Softball Clinic a success for community
With the Tippecanoe softball season now underway with practice, coach Charles Tackett, his coaching staff and the members of the softball program offered a free softball clinic for the girls this past Saturday. And it was a success.
The event was broken into two sessions by age group, with the younger ages first thing in the morning and the older girls immediately following that session.
“The main purpose of the camp today is working on fundamental skills and drills and things that teach them how to do things right,” Tackett said. “We literally just worked with the kids for 20 minutes on their form throwing, and it was spot on. Our (high school) campers were catching the ball for them and were able to maximize their time.”
“I think it’s important that the kids are taught good fundamentals at a young age so when they get to the high school level, we feel like we don’t have to reteach those things.”
Tackett has the girls who will be suiting up for the high school teams this spring. This is great for the younger kids to get to work with the players they watch during games.
“They are all buying in and every kid is required to come today (Saturday). We weren’t having a practice today, this is our practice,” Tackett said. “They are working with the next generation of kids and it’s like giving back.”
Tackett returns to Tipp after spending several years as the head coach of the Red Devils. Most recently, he was the head coach at Newton.
“It is a good time to come back,” he said. “The last couple of years I coached at Newton. I thought it was a good point for me to get back into coaching. When the opportunity came open for me to coach at the school I coached at for 15 years, I wanted to do that.”
Tackett teaches at the high school, so he will get to see the kids every day, which also makes a difference. He also brings back Dan Mallot, who was his assistant during his first run with the Red Devils.
Tackett said he is working on three things with the high school team now that the high school preseason is two weeks old. He mentioned structure, discipline, and coachability.
“It is a different culture, and I haven’t coached here in 11 years. So literally, the senior class was in first grade the last time I coached here.”
“It will be a great challenge with a great group of young ladies. For so many years, they have had to try to buy into someone new.”
