fly balls

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Jul 26, 2016
108
18
Definitely take the eye off. If you don't you have to run backwards a couple steps which slows you down.
 
Sep 28, 2015
150
18
So my 13y DD has learned to read the ball off of the bat and we did this with lots of fly balls. She will break right away and have a smooth gliding run to the ball.

My 11y DS is faster but does not read the ball off of the bat very well. He will always hesitate and then claim there was no way he could have gotten the ball. He just doesn’t realize how much better he could/should be if he does it properly.

Last week while doing fly balls to both kids we ended the practice with me standing much closer to them and doing more flat quick shots that required about 4 quick steps to get to them. I am thinking that might be the way to teach kids to react and not have time to guess if they reach it.

Thoughts?


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Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
If a fielder drop steps the wrong way and has to correct himself/herself and change direction on a ball hit over their head should they pivot inside ( never taking eyes off the ball) or turn outside as to not give up ground but taking eye off the ball.

 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
So my 13y DD has learned to read the ball off of the bat and we did this with lots of fly balls.

Let's not forget just how few reps most outfielders get. Giving GOOD reps is harder. It takes longer. It's much harder to hit certain types of balls. And the ball comes off the bat differently than it does off live pitching. And in some cases, it can be hard for an adult to replicate a fly ball from a kid (some kids hit bombs like adults; most don't).

Imagine if we gave infielders 5-10 grounders and then expected them to be able to just catch ground balls. Oh, and they're only going to get 1 of those grounders per game. And it might look nothing like the 5-10 you gave them in practice.

That's what we do with outfielders.

I really think that for most kids, they just need to see more fly balls.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
Neither are wrong, and both should be practiced. It really depends on the time the fielder has to make the play.

^^^^ This.... As a young baseball player, I was trained to take my eyes off the ball. My coach at the time considered that the harder method, so he wanted us to learn that way. However, when possible, he did want us to keep our eyes on the ball. Along the same lines, a drill I will often do with my team is to have them in the outfield with their backs to home plate. We will shoot fly balls to them from a pitching machine. As soon as they hear the ball leave the machine, they need to turn, find the ball, and make the play.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
^^^^ This.... As a young baseball player, I was trained to take my eyes off the ball. My coach at the time considered that the harder method, so he wanted us to learn that way. However, when possible, he did want us to keep our eyes on the ball.

Off topic but FP26, I am always impressed with your memory of such things :D. I know people (in particular my father) must have taught me stuff but for the life of me I cannot remember anybody telling me anything (including HS coaches) with the exception of 1 thing my college coach mentioned regarding fielding ground balls (fast,slow,fast). Not sure if I purposely repressed all baseball memories or what but I know how do various things and can physically demonstrate, and most of the time I can recognize when somebody is doing something incorrectly, but I have no memory of how I know any of it LOL!! I also have no memory of most games I played, with the exception of maybe 3 or 4 specific plays in HS,Legion and College. Very strange. I can remember the details of a technical paper I read in graduate school 15+ years ago so I don't think my memory is that bad..
 
Last edited:
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
Off topic but FP26, I am always impressed with your memory of such things :D. I know people (in particular my father) must have taught me stuff but for the life of me I cannot remember anybody telling me anything (including HS coaches) with the exception of 1 thing my college coach mentioned regarding fielding ground balls (fast,slow,fast). Not sure if I purposely repressed all baseball memories or what but I know how do various things and can physically demonstrate, and most of the time I can recognize when somebody is doing something incorrectly, but I have no memory of how I know any of it LOL!! I also have no memory of most games I played, with the exception of maybe 3 or 4 specific plays in HS,Legion and College. Very strange. I can remember the details of a technical paper I read in graduate school 15+ years ago so I don't think my memory is that bad..

I seem to have a pretty good memory when it comes to sports. Especially when I was playing. I enjoyed my childhood/teenhood... But don't ask me what I ate for lunch yesterday... Lol!
 
Feb 5, 2019
6
0
Always better to take a few steps back when deep fly balls come in. Easier to correct it and run forward than it is to run backward!
 
Sep 19, 2018
928
93
Neither are wrong, and both should be practiced. It really depends on the time the fielder has to make the play.

No kidding. I've seen grown men, not professionals but grown men none the less, make both techniques looks harder than hitting a Nolan Ryan fastball. If you don't have enough time, and try the inside turn before slowing down, your feet are going to get tangled. Finding the ball a second time is not easy either.
 

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