Easton Providing Home Training Drills, Product Suggestions

By Tim Newcomb
on April 21, 2020

Easton has taken to social media to provide onlookers with a variety of backyard games and drills for softball players.

Easton was one of the first companies to rally its ambassadors and influencers to help support players, parents and coaches with its Stay Ready campaign. The continued effort has brought a new wave of ideas for players.

The backyard games and drills include sport-specific games that allow players to work on certain skills while having some game-like opportunities, even if they don’t have others to help them. In Air It Out, for instance, players field their own ball and then fire toward a bucket to test accuracy and improve timing. There are also drills that use a wall, others that work on bat speed featuring a tee and options for games if a family gets involved with two to four players.

“We don’t want these games to stop because we can’t all be on the field together,” says Austin Hurwitz, Easton vice president of marketing and e-commerce. “It is about keeping conversations going, keeping the flow of ideas going.”

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Stay Ready with backyard games and drills 💪🏼#PoweredbyEaston
A post shared by Easton Fastpitch (@eastonfastpitch) on Apr 17, 2020 at 7:00am PDT

To go along with the posting—everything can be found on the Easton Fastpitch Instagram account—Easton is now running a promotion for 25 percent off training aids and accessories through April.

The Stay Ready campaign also has a component of bringing people together for conversations about the game. The role Easton can play in sports stems from the brand’s decision to put a stronger focus on social media since 2018. That has opened up the door to relationships with folks throughout the industry, not just player ambassadors, that help create new content that connects with people.

“It has been cool,” Hurwitz says. “Across the map people are hungry for ideas. There are way more important things happening right now health wise, but in our little way all of us, not just Easton, we are going to come out of this and when we do come out of this, we will be remembering these relationships and what we did together. I think people will get back to routines and get busy, but I think this will advance how we experience the game together.”

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Softball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.