Ohio Softball Champions Find Coach Nemo!

Ohio is rich in successful University softball programs. Three of the best use Coach Nemo’s Speed Training Bat and Speed Hitting Program. Here is what they have to say.

Denison University, Ohio Head Coach: Holly Bruder

Holly Bruder began her fist season as the head softball coach at Morehead State in 2007-2008. Bruder takes over the Eagle softball program after six seasons at Denison, three of which resulted in the Big Red advancing to the NCAA Division III championships.

“Nemo’s Speed Hitting Program changed the way we approached hitting at Denison University. …we were holding opponents to 2 or 3 runs per game with our strong pitching and leading the league in defensive stats, but we were still losing, scoring only 1 or 2 runs ourselves. This all changed 3 years ago when I began using the Speed Training Bats by Nemo. We worked on hitting as much as we did defense but with a different mentality. We worked on getting our hands through the zone with power and precision. With the drills from Nemo’s Speed Hitting Program video and confidence we brought to the plate, we started winning more games at the plate. We were still holding teams to 3 runs a game, but we started scoring 5 to 6 runs a game.

Taking this hitting approach into the spring 2006 season, Denison University softball program won the regular season NCAC (North Coast Athletic Conference) championship, hosted the NCAC tournament and won in the championship game in the bottom of the seventh inning by a walk off homerun. We continued our success and advanced to the Regional Championships!”

Ashland University, Ohio Head Coach: Sheila Gulas

Sheila Gulas has led the Eagles to the NCAA Division II playoffs. They have won 30 or more games four times and 40 or more games twice. She has guided the Eagles to 3 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championships and for GLIAC regular season crowns.

“Not only is the bat speed of each athlete improving, the players are much more confident in attacking the ball. It is possible to get more quality swings in each practice setting. The nice thing about using Nemo’s Speed Training Bat is that you can hit many different types of balls and therefore work on a small bat, small ball concept. This helps the batter work on tracking the ball, which will help with their vision training. After each swing, the batter gets reinforcement depending on how the ball leaves the bat. If contact is made on the sweet spot of the bat, the contact is very explosive. If the ball is not hit on the sweet spot, the athlete can make an adjustment on the next swing. This helps the athlete remain focused during her practice swings.”

Kent State University, Ohio Head Coach: Karen Linder

In 2004 the Golden Flashes won the Mid American Conference Eastern Division Championships and Coach Linder was selected coach of the year. The 2006 season was one of her most successful season at Kent State, winning the Eastern Division Championship for the second time in the past three years with a league record of 15 wins and losses. The team hit 56 home runs breaking the MAC single season home run record. Overall record: 526-440.

Coach Linder states, “When I talked to Coach Nemo about his training programs, I knew it was exactly what I had been searching for to help make our hitters more powerful. Hitters can take hundreds of swings in various drills that emphasize bat speed without getting fatigued. Fatigue often leads to mechanical break downs in the swing creating bad habits. I have found using the Nemo bats on a daily basis my athletes have become more consistent in their swing mechanics and have developed more power and confidence.

We have used the Nemo bats religiously throughout our spring and fall seasons. There are all kinds of drills that can be done with the bats to create a faster, more powerful swing. We use them in dry swings; tee work, soft toss, front short toss and bating practice with our hitting streak and golf whiffle ball machines. Our players get hundreds of swings a day with emphasis on bat speed and I have really seen a huge improvement in power from all of our players, even our smaller ones. The Nemo bat has also helped us improve our bunting technique. The smaller bat surface has helped improve eye-hand coordination as well as eye tracing abilities, especially when used with golf whiffle balls.

I would recommend using the Nemo Speed Hitting Program in any baseball or softball program. It certainly has helped the Kent State softball team win the championship.”

This innovation program follows a speed circuit training format utilizing under loading drills with high volumes of repetitions to increase bat speed and reaction time. Coach Nemo says, “If you want to increase bat speed as well as reaction time you must finally put that bat on your shoulder and swing it as fast as one can swing a bat. In simple terms, one must move the muscle or bat in the direction of speed to increase bat speed.”