better for those who are looking to buy!

Challenges and Risks with Taking Your Brand to Social Media

Social Media can be a big help for many businesses, as it allows businesses to reach out to new customers via organic advertising. Organic advertising is the process of a customer who has purchased an item from your brand or store sharing your page or information about your brand with friends or family. This begins to create a reputation for your business before you ever talk to your new potential customers. In order to truly create this reputation, it is important that your customers have an avenue on which they are able to speak about your brand freely and leave feedback. It is important to know that there are certain risks that are associated with taking your brand onto social networks, since your brand will face a lot of controversy if your customers are not happy. This article will explain some of the risks that are associated with taking your brand onto social networks, and some of the challenges that you may have to face while looking to create a reputation via social media.

1. Trolls

Online Trolls
Online Trolls

The first type of challenge you may face is trolls. Trolls is the name given to people or individuals on the internet who are purposely leaving negative comments or reviews in order to cause harm or stir up anger. This is common on the internet, and will need to be constantly monitored in order to ensure that customers are not driven away from your website or social media page by these individuals.

2. Potential Reputation Changes

online reputation
online reputation

Your online reputation is vital to your brand, as social media allows each and every customer to leave his or her opinion about your brand and the service that he or she received on a page that everyone will be able to view. If you are not providing adequate customer service, or the customer is not satisfied, this does give you the opportunity to improve upon your current business model, which can help you to increase your overall number of customers in the long-run, but it may do damage to your short-term revenue if you are allowing everyone to post on your wall.

3. Advertising

If you are a new brand, then you may not have the money to advertise on social media networks. In order to avoid this, simply asking your satisfied customers to leave you feedback and share your page with their friends and family will allow you to advertise for free.

Social Media within Professional Fast Pitch Softball

social media sports
social media sports

The social media environment is not an easy one to master. Regardless of how you are approaching this, you are going to have some difficulties moving your way up. Even if you know what it takes to do well with social media and you have all of the necessary skills, you may run into problems if you are not using the right tools or if your competition is just a little better. Plenty of organizations have this problem. While the organizations themselves are great, they are not always doing as well as they could do. They may not manage their social media standing terribly, and may even do quite well, but there is always room for improvement here. Professional Fastpitch Softball, and the teams that are part of this, have a similar problem right now. They do quite well, but they could do better.

social-mediaOf course, Professional Fastpitch Softball is using many of the tools that they need. The major sites, like Facebook and Twitter, are active and in use. They have the links visible on the side of the pages, where you have direct access to the different accounts. If you want to see their page on Facebook or Instagram, you can get to it in seconds. This gives you the chance to view photos and information quickly. Having quick access to their social media sites from all points of the website ensures that they can bring in traffic more easily. This brings up their social media standing and helps them to attract more attention.
The same goes for the teams. The teams, which will help them to bring in traffic, have links to their social media sites, as well. When looking through the different teams, you can go right to their available social media pages by using the available links. The only downside is that Professional Fastpitch Softball added images and links for all social media account types, but most teams do not have every type of account. Even so, clicking an image that has no social media link attached to it will do no harm. It does not help the site or their social standing, but, since it redirects to the homepage, there is nothing damaging or worrisome.

social-media-mariners-baseball1-e1341183792937.jpeWhile Professional Fastpitch Softball did take the time to set up multiple accounts, they are not fully using them all. The blog is a perfect example of this. There is a link to it and it is set up, but, because it is largely unused, it is doing nothing for the organization’s social media standing. In order to attract people, it should have some activity. Regular posts and use will help to keep it active and will help to gain the benefits possible. Since the organization is not doing this, though, they are not able to see any positive changes with it. It is an added link that offers no real benefits and no opportunity for online growth.

This is not happening with all accounts, though. While their blog sees little to no activity, their Facebook has regular and daily updates. You can have constant information and photos going through this account. Since it is certainly the more popular one, they decided to put more time and energy into it. This has allowed them to bring in thousands upon thousands of people who love the organization and who want regular information about them and the teams. Since the posts are professional and appealing, it works as it should. It brings in attention and it keeps people attached to the organization, able to see everything happening in little time at all.

The creativity and the connections help them to improve their appeal, too. This is why they are doing quite well on any of their active social media sites. You can see interviews and regular information on YouTube, Facebook, and other websites as well as a connection to the teams that are part of the organization. They help to connect people to the teams that they love, which connects back to Professional Fastpitch Softball. Everything comes together to make access back and forth easier. People can find either one more quickly thanks to the connections that are set up.
The connections work out incredibly well because the teams do keep their pages updated and attractive. They use professional, high quality photos while also adding information that matters to the fans. When someone likes the page, they can have the type of content that appeals to them. When that content is shared, it goes back to Professional Fastpitch Softball. Both teams and the organization bring in a decent amount of attention because of this. How they use social media and how they keep everything attractive to their target audience helps to bring in a large amount of positive attention from loyal fans.

Best Social Media Applications in Softball

Fast pitch Softball and Amateur Softball are both incredibly popular forms of the game, although professional teams always have more fans and viewers of each event. When you have a brand of any type, whether you supply uniforms, bats or softballs for players to wear, using social media applications can be a huge advantage for you to utilize. By using social media applications, you will not only be able to gain a variety of new customers through organic advertising (or advertising that takes place through word of mouth of your customers,) but you will also be able to receive feedback on your products and get tips from customers on how you can serve the new customers who are coming to your business in a better and more effective way. In most cases, customers who are satisfied with your business will be more than willing to share your social media page with other people, which will allow you to reach out to many customers.

sport social media
sport social media

When a customer shares your product or brand with friends of his or hers, it gives your business a good reputation and makes the people who the brand have been shared with feel comfortable about using your brand. This is great for you, as an advertisement doesn’t really give your business or brand a reputation at all, even though it does make a customer interested in researching about your brand. By building a reputation with your customers and new potential customers, you will be able to gain new customers and begin increasing your revenue by a very large amount.

This article will cover the basics of the best social media applications that you can use, and will list reasons for the success that others have had while using these social media applications.

1. Facebook – www.Facebook.com

Softball Icon
Softball Icon

Perhaps the largest and most widely used social media platform that you can possibly be a part of is Facebook. Facebook is a great resource to use, as you will be able to create a page for your brand that customers can view information on, as well as share with each other. Facebook also allows customers to give you feedback, and contact you personally in order to explain and questions or concerns that they may have about your brand. Facebook is completely free to use, and does offer advertising that your brand will be able to utilize for a small fee. Usually, this type of advertising is on a “pay per click” basis, meaning that any time a customer clicks on the advertisement; you pay a few cents to Facebook. This makes it easy for you to keep the cost low, and doesn’t require any type of monthly fee, which is great, since you only pay for the customers that are actually looking at the advertisement, and the other people who see the advertisement will not cost you any money.

Facebook is also great, because it only shows the advertisement to people who it thinks will be interested in your product. It does this by looking at posts and information about each individual who uses the social media platform, which gives you the opportunity to reach out to your potential customers, without annoying any customer who wouldn’t be interested in the products that you are selling.

2. Twitter – www.Twitter.com

Softball Pitching Icon
Softball Pitching Icon

Twitter is a great social media application, as it allows people to subscribe to your status updates. Twitter allows you to make posts, and many people have found great success by using Twitter, since people who are interested in your brand can get updates about new products, sales or other promotional deals that you are currently holding. Because you are able to regularly post to your subscribes, you are able to reach out to customers who have purchased from you in the past, which means you will get them interested in your brand once again and make more sales to the same customers. Twitter is completely free, and doesn’t take a subscription fee to keep open.

3. Tumblr www.Tumblr.com

Tumblr is interesting, and many businesses have not found great success with this, although some brands have gained many customers from this social media website. Tumblr is focused on allowing users to have complete freedom of posts (excluding any type of child pornography or illegal activity.) Because Tumblr is so open, many of the people who use it are an older crowd, meaning that you will not be attracting the attention of many children. This is perfect for some businesses aimed at an older audience, since they are going to be the ones who have the money to purchase your brand in the first place. In order to create a Tumblr account, simply visit www.Tumblr.com and create a free account.

Command Attention!

Social Media Tools
Social Media Tools

Everyone shares photos on social media. In fact, Instagram was started as a photo sharing platform. You want to engage people on your blog and ask them to reply, and good stock photos are the best way to accomplish that mission. Good photography and photos cost a lot of money, and if you are a regular blogger the investment will get very expensive. A tool you can use is Compfight.
It searches photos through Flickr that have a creative commons license for commercial use. You can do a quick search of emotions, ideas or objects or anything that will represent the idea you are looking for in your blog post. Compfight will provide you with the HTML code and help you with the proper citing. If you are blogging on a regular basis but have a little budget, try Compfight to help you illustrate your blogging points. Stops the possible legal issues.

If you want to create your own photos rather than going through the hassle of looking for copyright-free stock photos, trying using PicMonkey’s online photo editor. Although this tool is somewhat different than Compfight, you can create professional photos by adding a variety of frames, special effects and font types of your photos. Create graphics for your blogs and posts, make banners and buttons for your social media accounts, and just brighten up your pages.

Another tool or app that offers graphics is Canva. Canva will help you design Facebook cover photos, blog images and give you a library of stock images. Collaborate with other users and share your images with someone else. This cuts down on the cost of this tool.

Analytics tools are necessary when you are trying to decide if your marketing program is doing any good. Komfo is a new free Facebook analytics tool that provides analytics that are easy to manage and helps you analyze your Facebook content.

Social Media Tips
Social Media Tips

Komfo shows the percentage of your fans you are reaching with your posts and where you are ranking. You can see up to a maximum of 100 posts and analyze the success of these posts. You can also as Komfo to analyze each post to see what is working. Komfo takes your click-throughs and gives you a click-through ratio for every post you present. The percentage of people who saw your post lists on the reports page. Komfo also provides you the ratio of negative feedback or a spam score as a percentage of your total clicks. A great tool to have when trying to determine what posts are effective.

A precursor of Komfo, Facebook’s EdgeRank is the name assigned to the algorithm that Facebook analytics uses to determine what posts or articles are gaining the most click-throughs. Although this tool was helpful in 2013, it is now defunct, and Facebook no longer offers this tool. Switch to Komfo or see PageRank the algorithm used by Google’s search engine. PageRank still seems to be the best algorithm to rank websites and posts.

Recruiting: THINGS EVERY SOFTBALL PLAYER MUST DO

1. Know the game. Develop a clear understanding of NCAA rules and core course requirements. Create a recruiting game plan, then execute it with the same dedication you bring to your sport and your academic work.

 

2. Get verified. Make sure to have information about your athletic ability and academic qualifications verified by a source that college softball coaches trust and make sure it’s available online. This can vastly increase your chances of being “discovered.”

 

3. Get your video out there. Make sure that your highlight video and full game footage is viewable online or available in a format that can be easily distributed over the web as soon as a college coach requests it. Use our tools to get evaluated—this will help you target the right softball programs and help coaches find you more easily.

 

4. Contact 50-100 “right-fit” schools. Take a realistic look at your academic qualifications and athletic ability and set your recruiting targets accordingly. There are 289 Division II and 412 Division III schools that offer softball scholarships, and they can be great options for student athletes with the commitment and drive to play at the college level. Then go after them – you need to contact 50-100 realistic programs to get recruited.

 

5. Take control. You and your family – and not your high school coach – are ultimately responsible for the outcome of your recruiting process.

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