ISF Development
Assistance Overview:
REVISED: April 6, 2005
In our on-going efforts to help our member federations grow the sport of softball within their particular country, the International Softball Federation has numerous development aids available.
WHAT
TYPES OF HELP CAN WE OFFER?
Listed below are some the different categories of assistance we offer through the ISF Development department, along with a description of each item, and the steps necessary for obtaining the item.
EQUIPMENT:
Because the ISF realizes that softball
equipment can be very hard to find and/or expensive in your native country
we’ve worked extremely hard to make a combination of new and used equipment
available. Our Equipment Program works to provide our member federations with
softball equipment packaged in what we call a Starter Kit. You can request
Starter Kits or you can just request quantities of individual equipment items
if you don’t need everything that comes in a Starter Kit.
Starter
Kits:
A Starter
Kit contains the following items:
§ 12 Gloves
per Kit
§ 
4 Batting
Helmets per Kit
§ 1 set of Catcher’s Gear per Kit
§ 1 set of Moveable Bases per Kit
§ 24 Softballs
per Kit
§ 6 Bats
per Kit
Uniforms:
§ Players
Uniforms are also
available for your teams or to use as awards at your tournaments. These
uniforms are used and already have a team name on the front, but they are
extremely nice and come in many different colors.
§ Umpire Uniforms are also available in different sizes. These are also used but have all been cleaned. Umpire Indicators/Clickers are also available but we don’t have any protective equipment for umpires (at this time).
COURSES/CLINICS:
Coaching
Courses:
§ The ISF beginning and intermediate level courses for coaches, players and teachers are available to our member federations by sending an official request to the ISF Director of Development.
§ We also recommend that you submit such a request to your National Olympic Committee for a IOC Solidarity Coaching Course.
§ Advanced Coaching Courses are also available through the ISF in the form of the new ISF-NFCA International Coaching Colleges. These 5-day advanced coaching courses will be held 3 times per year in 3 different parts of the world to try and help provide an opportunity for veteran and national team coaches to improve their knowledge.
A schedule of NFCA Coaches College courses held in the United States can be seen at
http://www.nfca-services.org/nfcc/ . Housing and registration assistance is available for these courses by contacting the ISF.
Umpire
Courses:
§ Beginning and Advanced Level Umpire Courses are also available through the ISF. To request an umpires clinic email Merle Butler – the ISF Director of Umpires: isfuic@cox.net
INTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS:
This material is available (or will soon be
available) for downloading on the ISF website:
www.internationalsoftball.com. The following manuals and brochures are
designed to assist your federation in developing and growing softball within
your country. To access the Intranet
please do the following:
Click on Intranet at the top of the ISF Home Page and then login with the following information (case sensitive):
Username: ISFMember
Password: homerun
After
you have logged in, click on Development.
Softball in the
Schools (not on website yet)
§ This is a detailed manual designed to help
schoolteachers understand the sport of softball and assist them in introducing
it into their classroom. This manual includes basics on how to perform the
skills of softball along with activities to help teachers introduce each skill,
along with the game itself, to their students.
§ This manual is a good partner to a Starter
Kit if you are considering introducing Softball into the schools within your
country.
Very
Basic Guide to Making A Softball Field (available on website)
§
This manual provides practical details for making a softball field (or
pitch) on a limited budget. Included are different methods for laying out your
field, dimensions for your softball playing field along with examples of how
different ISF member federations have creatively adapted their softball fields
to their local environment and circumstances.
What Is Softball? (available on website)
§ This brochure is intended to easily explain the game of softball along with listing how popular the game is world wide.
Instructional Video
Tapes – the ISF has
the following instructional video tapes in English and Spanish in either the
PAL or NTSC format
§ Beginning Fastpitch Pitching (instruction on the skills and drill to
learn to pitch for Fastpitch)
§ Advanced Fastpitch Pitching (this covers the different pitches in
Fastpitch like the drop, rise, curve and changeup)
§ Coaching Fast Pitch Softball (this covers all the skills for fastpitch
and slowpitch like hitting, throwing, fielding, sliding, and catching. All with
skills and drills)
§
Basic
Umpiring (this tape
covers the positioning, the hand signals and all the details for basic umpiring
– Available in English Only.)
HOW
TO REQUEST DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE:
1.
Complete the attached
Development Request Form in Microsoft Excel – ( 
ISF DEVELOPMENT REQUEST FORM – REVISED
April 6, 2005) and
tell us a little about why you need help, what type of development plans you
have for your federation/association, and what’s the status of softball
currently within your country.
2.
After you
complete this form you can submit it to the ISF’s Director of Development,
Cindy Bristow. Submit it via email to: cbristow@internationalsoftball.com
Submit it via FAX
to: 001-813-864-0105
3.
Be sure to
obtain authorization from your ISF federation/association President and send a
copy to your ISF Regional Vice President. NOTE: any European members please also
submit a copy to Pavel Prachar, the ESF-ISF European Development Facilitator: pprachar@sendme.cz Fax: 420-220-612244
4.
International
Softball Federation Director
of Development 1900
South Park Road Plant
City, FL 33563 Phone: (813) 864-0100 FAX: (813) 864-0105 Email: cbristow@internationalsoftball.com Website: www.internationalsoftball.com