There is no doubt softball has many therapeutic advantages for Recreation Therapists and their participants. Softball activities encourage physical activity, gross motor skills, social skills, teamwork, sportsmanship, decision making, and much more. Not every Recreation Therapist has the luxury of creating a team and playing against others, but that doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate softball into your programming. Below are some softball activities for a variety of populations and ability levels. Hopefully you will find a hit for your participants.

Softball Drills/Physical Activities

Here are a couple softball drills to enhance the skills of your participants. These activities are engaging for a team, however, they could be used as standalone physical activities. They help with gross motor skills, physical fitness, team building, decision-making, and hand-eye coordination to name a few.

Bucket Relay

If you only have a few willing softball participants and some buckets, this game can help with throwing and team building.

Set up 6 or 10 buckets like a pyramid near home plate. Stagger your players so some are in the outfield and infield.
Throw or hit the ball past the outfielder. The outfielder will fetch the ball and throw it to a cutoff man near the infield.
The cutoff man will throw it to an infielder, and the infielder will throw the ball at the pyramid of buckets.
Award one point for each bucket knocked down.
Switch the players’ positions after achieving a set number of points.

Thunder Game

Another drill that works great as a game is Thunder Game. Making variations to this activity is easy. Here is the basic idea:

Depending on how many participants you have, divide into two teams of three to five.
Have one team play the field.
The other team will bat with a tee or the RT slow pitching.
The first batter hits the ball and runs as many bases until all the players on the fielding team have touched the ball. You could also pick the number of players to touch the ball depending on your participants’ skill set.
Score one point for each base the batter reached before the ball was touched by the designated number of players.
After all the players on the batting team had a turn, switch sides.

Piggy

This is a favorite game of my youth. It requires a little more skill and hand-eye coordination.
One player is picked as a batter, the rest of the participants can stand anywhere they want on the field. The batter hits the ball. If it is caught before it bounces twice, the player that caught the ball becomes the batter. If no one catches the ball before it bounces twice, the current batter keeps batting.

Softball Activities for Seniors and Others

Not everyone will have the ability to play the field on a warm summer day. Luckily, softball activities are easily adaptable for a variety of populations. These activities aren’t as physically demanding, but they help with hand-eye coordination, gross motor skills, decision making, range of motion, and other need areas.

Beach Ball T-Ball

By putting a toilet plunger (very preferably clean) inside a T-ball tee–rubber side sticking up–you have an excellent tee for a beach ball or bigger rubber ball. This gives those with more physical challenges a greater opportunity to hit the ball. Creating adaptations for your population and available space are easy. For example:

If you are in a gym and do not have many active participants, set up some lines using tape or cones. If the ball passes the first line, it is a single, the second line, double, and so on.
Have a badminton or volleyball net handy? Set up a home run derby scenario where the participants receive one point for each time they hit it over the net.
Just giving a lower functioning participant an opportunity to hit the ball could be cathartic enough. The same with a frustrated client–that is, if you feel it prudent putting a bat in a frustrated client’s hand.

Hit the Balloons

If you have a small area, but access to some helium balloons, why not turn it into a softball activity?

Tie the balloons to something stable or attach weights to the strings.
Assign each balloon a value–like single, double, triple, home run, strikeout, fly out, etc.
Set the balloons up in a way that would provide an appropriate challenge for your participants.
Have a participant throw (or hit) a softball or other soft object (like balled up socks) at the balloons. The first balloon they hit is what the participant gets for that at-bat.
Set the game up as individual or team competition depending on how many participants you have. After the individual or team gets three outs, switch players.

Bean Bag Softball

Similar to “Hit the Balloons” but instead of floating targets, use hula hoops or other objects on the floor. Assign them a value like single, double, fly out, etc. If the bean bag lands and stays in the hula hoop they get that value. If the bean bag does not land in an object, call it a foul ball. After four fouls (or whatever number you find appropriate) the player strikes out. Like “Hit the Balloons,” play as a team or individual game based on your group size.

Softball Crafts

Softball doesn’t have to be a physical activity. Use the spirit of softball to help with creativity, self-expression, fine motor skills, decision-making, and social activities. Here are some easy craft ideas.

The Decorated Ball

Ever have a softball left in the field or outside overnight or during a rain shower? Most of that time the ball ends up soaked and solid as a rock. Unless you enjoy emergency room visits for jammed and broken fingers, the ball usually ends up in the garbage or the back of one of your storage closets. Why not decorate the retired ball? Have the participants paint it their favorite team’s color or however they want. Then use it as a decoration for a team cookout or the next time they are all watching their favorite baseball team play on television.

Poster Board Bats

Cut out cardboard or poster board in the shape of bats. Have the participants paint or decorate the bats with their favorite team colors then put their names on it. This is great to hang on doors or walls of residential facilities.

Oreo Baseball Pops

Edible softball? With Recreation Therapy anything is possible. I ran across this recipe while checking out softball-themed crafts. What’s better than bringing crafts and sweets together, right? Check it out here.

Softball Coaching Tips

If you are coaching a softball team of whatever skill set, I found the following pieces of advice useful. This is by no means exhaustive coaching, but if you have a team, stressing these points will increase success.

Teach Fielders the Athletic Stance

The athletic stance helps fielders take action when the ball is hit. Have your players stand with feet about a shoulder’s width apart. Knees and back are slightly bent. Feet are squared towards the target and hands are in front of the body. The fielders’ weight should be distributed evenly on the balls of their feet. This stance allows the fielders to spring into action when the ball is hit, giving them better reaction time.

Know What to Do Before the Ball is Pitched

Being mentally prepared is just as important as a good stance. If you have a couple fielders that are familiar with the game, have them call out where the ball should be thrown. For example, “Play is at first and second base,” if there is player already on first base as the pitcher throws. When every player knows where they have to throw the ball before they get it, they will be less likely to make a fielding mistake when the ball comes to them.

Bat Smart and Use Speed

Working with adolescent males, they almost always want to hit the ball as hard as they could to get a home run. Most of the time, this results in a pop-up easily caught by an outfielder. By teaching the participants to hit a solid line drive or grounder then using their speed to get to first base, they are more likely to get on base.

Avoid the Rundown

There is nothing more thrilling for an infielder than catching a baserunner midway to one of the bases. Let’s say the third baseman gets the ball and sees a runner heading for his base. As the runner turns back to run to second, I encourage the third baseman to keep the ball and run the baserunner back to second. It is a conservative approach, but as a Recreation Therapy coach, athletes skills are varied. In the thrill of the rundown, too often the throw to the second basemen ends up somewhere in the outfield. This allows the baserunner to advance one or more bases.

Softball activities are a great way to get physical in the summer. Many people are at least somewhat familiar with baseball or softball rules, which helps motivate them to try these activities. Think of your participants’ need areas then find the best way to incorporate this popular sport into your programming.