TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa man is dedicated to helping adults improve their softball hitting skills. He offers coaching for free each week.

And it’s not just coaching the techniques of the sport — there is also lots of encouragement for people who might otherwise give up on playing the game.

What You Need To Know

Danny Lieber offers free softball hitting coaching through the South Tampa BP Club

The coaching takes place at Gadsden Park Saturday afternoons each week

Lieber officers lots of encouragement to help players with their confidence

Lieber also has a coaching business called Danny’s Dugout

Danny Lieber coaches each Saturday afternoon at Gadsden Park in South Tampa. Lieber has a coaching business called Danny’s Dugout where he coaches people in baseball and softball. But the free slow-pitch softball coaching at the park is called the South Tampa BP Club.

Lieber said hitting a slow pitch softball is more difficult than it appears.

“Because in baseball, the pitcher generates the power, you just have to get the bat to the spot,” he said. “In softball, the batter has to generate all the power.”

One of the people who has benefitted from Lieber’s coaching is 64-year-old Dirk Kroll. Lieber has had some specific coaching advice for Kroll.

“What I’m trying to do it to get him into his legs much better as you can see,” Liber said. “That way he can get it beyond the dirt.”

Kroll said he decided to give softball a try a few years ago, but felt he was so bad that he was thinking about giving up. That changed with Lieber’s batting coaching.

“He’s helped me out a lot. That has given me the confidence to keep on coming here keeping on improving,” Kroll said. “I’ve been doing it for almost three years now.”

Kroll is now so enthusiastic about softball that he is playing for three teams.

A big part of Lieber’s coaching is his encouraging approach so players gain confidence. Lieber said seeing players succeed is a blessing.

“I just love seeing how happy they get when they barrel a softball real good,” he said. “It’s a feeling you can’t replicate. So, I just love seeing that.”