The Danes Hitting Clinic

Teaching similar hitting mechanics as some of the top teams in the country including Team USA and using the same terminology that is becoming “industry standard” in both MLB and Fastpitch.  Session will include 45 mins of demonstration and instruction with over half the session being focused on the drill work that helped the Danes 18U team achieve the most runs/game of any team in the 2007 PONY National Tournament.   

Cost:  Contact the Danes

Duration:  3 Hours

Max Participants:  36 Hitters per session
Coaches:  6 Clinicians + Lead Clinician Tim Husted 

Host Requirements:  Host organization needs to provide reasonable gym space which includes netted batting cages, some hitting tees, a pitching machine and pitching machine balls

Player Requirements:  Parents must sign liability waiver and hitters much have their own personal bat to benefit from the format of the clinic

Age Requirements:  Willing to do the clinic for any age group 8-18 but would encourage organizations with youth and high school aged players to schedule 2 sessions with an age cutoff around 13/14 years old.  Same content would be presented however done with slightly different approaches for younger hitters.  

The Danes Slap Hitting Clinic 

One constant for the Danes is a blend of elite slap hitters who create pressure on even the best defensive teams and pitchers.  What sets the Danes apart is the ability to develop slap hitters with power to increase their ability to get on base.  We’ll share all our “secrets” in this session which include 25 mins of demonstration and instruction with over half the session being focused on the drill work that Danes’ slappers use before each game. 

Cost:  Contact the Danes

Duration:  2 Hours

Max Participants:  24 Slappers per session
Coaches:  4 Clinicians + Lead Clinician Tim Husted or Katie Hamilton

Host Requirements:  Host organization needs to provide reasonable gym space which includes netted batting cages, some hitting tees, a pitching machine and pitching machine balls

Player Requirements:  Parents must sign liability waiver and hitters much have their own personal bat to benefit from the format of the clinic

Age Requirements:  Willing to do the clinic for any age group 8-18 but would encourage organizations who can get a high level of participation to schedule 2 sessions with an age cutoff around 13/14 years old.  Same content would be presented however done with slightly different approaches for younger hitters.

The Danes Pitching Clinic 

You don’t win consistently in this sport without elite pitching, and the Danes have developed many elite pitchers who have proven dominate in both high school, travel and college softball.  Not every pitcher can have a full time pitching coach, come to this session which will be focused all sharing tips and techniques that are true of all great pitchers, smooth motion, confidence from muscle memory, velocity with command and natural or forced movement.  75% of the time will be spent doing drills and working on skills. 

Cost:  Contact the Danes

Duration:  2 Hours

Max Participants:  24 Pitchers per session
Coaches:  4 Clinicians + Lead Clinician Tim Husted or Katie Hamilton

Host Requirements:  Host organization needs to provide reasonable gym space and ideally some home plates (does not need to be fancy)

Player Requirements:  Parents must sign liability waiver and pitchers much have their own personal catcher (can be parent or friend) to benefit from the format of the clinic

Age Requirements:  Willing to do the clinic for pitchers age 12-18 but would encourage organizations that can get a high level of participation to schedule 2 sessions with an age cutoff around 13/14 years old.  Same content would be presented however done with slightly different approaches for younger hitters. 

The Danes Catching Clinic

The Danes love catchers, often having at least 30% of our roster being high school catchers and developing some of the top catchers in WI and MN the past few years.  This session will provide focus on the four most important aspects of catching; receiving pitches, blocking pitches, throwing and attitude/approach.   

Cost:  Contact the Danes

Duration:  1 Hour, 15 mins

Max Participants:  20 Pitchers per session
Coaches:  3 Clinicians + Lead Clinician Tim Husted or Bekki Kidnie

Host Requirements:  Host organization needs to provide reasonable gym space and ideally some home plates (does not need to be fancy)

Player Requirements:  Parents must sign liability waiver and catchers should have their own personal catching equipment to benefit from the format of the clinic

Age Requirements:  Any catchers age 10-18

“New Coaching in the Old Game of Fastpitch”

The most underdeveloped skills in most fastpitch organizations are coaching skills.  And many coaches clinics focus on how to “teach” skills instead of the strategies and logistics of coaching.  The Danes have created a coaching curriculum which focuses on the strategies of the game and logistics of coaching.  

Although the curriculum can be adapted to fit your audience and time frames, there are 10 hours of content developed into four 2.5 hour interactive sessions:
1.     The Basic Building Blocks of Coaching
2.     The Offensive Game Plan
3.     The Defensive Game Plan
4.     Pitching and Catching

Cost:  Dependent on the logistical design of the clinic

Clinicians:  Tim Husted and Guest Presenter

Host Requirements:  Host organization needs to provide a reasonable meeting/classroom space which has ability to project a power point presentation onto a screen 

The Danes Fielding Clinics

Aggressive fielding and strategy is a hallmark of Danes teams, and the Danes would love the opportunity to share our knowledge in this key aspect of the game.  Components of training could include but not be limited to throwing and catching development, softball specific footwork skills, infield skills and outfield skills.  

Since gym floors do not offer the best opportunity to develop the correct mechanics and skills, the Danes are only willing to offer these clinics to organizations which can acquire indoor turf field space during the winter months.  We can “price” these clinics to include needed “dome time rental costs”. 

We are also willing to schedule clinics in April/May for 10U/12U and 14U teams on outdoor fields weather permitting.   

Cost:  Dependent on the logistical design of the clinic

Clinicians:  8 to 1 Player to Clinician Ratio along with Lead Clinician Tim Husted 

For Twin Cities area organizations:  Danes Clinics can be scheduled on Saturday’s, Sunday’s (around dome ball schedule) and selected evenings based on clinician availability

For Out state Minnesota and Wisconsin organizations:  Danes Clinics can be scheduled on Saturday’s throughout January, February and Early March

o  Discuss interest with your softball leaders

o  Determine available dates for your proposed location

o  Send an e-mail to danesfastpitch@hotmail.com and determine current open and available dates which fit within your availability of location

o  Partner with Coach Husted to design the clinic logistics including which sessions at which times

o  Danes Fastpitch will provide pamphlets, waiver form and other marketing materials to use with your families, players and community

o  Both the local hosts and Danes will promote the clinic, work to maximize participation

o  Coach Husted will secure commitments from clinicians to support his instruction throughout the day

o  Participants will pre-register through e-mail, instructions on the pamphlets

o  2 Days before event, a 1 hour conference call will be facilitated to plan day of activities, confirm details and answer questions or concerns

o  Day Off – The Danes will facilitate check in, payment processing and the overall schedule of the day, hosts should be present and visible throughout the day

Tim Husted: 

• President and General Manager of The Danes

• Founded the Program 11 years ago

• Head Coach of the Danes 18U Team

• Regular Clinician for the Danes Winter Clinics as well as other “college sponsored” clinics throughout the country. 

• Provided hitting development to many players who have gone on to earn all conference, all region and all American honors in the college game.

• Spent 2 years as a pitching coach at the NCAA D3 level and has developed numerous pitchers who have gone on to earn all conference, all region and all American honors in the college game.

Katie Hamilton: 

• Vice President of the Danes

• Head Coach for the Danes 16U Team

• Head Varsity Softball Coach at Menomonie (WI) High School

• Regular clinician for the Danes Winter Clinics

• Specializes in developing slap hitting skills and serves as pitching coach for her teams