Ideas - OF drills for indoor winter training

[austinwass]

The Wall Ball Drill with Tennis Balls are great as mentioned by bobbyb. Also, implementing a drill that allows the girls to sprint with the glove tucked towards the ball before catching will help eliminate that drifting effect that we have all seen (jogging with the glove out towards the ball, instead of sprinting to the spot).

I've also asked numerous softball athletes of all ages how they respond to a fly ball. Most, if not all of them will respond with "I see the ball in the air and then react to it." This is where the delay is happening and can contribute to poor angles.

The athlete must read the flight of the ball from the pitcher's hand and then read the swing. If the athlete is not looking in the hitting zone and not reading these elements, the only thing they can do is wait for the ball to be in the air and then go get it.

If the athlete is reading the flight of the ball from the pitcher and the watching the hitting zone (swing direction), there's a better chance of predicting where that ball will go.

During batting practice or soft toss or flips with wiffle balls or whatever the drill you are using for your hitters, have all of the fielders read the flight of the pitch and read the swing direction (Prep steps). Let me know if you need clarification on Prep Steps. Have them move full speed, yet in control, on every pitch just a few steps in the direction they think the ball will go. You will be surprised how much better the jumps are by reading the ball and watching the swing path. This can be done for infielders as well.

 

[RayR]

This easiest to learn from center field - shading pull to get an angle....teach them inside pitch - pull - outside pitch opposite field....

The athlete must read the flight of the ball from the pitcher's hand and then read the swing. If the athlete is not looking in the hitting zone and not reading these elements, the only thing they can do is wait for the ball to be in the air and then go get it.

If the athlete is reading the flight of the ball from the pitcher and the watching the hitting zone (swing direction), there's a better chance of predicting where that ball will go.

During batting practice or soft toss or flips with wiffle balls or whatever the drill you are using for your hitters, have all of the fielders read the flight of the pitch and read the swing direction (Prep steps). Let me know if you need clarification on Prep Steps. Have them move full speed, yet in control, on every pitch just a few steps in the direction they think the ball will go. You will be surprised how much better the jumps are by reading the ball and watching the swing path. This can be done for infielders as well.

 

[fastpitchthunder]

We have the same issue at our indoor facility, lots of space low ceilings. We do a chase down drill.

The girls line up, on go the first girl takes off in a run. The coach then throws the ball up and out ahead of the player, the player then has to chase down and catch the ball and throw to another coach who is the end target for the ball. This works on quick feet, and hands.

We also change it up to work on catching the ball over the shoulder and we change it up to where they are charging in on us and do shoestring catches as well.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Good chance to practice finding and preventing a collision with a fence while tracking a ball in the air. A matt or padding against the wall softens the inevitable blow to the body and ego while they learn to master this skill. This skill is applicable to all positions, not just OF.

 

[jbsc17]

New on here. Hope to be able to contribute. We have similar facility issues. Plenty of space but low ceilings. One drill that we like (as do the girls) is the following:

Girls line up at the long end (usually split them into two lines for more reps) approx. 75 ft. Coach hits a line drive at the player. Player catches and makes a long throw back to 2nd coach, who then rolls a ball out to the player. Player charges and fields the roller and flips the 2nd coach. She then runs behind the 2nd coach and goes out on a long fly pattern, where the coach hits her with a long pass.

This is effective because it covers the line drive, the long throw, footwork for charging the ground ball, and getting after the long fly. An added bonus is conditioning. After 10 minutes of this drill the girls are winded. You can also turn it into a competition between the two groups for some added incentive.

 

[JerseyBall]

You can also drill ground balls with infield, knee drops and do or dies. You can practice relays spinning the girl in between around and around. Depending on the level of play with your girls, you can always revisit fundamentals going over the ready position, drop steps, changing directions, and when you have them do laps, have them run with their gloves on and sprint down the length of the gym on one side on the balls of their feet.