Hamco Sports team 
Coaching a team of six to twelve year olds who have genuinely never played is a specific challenge, and most drill lists you find online are written for kids who already have the basics. This one is not. These are basketball drills for beginners in the truest sense, for the kid who does not yet … Read more
You hear announcers say it constantly. He is six for ten from the field. The team shot a great field goal percentage. But what is a field goal in basketball, exactly, and why does that stat leave out free throws? The good news is that the definition is simple, and once you have it, every … Read more
Twenty years ago, you could tell a power forward from a small forward with your eyes closed. One banged in the post with his back to the basket, the other faced up and slashed from the wing. They did different jobs, had different body types, and guarded different players. Today, ask a coach to point … Read more
Quick Answer A softball game is 7 innings and usually lasts about 1.5 to 2 hours in high school and college. Youth tournament games often run on a clock, such as USA Softball’s 1 hour 30 or 1 hour 40 minute limit, and adult slow-pitch games usually take 1 to 1.5 hours. Run rules, rain … Read more
People say “softball” like it is one thing. It is not. Fastpitch and slowpitch share a name, a yellow ball, and a diamond, and that is roughly where the similarity ends. The pitching is different, the lineups are different sizes, one lets you steal freely and the other limits or bans it, and you cannot … Read more
A pitcher cruises into the late innings, the crowd starts buzzing, and the broadcast throws up a graphic that says one of three things: shutout, no hitter, or perfect game. Most fans treat those terms as roughly the same achievement. They are not. They sit on a ladder from fairly common to almost impossible, and … Read more
A batter pops the ball up, an infielder camps under it, and before the ball even lands the umpire throws his arm up and calls the batter out. Half the crowd groans in confusion and somebody mutters about the infield fly rule like it is some dark art. It is not. It is one of … Read more
Quick Answer A balk is an illegal motion by the pitcher when at least one runner is on base. The penalty is automatic: every runner moves up one base. With the bases empty, a balk can’t happen; the same illegal motion is usually called a ball. The balk is the most confusing call in baseball, … Read more
Quick Answer RBI stands for runs batted in: a run that scores because of the batter’s hit, walk, sacrifice or out. A solo home run is 1 RBI; a grand slam is 4. Runs that score on an error or a double play usually don’t count. RBI is one of the first stats any fan … Read more
Quick Answer WHIP stands for walks plus hits per inning pitched: (walks + hits) ÷ innings pitched. A pitcher who allows 4 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings has 6 baserunners in 6 innings, a 1.00 WHIP. In MLB, a WHIP near 1.00 is elite and about 1.30 is average. If you only track … Read more
