Ever wonder if you're making the right moves at the right time? When is the best time to be aggressive and when should you be more conservative? See if you know these 5 key offensive strategy moves that will really help your team score more runs.

When you're standing in the coaching box at 3rd base do you know when you should be aggressive and when it's best to play it safe? Knowing a few offensive strategy keys can make a big difference in whether your team scores or not which can be the difference in winning and losing.

As anyone knows who has coached softball very long, there are no guarantees when it comes to strategy. Lots of different factors are involved in deciding whether you should bunt or let the batter hit away, whether you should steal and if so, on which pitch, and whether you should send your runner home or hold her at 3rd. Decisions are much easier to make after the play has unfolded - which is why all the fans have all the answers!

But there are some guidelines we can use when deciding our offensive strategy and making our split-second strategy decisions. Let's check out 5 successful offensive strategy moves that can really help your team advance base runners and ultimately score runs:

When to Be Aggressive:

1. The Greater the Game, the Greater the Risk - this means whenever a lot is at stake or the opponent is much better than you it's a great time to be aggressive as you've got to take chances to score runs.
2. When the Ground is Wet - take extra chances on the bases whenever the ground is wet as the balls will be wet to throw thus making it easier for the defense to throw it away.
3. When the Umpire has a Big Strike Zone - this will happen and whenever you're facing an umpire with a very large strike zone then your players will have to be aggressive at the plate and you'll have to be aggressive in your coaching as well.

1. When the Pitcher is Struggling - whenever the pitcher is having a hard time throwing strikes don't help her by being aggressive and swinging. Let her throw balls and tell your batters to take a lot of pitches. Also tell them to crowd the plate as it makes it even harder for the pitcher to throw strikes.
2. When the Umpire has a Small Strike Zone - when the umpire has a small strike zone the pitcher won't be pitching lots of strikes so don't help her by swinging at a lot of pitches. The umpire will force the pitcher to throw strikes so be picky and have your hitters choose good pitches to hit.
3. Late in the Game and Down by 1 Run - In this situation your hitter should be doing everything she can to draw a walk and get on base. Getting the lead-off batter on base is so important late in a 1 run game so tell your hitters to be patient and work the pitcher for a walk.

Runner in Scoring Position
In this situation have your batter be aggressive on the first pitch since the pitcher is trying to get ahead of the hitter and not walk the batter. This means she'll more than likely throw a good first pitch so look for it and jump on it when it comes.

Play at the Plate
Whenever there is the chance for a play at the plate (runner at 3rd or 2nd) always tell your batter to head on to 2nd base since the catcher will be involved with the tag and will hold the tag to help the umpire make the call. This gives the batter the chance she needs to make it to 2nd base if she leaves the plate with that thought in mind.